Bongo Fury

Posted: **Wed Apr 11, 2018 11:19 pm**

Very true!

Not many for sale around here so will go and look anyways and also keep checking locally for others

Must remember head must overrule heart

Posted: **Mon May 14, 2018 2:32 pm**

It's been a while but I thought I'd give an update. The bongo lives again! It was a cracked head as suspected, we decided to go for it and get that plus anything else needed to get a new mot done. ADS in Bristol were really good, they could see what a position we were in and did their best to keep the costs down.
So the good news is the van is behaving well, the weather is lovely and we've just come back from Cornwall having had a brilliant long weekend!

A few posts back someone asked if the low water alarm went off. The answer is no it didn't. I think what happened is the engine crack pressurised the water system, water ended up coming out of the reserve tank tank. I think the crack was already there rather than being caused by the lack of water.

Thanks again for everyone's help.

Posted: **Mon May 14, 2018 7:25 pm**

Well done, glad you're sorted.

Posted: **Mon May 14, 2018 8:29 pm**

That's good news, and thanks for updating the thread. So many of these stories go unfinished.

Glad you're up and running again.

Posted: **Tue May 15, 2018 4:51 pm**

tacky wrote: Mon May 14, 2018 2:32 pm It's been a while but I thought I'd give an update. The bongo lives again! It was a cracked head as suspected, we decided to go for it and get that plus anything else needed to get a new mot done. ADS in Bristol were really good, they could see what a position we were in and did their best to keep the costs down.
So the good news is the van is behaving well, the weather is lovely and we've just come back from Cornwall having had a brilliant long weekend!

A few posts back someone asked if the low water alarm went off. The answer is no it didn't. I think what happened is the engine crack pressurised the water system, water ended up coming out of the reserve tank tank. I think the crack was already there rather than being caused by the lack of water.

Thanks again for everyone's help.

Great you're now sorted and can hopefully put it all behind you and have many happy outings in what is a great little campervan. I do strongly suspect though that there was a problem with the van when you bought it. The low coolant alarm is great for warning of coolant loss due to a leak in a healthy engine in my experience but i can see there could be circumstances where it might be fooled by a sick engine. Did the dealer offer any £s support in getting it fixed?

Posted: **Tue May 15, 2018 5:26 pm**

Classic campers weren't any help when things went wrong. I doubt they are setting out to shift knackard vans but it's worth thinking about what kind of back up/warranty they offer. An agreement in writing up front would be a good idea. I assumed that the van would be ok and it was only when we had a problem did we discover that there wasn't any come back or help available. All of that is probably good advice no matter where you get you bongo from.

Did I mention we are off bongo'ing again this weekend

Woohoo!

Posted: **Tue May 15, 2018 6:50 pm**

tacky wrote: Tue May 15, 2018 5:26 pm Classic campers weren't any help when things went wrong. I doubt they are setting out to shift knackard vans but it's worth thinking about what kind of back up/warranty they offer. An agreement in writing up front would be a good idea. I assumed that the van would be ok and it was only when we had a problem did we discover that there wasn't any come back or help available. All of that is probably good advice no matter where you get you bongo from.

Did I mention we are off bongo'ing again this weekend Woohoo!

Yup, maybe best put it down as lesson learned and get on and enjoy Bongoing. Still think they could have behaved more honorably though

Posted: **Tue May 15, 2018 7:56 pm**

and give that trader a wide berth!

Posted: **Tue May 15, 2018 10:37 pm**

Thanks Tacky for the heads up, you probably saved me grief. Have sent you a pm with my experiences with them.

In summary CC seem ok and probably better than buying privately if you're careful and realistic.

If you can take someone along that knows how to vet Bongos that would be the best and safest solution of all. Private purchase of a 20year old van has to be riskier with no sale of goods cover.

Posted: **Wed May 16, 2018 9:26 pm**

tacky wrote: Tue Feb 20, 2018 3:22 pm Thanks for all your thoughts. It's a tricky decision, in a way it would be better if the cost was either £1000 or £10,000. It would certainly be easier to make up our mind what to do!

Having had a good chat to the garage who are looking at it (ADS) I think the rest of the van is in pretty good shape. No horrible bodge welding etc. So what we are going to do is replace the hoses and get the pressure test done. There's a chance the head isn't at fault and if it is at least I'll know.

As for how much classic campers knew about the problems with the van, it's hard to say. What I can say is they aren't helping resolve the situation. I would have hoped they would offer to do the repairs at something approaching cost price. In the end there was no benefit paying over the odds buying the van from them.

Fingers crossed with the pressure test, let's hope for a bit of luck!

You can pressure test the head without buying hoses, it can be done with a few bits of thick perspex some bolts and some gasket material. See YouTube
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=A26KfDj6wAM

Your in the exact same position I was, I chose to forgo the head test bought a new one and then ended up replacing way more than I expected to
a cylinder head replacement is definitely diy-able it took me about three weeks of evenings (no prior experience) but I replaced every rubber hose, the rad and various other bits. It's done now I know intimately what state the engine is at which is priceless - well actually it's priced at approx £2k

- It's that knowledge your gambling with, the replace with another unknown bongo.

Posted: **Wed May 16, 2018 10:09 pm**

Ah just got to the end, glad your sorted now.
May I ask what you ended up having done and what the total cost was?

Bongo Fury

Is my bongo just scrap?

Re: Is my bongo just scrap?

Re: Is my bongo just scrap?

Re: Is my bongo just scrap?

Re: Is my bongo just scrap?

Re: Is my bongo just scrap?

Re: Is my bongo just scrap?

Re: Is my bongo just scrap?

Re: Is my bongo just scrap?

Re: Is my bongo just scrap?

Re: Is my bongo just scrap?

Re: Is my bongo just scrap?