Coolant questions and my Bongo form a Newbie

[In the Congo]

Hello!

A newbie with a couple of questions.

My Bongo is on the boat - delivery early July then if for conversion with JAL.

I have read a few posts about coolant
So I have a few thoughts.

Whilst at the converters should I have;

Coolant changed
Coolant hoses changed
New thermostat
Coolant alarm fitted

All of teh above

Or just the coolant and alarm and leave the rest well alone. If it ain't broke etc etc

Its a 99 V6 56K

Looking forward to some adventures!

[madmile]

New coolant and an alarm would be good, but to replace pipes etc that are not leaking is not worth it in my opinion. The reason I say this is that there are many aspects to the cooling system including several metal pipes and rubber ones which are not commonly available. If you replace 90% of them, sods law says one of the ones left will fail and cause the same problem (but you will have spent £500 already). It is tempting to replace lots of pipework, but inspect it and change if you feel neccessary - but if you dont mind spending the money, I wouldnt be so stupid to say it was a bad idea - just something I would not do.

[westonwarrior]

get the system flushed and consider a new radiator at least get it checked

[flippa]

V6 huh bet you cant wait , i go along with what you say "if it aint broke " etc i got my v6 in jan and just changed the filters and oil .....coolant level was fine ,nice clean tank .....i would get them to check over all your pipes ...and then keep a check your self...id say with what you have youd be unlucky to have to change owt apart from a simple service +cambelt change enjoy

[Dolly1]

Hi Flippa,
I would not be to concerned about the overheating prob:if i was you.
The V6 is not not prone to it,your main problem,CAMBELT renew it, NOW !!!
A coolant alarm later maybe,for now flush the system and change the oil.
You have bought a superb model, they are so Smooooth to drive.Enjoy

[bigdaddycain]

Hmm, i always thought comparable petrol engines generally run hotter than an equivelant diesel? I could well be wrong, i would have thought though, that a slow revving diesel would be considerably cooler than a mad exploding "peccy"?

[mikeonb4c]

Fit a new thermostat. It doesn't cost much and since you are refilling the coolant system anyway. If it is a bit old and slow to open it is likely to make the engine less economical than otherwise on short runs. If you are feeling flush, you could see what deal Haydn Callow might offer on a low coolant alarm and a TM2 engine block temp gauge so you can keep a full watch on the engine. although I think the TM2 is probably not essential.

Oh and welcome!

[Dolly1]

Hmm, i always thought comparable petrol engines generally run hotter than an equivelant diesel? I could well be wrong, i would have thought though, that a slow revving diesel would be considerably cooler than a mad exploding "peccy"?

Absolutely right BDC,an oil burner will always run cooler than a petrol burner.
However i have had two V6s in the past,a Probe and a Mazda (brag brag brag),
not much different than the Bongo V6 in engine design,never ever any overheating problems.
Its quite possible i could be wrong,because of the abundance of diesel engines you are bound to
hear more about problems than petrol engines.Diesel owners-("PROBLEMS WOT PROBLEMS")
Come on V6 owners (maybe 6 or 7 ???) lets hear if you have any overheating problems.

[bigdaddycain]

I've only ever owned two different v6's suprisingly, a mondeo 2.5 litre 24v, v6, and a ford granada scorpio cosworth 2.9 24v, v6, both were cool running motors too, the twin viscous fans on both cars were more than up to the job, i'm sure the bongo v6 cooling system will be similarly reliable.

[In the Congo]

Thanks for all your help. Look forward to getting out in our Bongo once its sorted. Might be a while yet though!

[bigdaddycain]

Good luck ITC...It'll be "reet" (as they say up here)

[Dolly1]

In the congo in a Bongo ,sorry but it had to be said.
Welcome and Enjoy

[bigdaddycain]

Won't be longo now.... ( , i know, i'll stick to me day job! )

[Linusface]

I though it was the cooling system that caused the problems in Bongos, not an engine problem

Unless I have misunderstood all the posts, the general concensus seems to be that because the engine is in the middle & the radiator is at the front, the problems are caused by long runs of pipework failing through age, or scaling up through lack of maintenance causing blockages.

The knock on problem with the diesel engines is that if they do overheat, then the cylinder head is at risk, due to combination of metals used in different parts of the engine.

All the coolant alarms etc are to warn of potential overheating BEFORE it happens.

Unless the petrol engine can happily boil over without risk, I would suggest that the precautions recommended for the Diesel engines are likely to be the same for the petrol V6

[missfixit70]

Got to agree with that Linusface, it's the abundance & length of old hoses that seems to be the most common overheating problem.