That bleeding shenanigans

[chrisvb]

I've just been looking at this, this, and this. Superbly informative videos and very much appreciated. Knowledge of this alone could potentially be worth my Bongo Fury membership times 100!

But what a right old malarky it is! Tell me, do the specialist Bongo mechanics really do all this - including all the see-sawing, revving and bringing it up to temperature? I can't see them employing 3 people for an hour just to bleed the cooling system.

And if so is it really necessary to be quite so clinical and meticulous in expelling the very last tiny air bubble? Ok, so I realise that's not a black and white answer, but I'm just wondering (despite being a spectacularly helpful video) whether the entire process is necessary in its entirety - particularly the extent of the revving and see-sawing.

Clearly there are 3 golden rules though... don't allow air into the funnel, don't allow air into the expansion tank, and wait until the bottom hose gets hot.

Cheers,

Chris

[g8dhe]

Vacuum filling is believed to be as good but not all garages have the equipment. You need a compressor with a large volume to get the pressure low enough.

[wormey]

Good videos though,

[Triple/R]

Eyup Chris ~i was at the Bash when the video was made,& it was pointed out on several occassions that this was'nt the only method~~if you look on the factsheet theres a couple of different methods you can use.

Theres a few people that sneer at the video & say they've got a better method (no problem) but seem reluctant to share~we all need an alternative to make any job easier & thought this was what the forum was all about,so why be secretive about something to make any job easier~it makes me wonder if there all talk,but i'm sure they will come on here & prove me wrong

[haydn callow]

No...you don't need 3 people for a hour to bleed a bongo.....having 3 to make the video just made it so much more simple for those concerned.....It is quite possible for one person to do it on his own in about 40 mins ( I know that co's I have done it many times)
The reason it was all so detailed was because we wanted to impress how important it was to do the job properly to be sure of getting a sucessful result......It would not have been very responsible of us to say......"We think that will do" !! much better to show the whole process and know it would be done 100%.

I watched a very well known Bongo garage refill and bleed a Bongo about a month ago....It took about 35mins and 2 or 3 people were involved at differant stages....It was well done but the next day a small amount of air had been expelled and a small top up required.

Doing it the "video" way I have never needed to top up as all air is expelled.

[Northern Bongolow]

spot on sir

[Doone]

I'm glad you found the links useful. As Haydn said, the videos show one way to bleed a Bongo and using 3 people made the demonstration simpler for them, you can do it own your own and it's important to get all the air out. Once it's bled and the coolant has found its own level, keep an eye on the level for a few days.
If you'd like to try a different method, there are some in the factsheet. I think (but I'm not sure) that this may include a summary of the Mazda method.

[chrisvb]

Many thanks for all your replies fellas. I've only just bought my bongo and suspect that the cooling system may not have been bled properly (temp fluctuations, heater not very hot, and had to top up with about 2 pints when I got home after a 2 hour motorway run at 80mph (or 70 if this might be used as evidence against me )

In order to now bleed it properly (as opposed to draining and completely refilling) I assume I'd have to:

a) check the radiator cap level (and allow air to expel if present), and then

b) do the whole see-saw, revving, topping up malarky - but from what I can gather I could do this on my own running backward and forwards between the accelerator, the expansion tank, the bottom hose, the heaters, and the funnel (propped up either by SWMBO or a handy Heath Robinson clamping system of my own design... same difference lol).

OR...

Use one of the other methods (he said ducking, in case something hit him on the head). I can't help noticing that there seems to be a prior history here... but please, let's not go there. This is a practical enquiry not a political one

Have I got this correct (the bleeding method, not the prior history)?

Chris

[mikexgough]

Regarding bleeding........ your choice.....there is the factory method or the homebrew ones....

[Northern Bongolow]

before you bleed the bongo by what ever method you chose or feel comfortable with please make sure you have a water tight system,its pointless trying to bleed a bongo thats sucking air in somewhere,if yours is requiring water then it may have a leak,do a pressure test first.
if you do a search on here there is a home made gadget you can make cheaply,or get your garage to do the test for you.with a system that could be around 15 years old it is likely there is a leak somewhere,and in my opinion a jubilee clip has no place on a bongo,so watch out for them.

[chrisvb]

Many thanks for your help chaps. Very handy forum. However I think a moderator should change the title of this thread to "Rocket science" lol. Apologies if this may have been a recycling of any previous threads. I've got all the information I need now, so I'm happy to say it's case closed.

Once again many thanks all.

Chris

[B*Witched Blingo]

Regarding bleeding........ your choice.....there is the factory method or the homebrew ones....

Mike. Thankyou for your comment, but I do find it very offensive. It reads to me that you are implying that the effort put into this by the team involved was half hearted and half ar**d. I can and will assure you it was not. I have slept on this before returning to the thread to read again and I still feel the same, which is why I feel I have to reply to it.

I do hope I have misinterpreted the comment.

[haydn callow]

There are them that do and them that "undo"
It takes all sorts !!

[chrisvb]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to all this bongo business and joined this forum to seek advice from what I assumed to be free thinking like minded people who enjoy sharing their bongo experience. I realise that my observations and comments are no less valid than anyone else's on here, but what seems obvious to me (by gradually increasing innuendo which now appears to be developing into sarcasm) is that there is a prior history which to be frank, I don't want to be part of.

I >>>REALLY<<< don't want to be seen as sticking my oar in, but whatever's gone down previously has created an atmosphere which is highly offputting to newcomers like me. I feel like I've walked into a pub full of initially friendly looking people only to discover that actually there are various factions waiting to rip each other's heads off! And I've only been here a week!!!

I want to say "Grow up!" but that would neither be courteous nor appropriate. I want to say "For Christ's sake get a life" but that may equally rub some folk up the wrong way. So instead I'll simply remind people that life is WAY too short to waste time and energy on such ridiculously insignificant differences. Today, right now, may be the happiest you'll ever be and next week you or someone you love dearly may be dead.

I thought a forum was precisely for the purpose of freely speaking. I will always say what I think to whoever cares to listen, however I will always do so with respect for all others and allow them to express whatever they want - which after all is their right.

This whole situation just makes people look a bit silly really - and detracts from the otherwise excellent value of the Bongo Fury cause. I once heard an interesting and humorous definition of "the Internet"... It was... "A load of boring fat blokes sitting around endlessly writing a load of crap that nobody else want to read!". Whilst Bongo Fury is nowhere near that zone I could see it headed that way.

So come on folks, be a man about this. Live and let live. And let's spread the love.

P-L-E-A-S-E let's let this be the last post on this thread!!!

[francophile1947]

Regarding bleeding........ your choice.....there is the factory method or the homebrew ones....

Mike. Thankyou for your comment, but I do find it very offensive. It reads to me that you are implying that the effort put into this by the team involved was half hearted and half ar**d. I can and will assure you it was not. I have slept on this before returning to the thread to read again and I still feel the same, which is why I feel I have to reply to it.

I do hope I have misinterpreted the comment.

Mike uses his own method of bleeding, hence his comment about homebrew. I do believe you have totally misunderstood his comment.
Thread now locked, as suggested by Chris.