Bongo Fury

driving about town the bus does'nt seem to go into third gear, not sure if this is right or not as its the first time i've had an automatic,

has any body got a list of rev/speeds at which the gearbox should change up, wife keeps asking why i keep waving my left hand around near the cubby hole also how many gears does it have ive heard only 3 in drive?

many thanks

ps first time on a long run this afternoon since getting it. very nervous.

Darkstar wrote:
has any body got a list of rev/speeds at which the gearbox should change up, .......also how many gears does it have......?

Good question(s) - been wondering the same myself so will be very interested in replies.

That depends on how deep your foot is buried in the carpet.

The possibilities are infinite and the auto box decides when and if depending on your requirement (throttle position) and load (uphill, downhill, laden, unladen - etc.)

Mine will go into lock-up top at 37mph/1500rpm pootling around gently or at 70+ at 4000rpm if booting it uphill away from a roundabout.

scanner wrote:That depends on how deep your foot is buried in the carpet.

The possibilities are infinite and the auto box decides when and if depending on your requirement (throttle position) and load (uphill, downhill, laden, unladen - etc.)

Mine will go into lock-up top at 37mph/1500rpm pootling around gently or at 70+ at 4000rpm if booting it uphill away from a roundabout.

appreciate the foot to the floor syndrome, just wanted to know under normal driving conditions,

Darkstar wrote:

scanner wrote:That depends on how deep your foot is buried in the carpet.

The possibilities are infinite and the auto box decides when and if depending on your requirement (throttle position) and load (uphill, downhill, laden, unladen - etc.)

Mine will go into lock-up top at 37mph/1500rpm pootling around gently or at 70+ at 4000rpm if booting it uphill away from a roundabout.

appreciate the foot to the floor syndrome, just wanted to know under normal driving conditions,

But what's "normal"?

The auto box has 4 gears not 3. It will not change up to 4th until it is warmed up,maybe about 10 minutes.
Mick

Mickymouse wrote:The auto box has 4 gears not 3. It will not change up to 4th. until it is warmed up,maybe about 10 minutes.
Mick

It will change into 4th, but the torque converter won't lock up until it's warm.

scanner wrote:

Mickymouse wrote:The auto box has 4 gears not 3. It will not change up to 4th. until it is warmed up,maybe about 10 minutes.
Mick

It will change into 4th, but the torque converter won't lock up until it's warm.

Mickymouse is correct, they will not command 4th until the engine (not the gearbox) has got to a certain temp, it then has to get a little warmer to get the l/up to function.

As stated the gearbox has 4 gears & it also has a lock up clutch in the torque converter (to prevent overheating & to aid fuel economy), It will select 3rd on a light throttle (normal town driving) below 30 & top at about 37. Lock up will come in a little later & feels like another (5th) gear (it isn't). At any point between light throttle & flat out the changes are infinitely variable as it depends on throttle position & road speed.

Alacrity wrote:

scanner wrote:

Mickymouse wrote:The auto box has 4 gears not 3. It will not change up to 4th. until it is warmed up,maybe about 10 minutes.
Mick

It will change into 4th, but the torque converter won't lock up until it's warm.

Mickymouse is correct, they will not command 4th until the engine (not the gearbox) has got to a certain temp, it then has to get a little warmer to get the l/up to function.

As stated the gearbox has 4 gears & it also has a lock up clutch in the torque converter (to prevent overheating & to aid fuel economy), It will select 3rd on a light throttle (normal town driving) below 30 & top at about 37. Lock up will come in a little later & feels like another (5th) gear (it isn't). At any point between light throttle & flat out the changes are infinitely variable as it depends on throttle position & road speed.

Mine appears to have changed up into 4th quite a while before it finally locks up in top and doesn't seem to need to warm up much to do it. This time of year it is locking up within about a mile of starting off from cold.

You will notice it all changes in colder weather when the engine takes longer to warm up.

given mine has "warmed up" and that depends on the time of year (ambient temperature) , mine in goes into top at about 44 MPH, so in town open roads , i do, nt take it up to 45 MPH ,so that its in top gear , then ease off the throttle slowly so that it stays in top gear right down to 33 MPH so at that point the RPM is about 800-900, so engine running really slow ,but tickety booing along quite nicely.

so basically it will never go into top gear around town (30mph), i guess i get used to it along with the roll and how far to press the pedal out of roundabouts, have'nt got the hang of that yet, at least my left legs stop reaching for the clutch

Darkstar wrote:so basically it will never go into top gear around town (30mph), i guess i get used to it along with the roll and how far to press the pedal out of roundabouts, have'nt got the hang of that yet, at least my left legs stop reaching for the clutch

Thats right, 1, 2 & 3 only unless you get over 37mph(ish)

So as long as it changes again after that speed, you don't need to worry.

I find the worst feature of the Bongo autobox is it tempts me to speed in 30 mph zones as I want to stay in lockup and gain economy. But given its such a great box, I can live with that little niggle (speed cameras help too )