Bongo Fury

HI, IV FINALLY GOT ROUND TO FIGURING OUT HOW TO USE THE FORUM DIDNT THINK NEEDED TO REGISTER AFTER SORTING OUT MEMBERSHIP.

JUST GOING TO GIVE A QUICK BRIEF ON THE EVENTS OF THE LAST 3 WEEKS.

BONGO OVERHEATED BIG TIME LOADS OF WHITE SMOKE FROM EXHAUST DEFINATE HEAD GASKET GONE, GOT QUOTES TO DO THE JOB FAR TOO EXPENSIVE FOR MY BUDGET, SO WITH THE HELP OF THIS PRICELESS WEBSITE I DECIDED TO HAVE A CRACK AT IT MYSELF, GOT HEAD OF NOT TO MUCH TROUBLE ENJOYED IT ACTUALLY SENT IT TO GET A PRESSURE TEST AND SKIM, I FLEW OFF TO EGYPT FOR A WEEKS SUN AND TO FORGET WHERE EVERYTHING WENT WHEN I TOOK IT APART.

COME HOME TO FIND THAT ITS CRACKED, NOT PLEASED, ORDERED NEW HEAD AND EVERY FILTER POSSIBLE PLUS CAM BELT AND TENSIONER NEW BELTS ALL ROUND NEW THERMOSTATE HEAD BOLTS AND CASKET SET AND EGR BLANKING PLATES, STARTING TO GET EXPENSIVE BUT STILL CHEAPER THAN TO GET A GARAGE TO DO JUST THE HEAD GASKET.

I FITTED THE NEW HEAD, IF YOU CAN USE A SPANNER AND DONT MIND BLOODY KNUCKLES AND THE ODD BOLT TRYING YOUR TEMPER ITS SUPRISINGLY EASY,I REMOVED RAD AND FLUSH THROUGH. START HER UP BLEED THE SYSTEM AS PER FACT SHEET EVEYTHING LOOKING SWEET GO FOR A DRIVE STILL OK ACCELARATE ON TO MOTORWAY AND THE TEMPERTURE GUAGE SHOOTS UP, NURSE HER BACK HOME THOUGHT ABOUT BUYING NEW RAD BUT THOUGHT ILL TRY DRILLING HOLES INTO THERMOSTATE, 3 SMALL ONES, RE BLEED SYSTEM AGAIN BOTTOM HOSE WARMS UP AS PER THE FACT SHEET AND RAD FEELS WARM ALL OVER SO DOESNT SEEM TO ME TO BE BLOCKED, NOW EVERYTHING IS WORKING SPOT ON BEEN OUT ALL DAY IN IT UP AND DOWN MOTORWAYS TEMP GUAGE AT 1030 WARM AIR JUST AS NORMAL.

LIKE DISCUSSED BEFORE IN THE FORUM ABOUT THE BYPASS PIPE MUST BE SOMETHING LIKE THAT. OR THE NEW THERMOSTATES BEING SUPPLIED ARENT UPTO THE JOB LIKE THE ORIGINALS I DONT KNOW, I REMEMBER ON THE OLD RENAULT 5 TURBOS WE USE TO REMOVE THEM ALL TOGETHER THEY WERE KNOWN FOR RUNNING HOT SOME COMPANYS EVEN MADE THERMOSTATES THAT OPENED AT A LOWER TEMPERATURE COULD BE A IDEA?. BUT TOUCH WOOD ALL SEEMS FINE, I READ EARLY IN THE FORUM SOMEONE SAY THAT THEY WONT BE ABLE TO TELL IF THE HEADS HOT WITH HOLES IN THE THERMOSTATE BUT CORRECT ME IF IM WRONG SURLEY ITS COOLER FOR THE HEAD AT LEAST THE RAD IS DOING ITS JOB NOW AND THE WATER TEMP AT THE SENSOR ISNT GOING TO CHANGE?

WELL I HOPE THIS MIGHT HELP SOME PEOPLE ITS SAVED ME A FEW QUID AND I KNOW ITS BEEN DONE WITH GOOD OIL AND FILTERS I NOW KNOW THE BONGO ALOT BETTER, AND THERES SELF PRIDE SO ID RECOMEND IT GET STUCK IN. ID APPRECIATE ANY SUGGESTIONS IF IV MISSED ANYTHING THANKS

J

Well done jamesnjane!
Hopefully its all sorted now eh?

glad you sorted it out, little tip for the forum ,TURN YOUR CAPS OFF.

Well done for "sorting your problem" but have you? surley by drilling holes in your stat you are just hiding whatever the real underlying problem is. If you put the right stat in (82c) it should all be working without drilling holes. If it overheats then somthing is wrong and needs sorting. There is a long running topic on here at the moment that covers all this and drilling holes has been tried and although it may appear to solve the problem. the problem is, in fact still there

I am keeping in the know by reading all the posts on overheating, thermostats, boiling etc and still cannot see a clear cut reason for overheating, as Haydn previously said 'the problem is still there'.

What we do not know is whether the thermostat is opening but the water flow is restricted by a blocked radiator, a useless water pump, a blocked water system, a collapsed water hose.

What we really need is some-one with an overheating engine who really wants to get to the bottom of the problem to carry out a few tests, does the thermostat open, is the rad blocked, does the water circulate through the crankcase, cylinder head OK.

My Bongo supposedly runs normal, my top hose gets hot, the rad is hot for about a third of the way down but the bottom hose is cold. But is this normal? When the weather warms up we may find that Bongos that at the moment are not overheating will overheat on a hot day, then we will have to think again and find the cause.................... perhaps one day all will be revealed.

Agree with haydn. The good work you've done stands, thats gret and really pleased for you. And it may be you can carry on as you are for a while. BUT I would join in the campaign thats running at the moment to find out WHY it is the Bongo does this kind of thing. There is something not right in the coolant circulation (and I dont think its a faulty thermostat much as - like you - I wish it was). You'll be chuffed to bits when you get THAT sorted. But meantime, take a break as it sounds like it is going along OK, and then take a deep breath and....

Mike

Agreed...and how come SOME bongo's seem to be more prone to overheating than others? Obviously the examples with nothing wrong with them dont overheat... but i have read many times on the forum about various people that have "cured" the overheating problems, then weeks later they are back to square one again... I dont accept that ALL of them have not bled the system as per the bongo bible..... Incidentally, i used my own method for bleeding the system seven or eight months ago, and all seems well (touchwood) I had lost a fair chunk of coolant due to forgetting to replace the header tank cap DOH!

While there may be problems in other directions which cause over heating
it is normal in cold weather and light loading that very little water passes
through the main radiator. In the summer the bypass systems are not
sufficient to keep the engine below normal working temperature and the
thermostat opens to pass more water through the radiator.

The majority of vehicles use a thermostat in the flow at the top of the
cylinder head and this may not open until the temperature reaches well
over 90 degrees C and may not be fully open until over 100 degrees C.

The Bongo thermostat is in the return to the engine and it's imperetive
that the correct temperature range is used, as has been said many times
before, this should be 82 degrees C. It has been known that some garages
have fitted the wrong temperature range thermostat which may appear to
work in the winter but will certainly cause overheating problems in the
summer.

This may not be the problem, but it's certainly worth consideration.

hi if you are going to fit a new head its worth taking rad out and get it flow tested , any rad firm will test it ,i replace rads if the flow rate is 10pc down

I agree that in cool weather and gentle driving the stat does not open and the engine stays below temp. I also think that when bleeding it can be possible to leave a bubble of air just below the stat in the vertical bit of hose. When things do get a bit hotter and for whatever reason the stat opens this bubble releases into the highest point of the engine (the head) cannot get to the expansion tank and BONGO instant meltdown. What do you all think???

Jamesnjane, I am very impressed that you attempted all that work - it is a daunting project and not one that I or virtually all of the Bongo owners could possibly even contemplate.

Well done for getting a successful conclusion.

However you must have had some doubts as to whether you would be able to finish it as amongst the parts that you ordered was a

.............. CASKET SET !!!!!!!

Hi all, caps lock off!!!!

Shame about the casket set im sure i ordered a gasket never mind still fitted i fully agree about there being a underlying problem but short of removing the entire cooling system i think its going to be a tough one to get a round, i dont have the funds at the moment to replace a rad and water pump yet so the holey thermostate will have to do, as long as my head is nice and cool ill be happy for the time being, does anyone else feel like there not waching the road enough just constant eyes on the temp guage??? i might fit one of them big boy racer guages that sit on the dash you can even set alarms for them if they reach a certain temp.

J

Give mikeonb4c a shout, he could probably make you a head-up display in next to no time !!!.

Not a bad idea at all 2sticks. An audio warning ought to be possible to wire into the temp gauge circuit. We need one of the electrickery gurus to tell us how though as serious car mechanics are outside my zone of competence. But what a great idea. Anyone brave enough to give it a go?

an audible alarm would save people hundreds of pounds in repair bills, it would of saved me my cracked head if i could of noticed the guage flying up.