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Head Gasket
Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 7:54 am
by Purple Patch
Pretty sure the Head gasket has gone 
Need to try and find Bongo friendly garage or mechanic in the High Wycombe area. Does anyone please know of anybody?
Re: Head Gasket
Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 8:50 am
by haydn callow
Should be someone along to help soon......Why the gasket and why do you not suspect the cylinder head ??? has it overheated ??
Re: Head Gasket
Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 9:49 am
by mikeonb4c
Welcome Purple Patch and sorry to hear of your woes.
I think this job could quite reasonably be done by any competent mechanic - several member have (or are) DIYing their own right now.
As Haydn implies, you would want to get the head tested for cracks / leaks etc. as port of the job. If its a gonner, a complete head kit is available from the Bongo Shop at a sensible price (avoid cheap products on ebay) and can be delivered straight to your garage of choice so it all remains within their work warranty. For the rest, the key points (from BF member Simon Jones who successfully did his some time back) seem to be to ensure the block is flatted off properly, and to use Wellseal gasket sealant. And the garage MUST bleed the system properly. Also, what caused the overheat? Burst hose? water pump? blocked radiator? etc. I'd recommend fitting a new (Mazda - not blueprint) thermostat as port of the job, and ensure no other cooling system components are faulty.
Have a search on here and you will find tons to read on this.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Re: Head Gasket
Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 12:24 pm
by missfixit70
Have a read through this one for suggestions of things to check first -
http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... =3&t=39643 if you haven't already.
There's a list of Bongo friendly garages in the members area if that helps you get on with trying to sort it.
Re: Head Gasket
Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2010 9:26 am
by Purple Patch
Thanks for your suggestions guys. Not a car person but a recommended "bongo friendly" garage in HW are picking it up tomorrow and I will brief them re the points you guys have raised.
Fingers crossed 
and will keep you posted.
Re: Head Gasket
Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2010 10:31 am
by mikeonb4c
Purple Patch wrote:Thanks for your suggestions guys. Not a car person but a recommended "bongo friendly" garage in HW are picking it up tomorrow and I will brief them re the points you guys have raised.
Fingers crossed and will keep you posted.
Goodo - make sure they understand and follow the proper bleeding procedure for a Bongo - its most important they do, in order to ensure no air left in the system. Once you have drained the system and tightened the radiator drain plug (and replaced the drain plug as in the pic below if you have removed it - the manual says you should drain from it, but I never have as it means removing the engine undercover)
...the workshop manual method is:
10. Set the air bleed hose downward as shown in the diagram [hooked over steering wheel]
11. Set down a container for draining coolant
12. Remove the [radiator] filler cap
13. Fill the coolant to the upper surface of the radiator
14. Attach the filler cap
15. Fill the coolant to the radiator reservoir tank flange surface
Caution
* Remove the reservoir tank cap to bleed air
* A/C Switch should be turned off
16.Start the engine and idle for approximately 10 minutes to warm up
Caution
If any of the following phenomena occurs, stop the engine to lower the water temperature as filling is incomplete. After water temperature is lowered, repeat steps from (15)
(1) Water temperature rises too high
(2) Cooling fan operates
(3) Steam comes out constantly from the air bleed hose
17. Perform the following operations after the engine is warmed up
(1) Keep the engine running at 2500rpm for 6 minutes
Warning
When checking the lower radiator hose (radiator side), be aware of burns or getting caught in the cooling fan.
(2) Check the lower radiator hose (radiator side) is warm. If it is cold, keep the engine running at 2500rpm for 3 minutes, then check again if the radiator hose is warm.
(3) Fill with coolant up to the radiator reservoir tank flange surface
Warning
When attaching the air bleed hose plug, the air bleed hose should be facing upwards as it could cause a burn if it leaks on you
(4) Attach the air bleed hose plug as shown in the diagram
(5) Attach the reservoir tank cap
(6) Keep the engine running at 2500rpm for 5 minutes
(7) Keep the engine idling for 3 minutes
(8) Keep the engine running at 2500rpm for 5 seconds then return to idling status. Repeat this 4 to 5 times.
18. Stop the engine and check the coolant level after coolant temperature has lowered.
there is an alternative method used by Haydn, but I don't have it to hand. Be wary of the factsheet in the members area as another member (Ronhud) said he found it had some inaccuracies when he referred to it recently as we were helping each other bleed our Bongos.
Re: Head Gasket
Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2010 5:25 pm
by Purple Patch
Thanks mikeonb4c - very comprehensive. My mechanic looked at the Bongo before the garage took it away (he didn't have time to do a full check) and thought it actually could just be a pipe. Garage haven't come back to me yet but hopefully they will confirm this and sort it all out without having to charge me a small fortune. They might have to search around to find what caused the problem in the first place but let's wait and see what they say tomorrow.
Re: Head Gasket
Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2010 7:08 pm
by You've Been Bongod
the cause if its a pipe will be age perished pipes can be common due to bongos being upto 15 years old with the same pipes as left factory
Re: Head Gasket
Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2010 11:28 pm
by Aethelric
Steel seal seems to have worked for me -much to my amazement. See
http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... =3&t=38305
Re: Head Gasket
Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 8:51 pm
by chalky
Hi Purple Patch,
The article Kirsty refered you to was my sob story. After a week of testing, I learned today that the head is indeed cracked and needs replacing. My symptoms were heavey coolant loss on a hot engine.
I've had a couple of quotes but I think 1300 quid seems the norm. I feer that with many Bongos approaching the 10-15 year mark, more will surcome to this problem. The Japanese import specialist garage near me has done three in the last two months. This also happens to many other Japanese models of similar age.
Mine is booked in May 4th., after which we are taking it to Switzerland and up into the Alps. Hopefully I will get some good pics and post them on the site.
The head is an expensive job, but the Bongo is a great car. I have recently been looking at alternatives and nothing even comes close to ticking the boxes.
GOOD LUCK.