Loss of Power and white smoke or steam

[beermonsta]

Hello everyone can anyone help me? I have recently bought a 2.5td bongo friendee and every now and then there is a smell which I can only describe as fishy. Also lately when at speed on the motorway there is a loss of power and some white smoke or steam from the exhaust. This is the only time it happens, the van starts quickly everytime without smoke and runs fine in town and city driving. I have used redex in the last two tanks does anybody have any ideas?

[francophile1947]

Never smelt a fishy smell in a Bongo, but antifreeze smells funny - have you checked you're coolant level?

[beermonsta]

Yeah was quite low I topped it up and still smells funny almost like rusty water not that fussed about the smell I just thought it may have been an indication to the loss of power and smoke problem

[haydn callow]

What do you call "quite low" ?? if the tank was empty then you need to bleed the air out of the system......sounds as though you have a leak and thats what you are smelling.....lets hope you have not done any serious damage..

[beermonsta]

well I bought it last month and i checked the levels then and they where fine, the temp guage has always shown as cool so I havnt checked the water levels since. When the problem arrived I checked the water which was very low, so I topped it right up. I imagine that I have a leak which is why the water has dropped so quickly i just hope its not leaking into the head causing steam in the exhaust. Im an electrician by trade and Im not very mechanically minded how do I bleed the air out?

[haydn callow]

Join the Forum as a member £10-15 per year and then you can enter the members area and download a vast archive of fact sheets....whereabouts are you.....put it in your profile.....I wouldn't drive anywhere untill you sort it....the temp gauge will always read 11'o clock....they are of little use and will only ever move when overheating is already happening...
You need to get some good advice if you want to enjoy your Bongo....find a garage that is Bongo Friendly (again...members area) and get it booked in.....if you are getting steam out of the exaust you have a shot head/gasket and a very expensive repair bill.

[Doone]

how do I bleed the air out?

The members made videos showing one method of doing this, they're on youtube, on

THIS LINK, Part 1
THIS LINK, Part 2 and
THIS LINK, Part 3

[beermonsta]

Thanks everyone