Bongo Fury

A pressure test of the cooling system won't hurt, and if the coolant has dropped below the header tank the system will need bleeding.

There are three Youtube videos showing how to do this.

If the garage isn't familiar with Bongos they need to understand how to do it - it is very important.

Thank you.

I believe that only one of their mechanics is allowed to deal with Bongo coolant systems* - I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that I can keep the old girl going for another wee while. I should have seen to it before, but I'm afraid that everything else went pear-shaped at the same time. Thought I could get off with it , cos I wasn't going anywhere... You know what they say about 'What thought did...'


*The garage owner once told me 'We can only do it when X is available - there's a very specific way of dealing with Bongos...'

Good news they have a Bongo expert.

Yup.

Hi

I am new here and have recently bought our first bongo (an old cheaply but all we could afford), we love it and have tidied it up and kitted it out how we want it.
However from day 1 (1 month ago) I’ve been paranoid about the coolant system, first thing I did was fit a Hayden’s alarm. I’ve had the system drained refilled and bleed (when they refilled it they said they had to flush it 3 times before they could get all the crap out and it would run at normal temp. It was also full of water not coolant). I now think/know I am loosing small amounts of coolant from the system as the after a while/a few day the alarm goes off and the level is down. I can’t find any obvious leaks but it looks like there is coolant on my leisure battery tray? Is it coming out of the header tank over flow and if so why? Thanks for any pointers. I’m paranoid about the coolant and that my head has gone. We love the van already and have already had loads of fun with the family but I just want to keep it going as long as we can.
Thanks

Hi, and welcome to the Forum.

Sadly it's impossible to say where the leak is.

I can only recommend a pressure test, or put some UV dye in the system and use a lamp to see where it's going.

Bear in mind if the coolant drops below the header tank it must be bled again.

I'm guessing you have a diesel?

Edit: A rough location is a big help, and are you using a Bongo savvy garage?

If your leisure battery tray is collecting coolant ( do a taste test to confirm it’s coolant ) and if it’s coming from the tank overflow. First check the tank is not overfilled.....if you can’t see the level dip a dry stick vertically into the tank and it should show about 2 cms wet....anymore is overfilledlll
Check that and report back

Sorry for not getting back sooner, I think it probably was over filled. But I found on longer journeys the level was dropping and setting off the alarm. I’ve currently got it in the garage and they are looking at changing all the coolant pipes as there is lots of ‘patches’ and old corroded pipe. The alarm makes a constant beeping when I start the engine for about 10 seconds then goes off, is this right?

Gill9 wrote: Thu May 13, 2021 1:22 pmThe alarm makes a constant beeping when I start the engine for about 10 seconds then goes off, is this right?

Yes, that's how it should be.

Ok thanks.

10 secs is about 8 secs tooooooo loooooong. Can be caused by the coolant level being a little bit low or weak antifreeze ( you need 30%)

I had the system bled and refilled and it was still like this, but I’m in the middle of having all the pipes completely replaced so will see how it is after.thanks

I think I read on here that fresh coolant can coat the screw in the header tank.

I have taken that sensor screw out and scrubbed it with a wire brush before and the long beep goes back to about 2 seconds

If they filled it with Red antifreeze then the screw will indeed probably need cleaning or replacing

Ok thanks I’ll give it a clean although it is blue antifreeze in the system. Can use any screw to replace it?