nice day for... coolant loss

[corblimey]

...well at least the sun is out and the sky is blue

Sat here waiting for the recovery man. Looks like the rad has split. Pulled over as soon as the mason alarm went off, turned the engine off but left the ignition on so the fans were running. There was about an inch of coolant left in the tank and the alarm soon went off. Got everything crossed the head is still sound.

[daveblueozzie]

Finger and toes crossed for ya mate, hope its just the rad and nowt else.

[mikexgough]

...well at least the sun is out and the sky is blue

Sat here waiting for the recovery man. Looks like the rad has split. Pulled over as soon as the mason alarm went off, turned the engine off but left the ignition on so the fans were running. There was about an inch of coolant left in the tank and the alarm soon went off. Got everything crossed the head is still sound.

At least you had coolant left and the Rad (as we know is a weak spot at the top & bottom plastic tanks with age), even my Japanese buddies have suffered the plastic tanks coming away and weep/leaking...
For a replacement rad......get a good 'un.... either JAS or Mazdabongoshop do O.E spec straight fit items...
Hope all bodes well.......

[corblimey]

Cheers. Didn't think about toes, got them crossed too.

When i've got a proper keyboard in front of me i'll post some more details, think I'm going to need a bit of tech advice.

Mechanic just arrived and pour some water in a we can see it bubbling from the top. He suggested radweld and see how we get on. I said NO!
Long wait for a loader now

[helen&tony]

Hi
If you've got 1" of water left in the header tank, (I take it you mean the clear plastic header tank) then you're pretty well O.K.
Whatever you do , get an all metal radiator. Don't go for the plastic top jobbies!
Cheers
Helen

[corblimey]

hi Helen. Had an inch left when I stopped but lost that a little while later. Not sure how long it took to drop but about 1/2 hour later when I looked. temp on the mason moded gauge had dropped quite a bit in that time.

Thanks for the info mike, just had a look at the Mazda bongo shop ones, as you say oe spec for £149. They have plastic tanks though. Mind you the original has too and lasted 15 years.

[helen&tony]

Hi
There are plenty of suppliers who do high specification all metal rads...Try Allans for parts...I have a pure aversion to mixing plastic and metal...It may well last for quite a few years...but then again, it might not!
Anyway...not to worry, you'll be back on the road in a jiffy....my rad did the same nearly 3 years back, and so have lots of others...you should be OK
Cheers
Helen

[corblimey]

Just a little bit of back ground.

Had my van since Nov 2006 and haven't done anything to the cooling system in that time apart from fitting a LCA and a mason alarm.

When I originally fitted my Mason alarm I used a long hill near by which I knew made the van labour. I set it so it would start to chirp towards the top of the hill if it was labouring in a high gear. On rare occasions the alarm has always sounded but it's never worried me since it always stop very quickly.

My LCA is currently unplugged and only last week I thought to myself I should wire it back up as it would be sods law I'd get a problem whilst it was disconnected! If it had been connected it would definitely have sounded.

Since I've never changed the coolant, earlier in the year I took it down to Allan's in Plymouth to have the coolant system flushed, refilled and a new stat fitted. After the work was done I felt the gauge read a little lower than I'd become used to.

So to today and my fun day out to the seaside... driving into Sidmouth on a flat road at about 25 mph and the Mason alarm starts chirping. It took me a few moments to realise that it was a problem but as soon as I twigged I pulled over and turned off the engine. Guess I was driving for 30 secs to a minute from the alarm beginning to chirp and stopping.

As soon as I stopped I turned off the engine but left the ignition on so the fans kept running. I popped the bonnet and saw that water had sprayed out from the top drivers side of the rad but it had stopped when I looked and there was still about 1 inch left in the header tank At no point do I remember seeing the temp gauge hit the stop. I popped the bonnet about 20~30mins later and there was no water left in the header.

When the mechanic arrived he filled the rad with water and pumped it with his finger and we could clearly see it bubbling on the seam between ali and the plastic so I'm as sure as I can be that it's the rad that let go.


I hope it was just the age of the rad and not a pressure build up else where in the system. More importantly I hope the head survived!

So, now I need to get it fixed.

Here's my plan so far, any help / thoughts would be much appreciated.

My local garage will do the work since that's where it got dropped and they've always seemed ok up to now. I'll insist they bleed it properly and provide them with instructions. I was thinking to just replace the rad and see if that fixes it. Does that make sense or is there something else I should be doing too?

Rad prices seem to fluctuate wildly, I've seen anything from £75 to £275. I want a straight replacement so no Ranger rad so there's no confusion at the garage. O.E. spec and preferably all metal. I also need it asap since this is my only vehicle. Can anyone recommend one that they've purchased and fitted?

Also, is there anything else that should be fitted as a mater of course at the same time? What about the rad cap? The one on there now is a 1.1

Thanks for all the help so far.

Cheers

Glenn

[helen&tony]

Hi Glen
If it's already had a new stat, then the new all-metal O.E. pattern rad should suit. Depending on budget, I would have a new waterpump at the same time. I recently replaced mine...I knew it was on its way...occasional leak in low temperature!.
From what you say, It sounds like just a rad. failure...EXACTLY the same signs/ symptoms as everyone else.
When you have had it fixed, I would strongly suggest that you take it down to Allans at your earliest convenience, and have the heater matrices replaced with all metal ones...mine went a while after the radiator, and when they go, they drop coolant like goodness knows what. I was lucky, one failed on my drive, and the other 7 Km up the road, and I stopped in 100 metres, and the water wasn't even warm.
So, presuming that you are lucky, and you have the new radiator, it may seem O.T.T. to have the heaters replaced, but they WILL fail, and they are the same age , and very likely the same condition as the radiator. They, too, are metal and plastic. You can save a bit of lolly by looping a pipe across the vehicle and cutting the rear heater out, and replacing it later...I may still have photos if you wish,to show what I did, so you will be left with just the aircon. in the back, and you can replace the rear heater at your leisure.
Whilst you have the heaters done, I would get the hoses checked, and, yes, the radiator caps are 1.1 bar!...a new one would be good.
Once the work is done, I can't see why your Bongo won't last for a long time!
Should you want pictures of the rear pipework, let me know.
Cheers
Helen

[corblimey]

Ok, I need to get the rad ordered today and fitted asap. Thanks for the heads up re the heater matricies, I'll put that on the list and deal with it as soon as.

But where to get this new rad? I want to order today and the only all ali one I've found is this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mazda-Bongo-Freed ... 19bf73dfe1 but I have no idea as to quality, etc.

I know quite a few have fitted the Mazda Bongo Shop one that Mike suggested and seem happy with the quality so if I can find a reputable all ali one I may plump for that.

Again, where to get a 1.1 cap? All the ones I've seen are 0.9

[daveblueozzie]

PM me your address, ive got a spare bongo radiator cap you can have.Its not new but its yours if you want it.

[corblimey]

Just got my van back from the garage.

Going to take it out for a run now. Short of re-bleeding it myself, is there any way I check it was bled correctly? Anything in particular I should be looking out for?

Wish me luck!

[daveblueozzie]

Just check the coolant regularly for the next few days and keep some ready mixed coolant in the bongo at all times to top up when needed.
With any luck it will have been bled properly ,but check first thing in the morning to make sure.

[corblimey]

Thanks, proved to be very sound advice!

Checked this morning and there was a puddle under the radiator coming from the bottom right as you face the van.

Took it straight back to the garage. Hope this doesn't turn into a saga.

Some observations from my test drive last night

1) Front and rear heaters both blowing hot air.
2) When up to temp and stopped after driving the top hose was hot and the bottom hose was barely lukewarm
3) When up to temp my Mason modded temp gauge is sitting about 12:30pm which is lower than I'm used to (normally about 1:30pm)

I'm no expert in these matters so I don't know if 2) is good or bad

Also, I see they used a jubilee clip for the bottom hose on the rad. Maybe they were struggling to get it to seal with the original constant pressure clip (which is still on the hose).

[skater]

Your 3 observations are consistent with mine.

Mine used to smell hot sometimes before new rad/stat.
Old systems like ours were would likely be running a bit hotter I think.

Hopefully just tighten jubilee but there's a good arguement for using ( new ) original constant pressure clips.

James.