Should i replace all the hoses?

[dollyanna]

Sorry to bring up hoses and coolant stuff again, but I need some advice. Before I get yelled at, I do have a mason alarm, just struggling to get it fitted!

Driving home on Friday I noticed the needle just start to rise on the temp guage. Pulled over straight away, and discovered that I had virtually no coolant left in the tank. Managed to get hold of warm water to refill with, filled the tank and let the air out, and then drove carefully home. Discovered a drip from somewhere under the drivers side, so waited until today to drive carefully back into town to the garage, having topped up the water tank over the weekend to keep it full.

Garage found a small bore hose under the drivers side leaking, and we established that it was the connection and not the hose itself. He trimmed the end and put it back on, tightened the clamp, but has advised replacing the hose in case it is worn inside - we couldn't see any reason for it to start leaking.

First question is should I just replace all the hoses at this time? It might be worth mentioning that when I checked the hoses in the light on Saturday the one coming from the tank seemed to be crunchy as if there were crystals inside, but it wasn't cold enough for it to be frozen. This did ease as the water warmed up with the engine running.

Second question (bear with me) is when I refilled the tank I wasn't able to follow all the steps, given that it was dark and I didn't have any instructions with me, even if I understood them! So I followed instructions over the phone from my dad, who advised me to fill the tank, then run the engine with the cap off, which resulted in a huge amount of air bubbling out, and then I kept topping it up until it remained steady. The van has been running perfectly the whole way through, absolutely no indication of problems until the needle moved. It has run perfectly since. I will be getting the garage to replace the coolant from scratch when they change the hose/s, as per the fact sheet instructions, but will I be ok to do short journeys until then? Given that the leak should now be fixed (got to check tomorrow).

As the van is running great despite all of this, what are the chances of having done real damage, and how would I know? In case it is relevant (because I have been reading around and noticed the heaters mentioned somewhere), the heaters did stop working in the 10mins before the needle moved, but were working very well as soon as I replaced the fluid.

Obviously I also have the issue of just having water in my tank at the moment, but am going to top up with antifreeze tomorrow which should hopefully be enough to cope with possible minor frosts until it is done properly. Might wrap it up in a blanket or two as well!!

Sorry for such a long post, just trying to work out what I need to ask at the garage, what I need to buy, and what I need to be looking out for. Thanks

[wonkanoby]

it would prove expensive to do them all

but for sure i would do the 4 main ones

the one drivers side goes over starter

and the bleed one

these seem most common ones to go

dont drive it untill its bleed properly............not way you described

there is a you tube video shows how its done you will find with a search

be aware its not just the hoses but also the steel pipes can let go

[Northern Bongolow]

in my opinion do not drive it AT ALL.the cooling system needs bleeding first.
its hard to say about changing all the hoses without seeing the bongo,but get the system bled by someone who knows how----not just filling up the expansion tank.
if you go on youtube and type bleeding a mazda bongo,3 videos are there,done by missfixit70 and haydn.down load these and show them to your garage.get the garage to do a pressure test also.
the fitting of the mason alarm is a 20min job,did you not get instructions on how to do this,if you did any garage should do this for you.

good luck.

[jaylee]

This link may help with the Mason...? http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... rm+fitting If lost instructions or unsure about fitting...

... & as above.. Get it bled right!

[mikexgough]

After reading your post you have been lucky, get yourself a lottery ticket......

It also sounds like your Dad gave you the "Old School" advice to "bleed" your system which worked for you and you got the system to "burp" the remaining air from the system. This is not the recommended way but it did the job for you this time.

To replace all the hoses would be quite costly but after your experience, I personally would at least change the main ones as has been suggested and visually inspect the others for softness etc and replace if seen to be suspect.

For me, I would change the culprit of your leak ,at least, of the smaller hoses and for 20 mins of time.....get that Mason fitted.... the Mason will give you advanced warning of temperature rises early on ........ and while the system is drained it would be a good time to change the thermostat too

At least now you can get your coolant changed to 50% ratio before the winter really bites....I wonder how many vehicle owners in the UK are running with less than satisfactory coolant protection?

Just remember, when you do your daily/weekly checks on your coolant level and indeed all your other levels tyre pressures etc, visually inspect and squeeze/feel your hoses while you have the engine covers and bonnet lifted.

[dollyanna]

Thanks.

The problem with the mason is that my dad tried to fit when he was last around but we couldn't get the cover off. Ran out of time to work out what was stopping it, and haven't had chance since to do anything about it. I don't have the skills to do it myself. I'll ask the garage to do it when they do the coolant.

Thinking about it, my van is a wellhouse conversion, and I believe they change all the hoses when they import them anyway? Which means that they should only be about 6 years old. The bit of hose I have that was cut off appears to be in good condition, doesn't look worn or brittle at all. But I will certainly get a new one of them and speak to the garage about checking the rest.

Bad news is that today the tank is empty again, so it's not going anywhere until I have time in daylight to check the hose we did yesterday and make sure its still attached. The problem with not going anywhere is how do I get it back to the garage!!

[haydn callow]

Get it on the back of a low loader.....has the garage done a bongo cooling system before ??if not find one that has or they could cause serious damage.......if the tank was empty you will have air in the system and if you drive it, it will overheat and cost you a cylinder head....
Sounds like a Low Coolant Alarm would have been your best option.

[mikexgough]

Thanks.

The problem with the mason is that my dad tried to fit when he was last around but we couldn't get the cover off. Ran out of time to work out what was stopping it, and haven't had chance since to do anything about it. I don't have the skills to do it myself. I'll ask the garage to do it when they do the coolant.

Thinking about it, my van is a wellhouse conversion, and I believe they change all the hoses when they import them anyway? Which means that they should only be about 6 years old. The bit of hose I have that was cut off appears to be in good condition, doesn't look worn or brittle at all. But I will certainly get a new one of them and speak to the garage about checking the rest.

Bad news is that today the tank is empty again, so it's not going anywhere until I have time in daylight to check the hose we did yesterday and make sure its still attached. The problem with not going anywhere is how do I get it back to the garage!!

I would suggest too that recovery to your garage is the best option and let them deal with it "as is"

[dollyanna]

Bongo (well, Freda) is in the garage until further notice - they are going to keep it until they work out what is going on. I don't have any garages round here that are used to bongos, so that simply isn't an option, but they are listening to everything I ask/say, and more than happy to follow the instructions for bleeding. It's all very well saying take it to a bongo garage but if the nearest one is 1 1/2 hours away that isn't helpful!

They know that I am in the club, and that I can ask for any further info, and they will do. I have known them for several years and trust them as much as I think it is possible. Not much more I can do.

As far as the coolant alarm goes, I was about to buy one when it went out of production, and then life took over for a bit and I didn't manage to come back and get one. I will do as soon as I know I still have a bongo to put it on.

Just wondering though, is it possible to be so badly damaged when it is still working really well? There really are absolutely no signs of anything other than whatever is leaking fluid, and I would notice because I am very aware of anything that sounds or feels different.

[mister munkey]

Most of my hoses were originaly crispy. Probably caused by initially having weak or no coolant content. What often gets overlooked is that coolant is not just antifreeze - its a rust inhibitor too.

The main 5 have been replaced - one at a time over the last three years, plus the radiator & all is well now. Some have forked out £300+ for a set of silicone hoses (plus several hours labour) & are still suffering problems.

Best to stick to the standard Mada hoses - we know they last at least 15 years & replace them as nessacary BUT try to avoid jubilee clips when you change them over, keep to the originals if poss, they allow for expansion when hot & will keep your system tighter for longer & avoid future weeps.

[apole]

Hi,

From personal experience I have replaced all of mine. Had 2 go over the years on a late 2000 model year petrol. Luckily both went when the car wasn't being driven, one being to the rear heater matrix, the other one of the larger pipes from the stat. All of my pipes looked and felt okay, however big or small should one let go then you loose coolant and risk damaging your engine at worse, and having a bad trip stuck by the side of the road at the very least.

I used genuine mazda hoses, firstly because they will definitely fit, and secondly I found the price and the delivery time from Mazda much faster (probably different with the diesel model). I was in urgent need so the known product as fast as possible was the way to go for me.

I would not recommend standard jubilee clips, they seem to leak over time and looked to have been the cause of the leak (due to the pipe being damaged) on the main rad hose that leaked recently.

I used the norma constant tension clips from Haydn, I was very impressed with those. The other option is to get the spring loaded clips from Mazda, a bit more fiddly to install but both give a constant pressure, akin to those elasticated hooks you use on a roofrack compared to string which works loose over time !!

The bongo mechanic that changed my hoses did not suggest re-using the old spring loaded clips (although visually they looked fine). For the small extra cost of the new clips it is worthwhile for peace of mind and knowing you should be okay for a few more years.

If you have a coolant alarm, get it installed asap, it's not hard and is invaluable insurance !! Also make sure you don't drive the car until it's properly fixed and bled, suggest you renew the coolant completely whilst you are at it, rather than top up and risk mixing 2 types that don't get on.

Andy

[k6chris]

Newbie question alert.....how much does it cost to replace all the hoses...ie if I took it to a Bongo garage and said 'make it so', what is the damage likely to be?

From what I am reading, Bongo ownership sounds a bit like "Trigger's broom"

Cheers

Chris

[dollyanna]

Ok, spoke to the garage this morning and at east two main hoses have corroded, the ones going to the top and bottom of the radiator. They did suggest changing them a because the others are not in great condition either. Given that the bongo shop is closed until 15/11, the best price for a full set of hoses seems to be from ava leisure via ebay, they are doing the set of 5 for about £80. Is there just the five to worry about or should I be looking for more from somewhere? It would seem from various comments that it would be worth getting the thermostat changed too, so I will order one at the same time. Where is the best place to get the tension clips from? Garage suggested jubilee clips but it would seem these are not the best, so I would rather stick with whatever mazda use, but not sure what they are called to look for them!

Thanks for all the help, I am hoping that I have been lucky and it is just the hoses, but I'm guessing I won't know for sure until these are replaced and the whole thing can be pressure tested again??

[apole]

Hi,

Best prices I found were from Mazda direct. Clips I'd recommend the norma constant tension ones, Haydn has a supply. They are very good and like you say standard jubilee ones aren't anywhere near as good IMO.

Andy

[ptatham]

The radiator on my bongo went last week, so after a bit of a hammering on my credit card I bought 5 hoses (AVA Leisure), a new rad, norma constant pressure clamps (thanks Haydn - spares on their way back to you), and the ridiculously long metal pipe which feeds the front heater matrix from the t piece under the drivers footstep, from Bongobits (which the small over the startermotor pipe you are referring to connects to), as the metal t peice itself had failed at the weld and was weeping slightly.

Once the rad (A video on youtube helps) is out the fitting of the pipes is a doddle...but the long metal pipe is a real swine, unless you are the baddy from Terminator 2, as one bolt is almost totally inaccessible. The videos on Youtube are great, and make bleeding the Bongo a striaghtforward logical process.

I have modified the temp gauge which is a very worthwhile activity, as reacts very well to temp variations. Not got a coolant alarm yet....