Green fluid in the road....V6

[hooch]

Hi Bongo techies - Any ideas on this:

I took the family out in the Bongo this evening - After about 9 miles of driving (up some fairly steep hills) - we reached our destination. About 5 minutes after I parked up the expansion tank dumped about 1 litre of coolant - I think out of the overflow tube.

Prior to this the temperature gauge looked fine - The van seemed to be driving well.

I topped up - hence knowing it was about 1 litre short and checked the hoses - All seems okay. I did notice that the hose coming into the radiator at the top on the left hand side was pretty hot - The one on the lower right side really quite cool > Not sure if this indicates that the radiator is doing it's job correctly or not?

Next step - I left the van for 40 mins to cool down - Then drove it very gingerly home - with the heating on full blast to assist with cooling. The only other thing worth a mention is that in all this time the engine cooling fan did not come on.

On arriving home I removed the expansion tank cap - There was a little pressure but not much - The water does not seem to be bubbling up or anything of the sort...

The question is - What's going on? Is my head gasket about to go pop? How can I test to make sure everything is as it should be?

Any ideas / observations gratefully appreciated.

[mikeWalsall]

Some garages .. and most radiator 'specialists' can test the cooling system for leaks by pressurising the system visually checking for leaks but also timing how long it holds / loses pressure ..

But generally that test may not indicate head problems ..

I have notice particularly on FB .. people generalising and remarking about head gaskets 'going' ...

Just wondering where this term as this come from .. ??

From my limited knowledge (with diesels in particular) .. it is very rare (but can happen) for a diesel head gasket to 'go' .. more like the head cracking between the valves ..

[hooch]

I've been on google researching since I got back. Think it could be a dodgy thermostat not letting the water get though the radiator properly? Or ECT Sensor?

Bottom line I think I'll have to get her to the garage.....

Not a good time of year for the old girl to go on the blink - with the holidays coming up... :0(

Should add I have the V6 petrol.

[hooch]

Can anyone recommend a good garage for dealing with coolant issues near Taunton, Somerset?

[mikeWalsall]

Mine is the V6 .. seems rare to have 'megga' cooling issues with them ..

Mine as been great the three / half years I have had her ..

Maybe have a search for a local radiator specialist company who can do a cooling system pressure test for you ..??

It's a very simple job (bung / pressure gauge in the header tank .. pump some air in .. and time for pressure drop and visually check for leaks) ..

Bit to far for you .. but the one close to me Wednesbury Radiators (West Midlands) used to do it free while you waited and watched ..

[Simon Jones]

Can anyone recommend a good garage for dealing with coolant issues near Taunton, Somerset?

I've used Bellhill Garage at Norton St Philip and they are one of original and best Bongo garages. They're on the Trowbridge side of Bath so a good few miles away, but might be worth giving Tom a call for advice before setting off.

[hooch]

Called a garage this morning - They said that the V6 was far less prone to head issues than the diesel.

Their advice was to replace the thermostat and then go from there. The other test they recommended was for exhaust gases in the expansion vessel - Although they said that this was an expensive test and that I should try the thermostat first.... Now they seem to be about £50 for the part - I feel this is going to become a slow and expensive process :0(

[mikeWalsall]

A thing to remember is the newest Bongo on the road is ten years old (mine is seventeen) the cooling system can get crudded up in that time ...

Also the Japanese are very fond of the red waterless coolant ... which will not tolerate topping up with normal coolant or water as it turns to jelly ..

[hooch]

New thermostat on the way - garage booked - fingers crossed :0)

Thanks for all your advice fellow bongoers

[windywatson]

Hi, One other thing to consider is this. You didn't mention whether the cooling fans had kicked in or not. We've been having some hot weather recently and you may have had an over heat due to the fans not having cut in when engine very hot and then lost coolant due to the expansion bottle cap relieving the excess pressure. It may be worth your while whilst in the garage to have that checked. Be a shame to have the thermostat changed & have it over heat again.
I have 2 V6's one is 18 & other 14 years old both have been very reliable and never had head casket or overheating problems. You didn't say weather you have a low coolant alarm fitted. If not it is well worth having it done.
Picked up my van when it had had a cam belt change done which necessitates a hose removal to do job. When the garage refilled & bleed system they didn't get it bleed correctly. Once I'd covered some distance on way home & the water dropped as all of the air made its way to the header the alarm went off. I was able to stop investigate & top up with a few litres of coolant. Don't know what damage I would have done if I'd driven it with that amount low. So invest in one if you don't have one.

Cheers