Overheating - new engine? HELP

[hazel]

Help, my R reg bongo is losing water and has overheated a couple of times and now the internal heaters are no longer blowing out warm air.

Took it to the garage at the end of the road who said the head gasket has gone but that the cylinder head had not, quoted £800 to fix.

1) is this a reasonable price?
2) can he tell just by looking underneath that the head is fine?

Rang a different garage (recommened on the bongo fury website as having bongo experience) for a bit of advice, was told:

- If the gasket is the cause it would be about £600 for them to simply change the gasket
- However the head would then need to be sent away to be skimmed and pressure tested taking price up to around £1000
- If a problem was found with the head I'd be looking at a further (i think) £1500
- After all that there may still be a hairline fracture in the engine block meaning i woud still have problems after spending all that money and need a new engine.

3) Does this sound right?
4) Should I bite the bullet and go for a new (well probably reconditioned) engine?
5) Any ideas on the cost of fitting a new engine?

Answers to any of the above would be appreciated

[widdowson2008]

Can't help very much except to advise NOT driving it until the source of the problem has been established.
Someone will be along shortly to answer your questions - thats for sure.
Where are you located?

[missfixit70]

How can he tell without taking it apart that the head is ok? I wouldn't trust the diagnosis/repair of anything to do with the bongo's cooling system to anyone that is not familiar with them. From what I've found out in my research, it's more likely that the head has gone, or it will have done by the time it's ben taken off & then refitted due to the stresses of undoing & then tightening up the new head bolts.
It may not be the head/gasket, depends on what's actually happened, have you been losing coolant? have you checked it for leaking hoses etc? has the cooling system been pressure tested to check for leaks? has it been blowing out white smoke or running rough or lumpy? Has it had any work done on it recently? Just wondering if it was bled properly? it is a process that many don't understand & if not done can lead to big problems, the fact that the heaters aren't blowing hot tells me it's airlocked.
If it is the the head/gasket, it should be possible to get a new head, gasket, cambelt etc fitted for under £1500, a lot depends on your location. If you put your location in your profile by clicking on user control panel top right, local help/recommendations may be forthcoming.

[gmaczbongo]

It needs someone to have a look at it properly.
Without £££ £££.
The above is my interpretation of pound signs in their eyes.

[You've Been Bongod]

put your location in your profile to help others to help you

[hazel]

Thanks everyone, I'm based in Newcastle. The problems started last summer this is what I remember happening (excuse my non technical explanation I know nothing about mechanics!):

There seemed to be a drip from underneath onto the drive.
Was driving when all of a sudden the temperature gauge rocketed and a bubbling noise could be heard
Checked expansion tank and was empty so topped up with coolant and water
Ran ok for a while after that, took it to France and back!
Did notice at some point white smoke out of the exhaust upon start up once
Took the van up to Edinburgh in December, heaters weren't working on way up (V. cold journey!) pulled over into services and filled up the expansion tank with lots of water (litres) heaters got slightly warmer but then went back to cold.
Stopped numerous times to add more water.
On the way back about 10 miles from home it had a major overheat with water bubbling out of expansion tank and also squirting out underneath, refilled water and limped home haven't moved it since except to take it a few hundered yards to the garage that told me it was the head gasket. Think he said he knew this was the case because underneath the engine was red with rust due the the leaking water

[missfixit70]

Unfortunately as you seem to have had several water loss/overheating incidents & you have just topped up the coolant (you didn't say what with? If just water it will have been corroding away from inside, if a different cooalnt to what's in there it could have set up chemical reactions causing even more damage ) & it doesn't sound like it was bled or the reason for leakage traced or sorted, I'd suspect you've at the very least done the head gasket, but more likely done the head unfortunately.
The bongo's cooling system is very complex & needs to be bled if there is any work done on the system or if it needs topping up, the reason needs to be found as it is a sealed system & so shouldn't lose anything.
It's your call really as to whether you get the head done or fit a recon engine, after that history, I wouldn't bother messing about testing the head to be honest, you can get a fully built up head via the club shop for £640 with all the gaskets, bolts, etc, you'll need a new cambelt (& probably tensioner) too.