New member

[Simes]

Hi and hello to all,

My name is Simon and I have Just joined the club after acquiring an ultra low mileage 1995 2.5 td friendee.
My father, mike wyatt, a former member of the club. bought the bongo in 2006 from imperial cars in Poole, had 15,000 miles when he bought it,mileage now only 30,000miles.
It had been stood for 5 years so I had many problems to overcome such as heater blower motor and resistor pack burnt out, I have fitted new water pump, radiator, coolant flush,thermostat and both rad/expansion tank caps- and my temp gauge still fluctuates with the mason alarm fitted, it doesn’t overheat and drives and goes very well.
We are off in bongo to Germany and Austria in 3 weeks and I have one final thing to fix.
The waeco magicspeed ms50 that dad fitted no longer works although there is power to the module and the cruise pad.
I am not any good at electrics but I did wonder if the vacuum servo can fail.
Apologies for the introduction and question to ask, due to the lack of time I have I am trying to get everything sorted for trip.
Any advice would be most appreciated.

[sotal]

I have no idea for that particular system but I have fixed the cruise control on two cars before by replacing the vacuum hoses which had split at the ends. IIRC on one of them I just cut the end of the pipes of and pushed them back on. A few seconds work and instantly fixed it.

Worth a quick look.

Good luck

[Bongo Brain]

Hi Simon,

I'm a fairly new member too. Having bought my Bongo around 9 or 10 months ago.... it took me too long to join!
However, I did eventually join - and so glad I did

That really is very very low mileage for a Bongo, and that's amazing.
Don't know anything about that system - so can't help you there
I just wanted to say "hi" to another newbie

Have you changed the timing belt? Not sure how crucial it is on the diesel model
But if it's been stood idle for a long time - might want to make sure you change it before embarking on such a long trip

All the best, and see you on the road

[knpenny]

I had no idea that you could fit cruise contrl to the bongo Can anyone recommend a good make or one which is best compatible with the bongo? Its the only thing that is missing from it for ease of driving, I just gotta have it.
Thanks in advance

[Bob]

Welcome aboard Simes.

The Waeco MS 50 mentioned is what we have. Fairly simple to fit.

[knpenny]

I'm not bad with electrical stuff but not an expert, the mechanical side will be fine (do it every day) do you know what wires i will have to use from the vehicle itself, excluding live and earth of course. Now the epic service is nearly finished, like i said before.....Upgrades and this is a must have. Thanks for the tip on the model too guys

[Bob]

Have a poke about, I'm sure Simon Jones did a Fact Sheet on this some while back.

[knpenny]

Hi bob, i had a scour through the archives in the members area, but unfortunately i cant find it
Do you possibly have a link to somewhere i could find it, I also tried looking through posts with no sucsess, to be honest i'm pish at computer stuff most of the time . I'm heading up to the bongobash in june from france (just outside switzerland) and it'd make the trip somewhat more comfortable and less exhausting
If you could help guide me in the right direction i'd really appreciate it, and i can get really good cheese too

[Simes]

Hi,

Thanks for the welcome and the info on cruise control.
The vacuum pipe is not split and there is vacuum at the servo.
Thanks bongo Brian for the info on cambelt, it was changed before taking off road and has done about 4,000 miles since.
If I can work out how to add pictures I will upload some.
Just coated all arches and underneath and surprisingly it is in good condition throughout.

As for the cruise control, I have a large hole in the bone of my right ankle from a motorcycle accident, hence why i am trying to get mine working.
without cruise control is hard work for me.

[Bob]

Absolutely and definitely get the cam belt done.

This is fairly simple and not expensive if a Bongo Friendly garage does it.

The belt will have hardened with lack of use and the service interval is 60,000 miles or 5 years, whichever is first.

The diesel is an 'Interference' engine which means if the cam belt should break the pistons will hit the valves and engine goes splodey bang big time bu99er up.

Also have the coolant changed and bleed the system properly as the anti corrosion properties will have been lost so the ally head and cast block will interact badly. Bleeding is vital on the 2.5 ltr engines.

Re the Waeco cruise, it is pretty simple to follow the instructions. Bear in mind I fitted mine over 10 years ago, but from memory you need to tap into the blue/white speedo feed wire behind the dash. There are 2 blue/whites but now you know that the right one will be obvious, and it's just 4 screws to remove the instrument binacle.

The vacuum take off is requires no cutting or fittings. Reach in from the passy seat and find the vertical pipe in front of the engine.

There's a very small 'T' off this with a rubber cover. Grip the very end of this with pliers and pull off (just the end of the rubber, do not grip the steel tube) then push your vacuum pipe on to it.

I'm at Stourport and will be volunteering so just find me if you want a hand there.

I can PM my mobile.

[TheLongRoad]

Good info from Bob, is was Simon Jones who did the fact sheet. Send him a PM and he might be able to send a pdf. It does require a wire take off the speedo and it is either blue or blue and white- but it’s in his fact sheet. Fitting one is on my to do list

[Simes]

Hi all,

Thanks for advice on changing the cambelt on my bongo which had been laid up for 5 years.
Not something that occurred to me as the cambelt was changed in 2012 and has done less than 3000 miles since, but for the sake of £200 it’s sound advice and total peace of mind so thanks for the advice.
As for the waeco ms50 cruise control, it is now working but intermittently. It seems to sometimes settle at 46mph, I have checked vacuum which is good.
Any ideas would be appreciated with Germany trip fast approaching.