Bongo Fury

i have recently purchased a '97 2 wheel drive high top friendee .I had a hose go last month with steam coming out,garage picked it up and fixed it under warranty.since then i have done two 500 mile round trips and on both occasions found the expansion tank was low ,garage had told me to keep it about 3 quarters full.The temp gauge is always around 11 o'clock position.I have noticed that when camped up at night the centre console is quite warm for an hour or two after parking but doent feel particularly warm when driving ,i have had air con on when driving.Only other thing is i get a burst of white smoke for a couple of seconds when starting.Dont know anything about engines so thought someone might let me know if these are normal and i am being an over protective mum or if 'Dora the Explorer 'needs another visit to the garage.

hi please put on your location so people can advise locally.
the expansion tank level should be at the full mark on the tank side,anymore and it may chuck it out.if you cannot see the level,get a lolly stick with a mark 20mm from the bottom,and dip the stick in WHEN ENGINE/COOLANT IS COLD
once it has been established that the system is holding the coolant or leaking you will know if there are problems or not

a little white smoke on initial start up seems to be the norm,so i wouldnt worry.

the console getting warm also seems normal, its above the engine.

the most important thing is the temp gauge,it is damped down,so does not accuratly tel you whats going on,until its to late.
fit one of the good modifications to make the gauge more accurate or fit an extra device to see what is really going on.
a low coolant alarm may also help you .

hotcrossbunny wrote:i have recently purchased a '97 2 wheel drive high top friendee .I had a hose go last month with steam coming out,garage picked it up and fixed it under warranty.since then i have done two 500 mile round trips and on both occasions found the expansion tank was low ,garage had told me to keep it about 3 quarters full.The temp gauge is always around 11 o'clock position.I have noticed that when camped up at night the centre console is quite warm for an hour or two after parking but doent feel particularly warm when driving ,i have had air con on when driving.Only other thing is i get a burst of white smoke for a couple of seconds when starting.Dont know anything about engines so thought someone might let me know if these are normal and i am being an over protective mum or if 'Dora the Explorer 'needs another visit to the garage.

Welcome dude. Centre console staying warm is expected with big hot lump underneath it, and is a useful design feature in many ways (like day picnics in cold weather etc.). Hard to comment on whether it is over-hot without you having a temp sensor in a standard position. You shouldn't really get white(ish) smoke out of a healthy Bongo (expect or unless linked with lumpy starting, when it may be uncombusted fuel - I'm assuming this is a diesel?), and you shouldn't need to be topping up the header tank at all really. When the hose went, do you know if the system boiled dry? In a way it was fair of the garage to fix hose under warranty as it is hard to spot/predict this kind of thing on an old Bongo - its normal wear and tear too. If other damage has been done, it may be hard to get them to pay, but it is under warranty and you should resolve this ASAP. Where are you? Can you get an independent check done by a Bongo specialist? Etc.

Come back with any more queries and good luck

i am in fife. the engine starts ok every time just chucks white smoke for a couple of secs.I stopped the sec i saw steam last time and the garage said there was still plenty of coolant in the system, they did a pressure test after replacing the hose and said it was ok.