Bongo Fury

Hi all,

I've read loads of threads on this, but nothing concrete on concluding what might be my problem.

We've had our 2l petrol for 4yrs and do very few miles, but I did change both starter and leisure batteries during the summer months just gone (2024) and have the vehicle serviced (oil and air filter) each year.

Last week, I went to start the van and it was cranking well, as expected, but wouldn't 'fire'. After 10-15mins of intermittent re-tries, it threatened to fire, but still failed to start.

After another 10 mins or so of doing the same, she eventually fired and started and I was able to switch off/on at will with no issues whatsoever. I took her for a long drive at this point.

I had a think about this and decided to get my plugs and leads changed, since I couldn't recall if this had been done during our ownership.

The van started the following morning, but after leaving it for a couple of days, I experienced exactly the same starting issue again yesterday. As last time, it eventually started after the big fuss (and is fine this morning), but I fear the poor starter motor is getting a hammering each time this happens.

Once going, the vehicle drives faultlessly.

Can anyone suggest what may be my best next move please? I was thinking fuel filter, but I can't find much information on changing a 2l petrol one.

Could be any one of several issues;
Could be the Distributor cap is damp / wet or cracked, its the device all the sparkplug leads plug into at the front of the engine, quite a common problem.
Sometimes the sensor fails again part of the distributor under the cap itself, not a common problem but occasionally reported.
Maybe a fuel problem sometimes the fuel can drain back to the tank if there is an air leak in the system, not a very common problem however.

Thanks for the quick and informative reply Geoff.

I'll get the distributor cap replaced in this case. I'm sure that shouldn't prove too expensive.

Would you also advise to change the fuel filter?

What about the "Banjo" filter? (I don't even know if the petrol vehicles have one!) Should I take a look at that too?

The fuel filter is less likely to be the cause unless someone has been unscrewing it or replacing it, the seals don't normally just fail in-situ.
No only the diesel has the additional banjo filter. For the petrol engines the fuel pump is inside the fuel tank itself and then feeds the rest of the system, totally different to the way that fuel is handled in a diesel!

I've bought a rotor arm and distributor cap and since the fuel filter was only £12, I got one of those anyway.
I'll have them all fitted later this week and hope for the best.

She started perfectly again this morning, so it appears to only present if I leave it a few days without starting.

Possibly the coil?
Some 2l models have the coil inside the distributor ( it has 4 ;posts distributor). It can play up and cause these symptoms. The solution is to replace the coil. It should come with the distributor if that's the one for your model.
If its the model with the 5 post distributor, the coil is on the chassis rail. It can play up, so can the king lead.