Bongo Fury

It's like this. I am driving around in Jersey in slow moving Sunday traffic when Something doesn't smell right. Most smells go away if they aren't from the car but this one didn't. Pulling up as soon as practical to have a nose around I found the plastic to metal interface on the top of the radiator to be leaking.

Fortunately the level in the header tank had not dropped too much so I was able to top up from the on board water supply. That got me to a garage where I bought some leak stopper. This stopped the leak and got me back home (in Jersey) but the weeping has started again. I'm not too sure it will get me back home to England. I don't really want to install a new rad under less than ideal conditions, working on a complex system with critical bleeding procedures.

I propose, after tapping brains on here, to seal the join externally using 2 mix heat resistant epoxy. I have cleaned away all dirt and degreased with methanol to ensure good adhesion.

Has anyone done this succesfully? I thought it better to ask before proceeding in case it was a bad move. I have Araldited holes in rads before with lasting success.

Does anyone know if there is some sort of gasket used at manufacture between the metal and the plastic which is disintegrating with time? It certainly looks like a poor design which, once leaking will only get worse.

In my case this was probably exacerbated by the boneshaking ride up the ramp on board the "Commodore Clipper" ferry which in the past has done for a hose and a couple of exhausts on previous cars of mine. It is an accelerated life testing jig provided free with every crossing.

I will try and obtain a low coolant alarm and fit that before my journey back home where I can replace the radiator more easily.

I'm only able to check in once a day via cafe wifi.

Grateful for any suggestions,

Frank

between the plastic and metal is a rubber seal.its about 3-4mm round section,and is basically a big O ring.you could try just tapping the LUGS down tighter to get it to seal,but unfortunately it could be leaking and running round the seal edge.
i think you will find that its leaking at the hottest point (drivers side top)top hose inlet to rad.
this is caused by the stat going lazy/faulty,causing the system to over heat and overpressure,and something has to give.as the system gets worse it starts sucking air in,causing airlocks so please be careful.

I agree with Ady.......but as a temporary repair if the leak is not too much and it sounds like a small weep from your description , This will probably get you out of trouble, it's epoxy resin like araldite too and is brilliant BUT temporary repair only and if the leak/weep is not too bad, usual disclaimers apply.....
I have used this to stick metal a plastic together in a project so I know it is good stuff, but it's your call if you want to try it

If you try it & it doesn't work and it weeps still........there is no other option than to change the rad.....cheaper to get a new rad than have a cooked motor...

Hi
You need a new rad...no choice, the matrix is likely to be a bit furred up.
I know you can repair these radiators, as they do it here all the time, and they separate the tank from the matrix, and stick it back with a sealant, but that leaves you with the old matrix.
Epoxy may work, but the best stuff is a putty usually available at model shops, and sometimes hardware stores. It is called "Milliput", and you knead it together in your hands...it adheres and sets under water, and works well on domestic pipes and radiators, but as to whether it will work on a pressurised system...????....but, to be honest, it will need a day or so to set to full strength. I have repaired all sorts of things that ordinary epoxies like Araldite won't hold, but my advice would be to get a new rad couriered out to you...
Best of luck with whatever you do.
cheers
Helen

Thanks for the replies so far. I will try the Araldite remedy initially (in the next day or so) and thoroughly test it before deciding to bring the Bongo back on the ferry. Luckily I can leave it here if I have to and am not too time constrained.

As a matter of interest, I had a look at the rad on my old Micra which I use as my Jersey runabout and that has the same sort of construction, only the plastic is down both sides! Potential for catastrophic water loss very quickly!

Frank

I used Plastic Padding Type Elastic paste, as a temporary repair, to block a hole in an old Fiat Uno rad that starting leaking in the south of France - it got me home with no problems at all. BUT, the Fiat cooling system was nowhere near as complicated as the Bongo Worth trying it, if you aren't coming home for a few days, to see if it works.

Hi
I'd definitely look for the Milliput if you get a chance...I forgot to mention....it's an EPOXY putty, and won't fall out as easy as anything else....it will repair most stuff that requires a good filler/ glue....
Cheers
Helen

Update. Thursday 23rd Sept.

I have applied clear two mix epoxy all around the plastic to metal joint on the top of the radiator.

I warmed the rad up with the cap on the header tank open, applied the epoxy and then switched the engine off and tightened the cap to encourage physics to suck the mix into the crack as suction was created by cooling.

Meanwhile I got in touch with Haydn who has sent me a low coolant alarm. (Thanks, Haydn, for sorting one out for me). This has arrived in Jersey but suffered the usual routine of being delivered by way of a card through the door telling me to go and collect it. when I went to the collection point it had gone to another location in order to be 're-delivered'. I should get it tommorrow. Today the weather is p... awful so it wouldn't have been the right time to fit it anyway.

I have to take a short ride in the Bongo soon to collect a rather nice roof box which I have been given. This outing will test my repair but even if it doesn't leak on a local run I won't risk the trip from Weymouth to Kent without installing the alarm.

Looking forward to using the roof box to store the awning tent so that in future it won't have to get put away wet inside the vehicle.

My little Micra has kept me on the road but of course this has meant that I haven't had the opportunity to flash the silver tin top with silver windows to all the local surfers etc. with their T4s and T5s. There are several local Bongos around, though.



Frank.

would just replace with new, at best your only temporarily fixing it and you dont want to be driving it when the top pops, trust me, been there and done that!! for all the messing about epoxying it,you may as well replace it.
Julian

321Away wrote:would just replace with new, at best your only temporarily fixing it and you dont want to be driving it when the top pops, trust me, been there and done that!! for all the messing about epoxying it,you may as well replace it.
Julian

I think he intends to Julian - he's just trying to get home from Jersey first.

:
321Away wrote:
would just replace with new, at best your only temporarily fixing it and you dont want to be driving it when the top pops, trust me, been there and done that!! for all the messing about epoxying it,you may as well replace it.
Julian

I couldn't agree with you more. Unfortunately this has happened to me away from my usual base and I have only limited tools and facilities available to me here. There are Bongos in Jersey but I'm not aware of anyone who is au fait with the cooling system. Having watched the bleeding video I am happy about doing it under more ideal conditions. I share the place here in Jersey and getting messy is not appreciated! Nor do I have many tools here or loads of motoring shops just down the road. I wasn't sure that if I ordered a radiator it wouldn't get here while I was on the boat back to the mainland so that is why I decided on the epoxy approach to get me at least onto the ferry and back on the Bongo friendly mainland.


I am typing this now in my office in the Bongo parked outside a source of free wifi. This outing is by way of a test for leaks and so far none have appeared. I cannot stress how much easier it is for two of us to use our laptops in the Bongo compared with in the Micra! This is absolute luxury, especially for me in the back with the blinds keeping the sun off the display.

The low coolant alarm has now arrived and that will give me peace of mind until, and after, I have put a new rad in. when I do the job I will replace everything else in sight whilst it is drained.

All your comments and Haydn's prompt delivery are much appreciated, thanks.

Frank

Well, I'm back home thanks to the epoxy and had peace of mind on the journey thanks to Haydn's alarm.

The Weymouth sailing was cancelled so I came via Poole which meant that my drive to Kent was shorter. We docked just after 2 am and I weighed up the pros and cons and decided that light traffic and cooler outside air outweighed the risk of a breakdown in the dark (and mist, as it turned out to be). I also figured that I would be the recovery service's only customer at that time of night.

Every so often I pulled up where there was good lighting and shone a torch around the top of the rad. with no scares.

I ran the heater flat out with my window open. The draught hating other half moaned about it but I convinced her that it was for the war effort. Not until I was nearly home did I realise that I would have almost certainly have smelled burning anti-freeze had it leaked (this is how I first became aware of the leak). Thank goodness I smelled it early on on my stay, if I hadn't wanted to show off the Bongo to the big Sunday audience I might have left it parked up and used the car and only have found out abouthe leak on the return journey.

My rationale was that if the rad. was kept as cool as possible the repair would be happier. I left some heavy items behind until next time but was still well laden. On uphill stretches the heater was blowing pretty hot! I came off the M3 at Hook and cut across country to the M25 at Wisley as there would otherwise be no services for a hell of a long distance between Fleet and Clacketts. It was quite foggy and I didn't fancy being pushed along the hard shoulder by an artic. A very real danger in light traffic.

Anyway, I now have to get an MoT out of the way this month and get the bits together for a complete cooling overhaul while the rad is being changed.

Can anyone recommend a Bongo savvy mechanic in the south east, in case I chicken out of doing it myself?

Also, exactly which is the best coolant for a complete refill? I should be ok with the bleeding, thanks to the video from Kirsty and Haydn.


Frank