To head or not to head???

[timorr]

So having now got over the bad news from my garage here in Co. Cork, Ireland has told me that I need to get a new Cylinder Head...I am currently trawling the internet for possible solutions. I have two questions that I would love a little bit of help with...if anyone has the time (and patience)

I sent a quick email to my original dealer in the UK to see if he had any after sales assistance left in him at this stage (3 years later). He sent back a very quick, short and to the point email basically telling me not to bother with a new cylinder head and that I would be better of just getting a new engine. He said that working on the cylinder head seldom has a positive result. Is this true and would I be better off dumping the whole engine?

I am talking to Ian here about getting a fully dressed head from this site sent over to me - comes in around £700. However my local mechanic also suggested that I could go with a second option and get a bare head if I wanted and he would dress it with the old parts. Would I be far better off getting the whole dressed unit as new, or do you guys recon it would be OK to mix the old and new?

Thanks in advance for your help.
Tim

[haydn callow]

Get A good quality replacement head.......make sure your garage checks the top of the engine block is true.......most important make sure your garage knows the bleeding methods for the cooling system, (see factsheets and vidios)

Also fit a new Stat and check the condition of the water pump/rad/all hoses..

If you get a new 2nd hand engine you don't know the history.

[timorr]

Thanks for that haydn.

How do I know a good quality when I order through the internet?
For instance the following link is one I found on ebay...seems to have everything including warranty, but is a couple of hundred cheeper than the one through the Bongo shop on this site. The company (mazdasparesltd) also quote a cheeper postage to Ireland? Any one ever used them?
Here is the product address I am looking at:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 1683wt_907

Thanks again
Tim

[haydn callow]

I would think thats o.k. just avoid the £300 ones from China.....You will need a set of new "stretched" bolts to complete the kit.
The only ones I am 100% certain about are the ones from the Bongo Shop....they are very good and you can get everything..

It's possible the one you are looking at is a FORD RANGER head....these will NOT have the Bongo Bleed pipe fitted.....I would check that out.

[Ron Miel]

Hi. As well as the good advice from Haydn, it might be worth you looking at the (Bongo Fury Club) member's factsheet, "Steel Seal", available via the "Members Area" on this site, and then ask around for further experiences since it was written (PM those quoted in the factsheet?).

[maxheadroom]

I bought a head from the club shop it comes with everything you require i.e. gaskets bolts etc. and if you get your garage to rebuild a bare head with your parts, how much is that going to save?

[timorr]

Hi Ron Miel, sounds like a bit of a quick but short term solution...only if I was bold enough to sell on

Hi Maxheadroom, I would like to get it from the club shop as I would feel more assured...however there is a couple of hundred in the difference!
The garage did also suggest looking for a bare head and that they could rebuild and I see one of them on eBay for £300

So I guess my choices are;

Bongo shop - around £650
mazdasparesltd - around £450
Bare head - around £300 (but extra man garage hours here)
Steel Seal - around £30 and sell bongo next week (but deal with two broken legs the week after - Ireland is a small country)

Anyone dealt with mazdasparesltd?

[Ron Miel]

Could be a fifth choice: Try Steel Seal and keep the van, thus avoiding broken legs risk. If it works, you're well in pocket. If it doesn't, you've lost £30, and you can still replace the head - but even I, with well-developed Scrooge tendencies, would check around a bit more first.

[francophile1947]

I would also ensure that you use a genuine Mazda head gasket set. There have been several who have had problems with the cheaper copy gaskets, requiring the work to be redone

[timorr]

Hi John,
If the eBay shop is selling the part as a "Mazda Bongo B2500 Ford Ranger WL Cylinder Head NEW"
is there a chance that it might not be exactly suitable for my Bongo?
I queried them and they said that it was suitable for both the Mazda and Ford.
Any advice would be appreciated, I have to make the purchase today and I am leaning towards paying the extra and going with the Bongo shop.
Regards and thanks
Tim

[Ron Miel]

In case John doesn't see this immediately: I would be 99% sure that his warning was right. If it's suitable for a Ford Ranger, it's not a Bongo head.

The Ranger head is "suitable" for a Bongo - until you have to air bleed its coolant system. The Bongo head has a triple spigot coolant outlet fitted top front, with the middle spigot added for connection of a Bongo-specific air bleed hose. Without that, you can't properly air bleed a Bongo, due to its mid-engine up hill and down dale coolant piping, whereas the same engine, front mounted in a Ranger, doesn't have that problem.

Conversely, a diesel Bongo head is not suitable for a Ranger, as it has an additional open spigot coolant outlet with nowhere to go.

[haydn callow]

I would think thats o.k. just avoid the £300 ones from China.....You will need a set of new "streached" bolts to complete the kit.
The only ones I am 100% certain about are the ones from the Bongo Shop....they are very good and you can get everything..

It's possible the one you are looking at is a FORD RANGER head....these will NOT have the Bongo Bleed pipe fitted.....I would check that out.

I refer back to my previous post

[Ron Miel]

I would think thats o.k. just avoid the £300 ones from China.....You will need a set of new "streached" bolts to complete the kit.
The only ones I am 100% certain about are the ones from the Bongo Shop....they are very good and you can get everything..

It's possible the one you are looking at is a FORD RANGER head....these will NOT have the Bongo Bleed pipe fitted.....I would check that out.

I refer back to my previous post

Apologies Haydn - your warning. Me? I would still try Steel Seal first.

[bigdaddycain]

Thanks for that haydn.

How do I know a good quality when I order through the internet?
For instance the following link is one I found on ebay...seems to have everything including warranty, but is a couple of hundred cheeper than the one through the Bongo shop on this site. The company (mazdasparesltd) also quote a cheeper postage to Ireland? Any one ever used them?
Here is the product address I am looking at:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 1683wt_907

Thanks again
Tim

The built up head on your link seems a good un... But would you really trust the engineering background of somebody that spells tappets as "tapits"? I'm sorry, but that alone put me off a bit...

[bigdaddycain]

I bought a head from the club shop it comes with everything you require i.e. gaskets bolts etc. and if you get your garage to rebuild a bare head with your parts, how much is that going to save?

Very good point! If i was in the unfortunate situation situation where i needed a new head,then i'd probably get the built up head from the club shop too, i've never heard of them failing subsequently, so the credentials are good.

If on a shoestring though, i'd be tempted to buy an entire bongo with an excessive corrosion MOT fail for a couple of hundred quid,then if the engine was sweet i'd have the entire engine (block and head) swapped into mine without cracking the head off it. Then i'd break what's left of the bongo to recoup costs.