Bongo Fury

Bugger. after 4 months of smile inducing driving the Bongo has let me down I have spoken to my mechanic mate and he has a diagnosis, Symptoms:

Went Kitesurfing and was just setting off back from Brid when something odd happened. Set off in drive nice and sedately down the bumpy track and once I hit the smooth road gained speed until I got to what I think was 4th gear (overdrive?) It may have been third gear but who knows as it's an auto?? Anyhoo instead of gaining speed it felt like I had the brakes on a touch, speed dropped and gearbox dropped back into 3rd and then it all began again. I decided maybe the gearbox oil was still cold and slipped into "S" and then everything was kinda ok. Continued on the journey and got onto the open road so tried shifting to "D" and again slowing was felt followed by a downchange. Decided at this point something was definitely wrong and shifted back into "S". Everything felt and sounded ok so continued to limp home at around 45mph keeping the revs around 2500 to keep the gearbox in a working gear.

Got to stamford bridge and had to stop at the lights on the bridge, on attempting to set off horrible noises and decided enough was enough and stopped. Hazzards on with a load on idiots just sitting behind me and not going past Left it a few minutes and a friend suggested trying "L" to get us over the bridge, and it worked! once rolling shifted back to "S" and crawled along some more at 45mph. Dropped my friend off at the park and ride and attempted to crawl home.

At this point the Bongo said:

"I just doon't have the power" like Scotty out of Star trek and all drive power was lost, also a kinda light grinding sound Que buying a tow rope and towing it near my mates Garage.

I called my mate about this and his first thought was: Lack of transmission fluid. or, Lack of auto clutch fluid, hence lack of driving power as clutch wasn't engaging properly.

Do we have any ideas?

Perhaps first thing will be to check the ATF level, under drivers seat pokes forward from the rear looks much the same as the normal engine oil dip stick. Your meant to check it I believe with the engine running and actually in drive (wheels chocked, breaks on etc.), but you will get a clue I suspect if you just check it cold to see if its anywhere near the right level!

if you check the fluid level with the engine off,and the oil cold it should come up to where the twist is, for an acurate dip,warm up the engine,then with it in park read the level whilst the engine is running,this can be difficult to read if the oil is in good nick. as the oil splashes on the stick, if it smells of toast beware.

Have been reading up on my problem, I think the most likely culprit could be a failed transmission pump. Seems odd I went from perfectly ok to absolutely screwed in very little time...

Ok have had the Bongo in the garage for a week while I was on my hols. It appeared the transmission fluid was low and has been topped up. I can now drive again however I now have a very slight whine whilst in 1st gear at a certain revvs. Once into second gear and above everything is fine.

Any thoughts folks? Shame really as it has just sailed through the mot no probs.

has the g/box bottom been off,and the filter cleaned out,and new oil been put in,if yes what oil did they use,as oils have got a lot better since the bongo was made.
soundslike it may have done a bearing.but an expert may advise better.

I will ask him once I drop it off with him, anyone have any experience with additives in auto gearboxes? I reckon he will have just topped up the fluid. He never charged me any labour and even forgot to charge me for the fluid!!

Next step a full clean out methinks! Maybe there will be tell tale deposits in the filter if a bearing is goosed. Is there a magnet to catch metal bits?

Which oil do we reckon is the daddy? I saw some friction elimintor on the halfords website, it is a multi purpose additive to smooth many applications. Called Extralube ZX1 friction eliminator.

Any thoughts folks?

Try dropping the gearbox sump, cleaning the filter and changing the fluid first. Specification of gearbox fluid is Dexron 3. An additive isn't going to cure the problem, but may just mask it

millermatic atf DM full synthetic is an upgrade from dexron 111. see millers oils web site.

there is a small ring magnet in the g/box sump.

if your dropping the g/box sump,remove the oil first,or crack some nuts,then let it drain,as the oil level is above where it splits off the g/box. very nice job,then gently pull down on the oil filter,it has a little rubber ring to seal it to the pickup/g/box end,then rinse out or replace. dont forget the g/box oil is cooled in the front coolant rad so remove the pipes and blow out all the old oil/sludge.

from mem i think the box holds about 7 litres i think.

Sounds like a plan. I'm hoping this will fix the issue otherwise it will start to get expensive... Stripping an auto box looks like a pretty specialist job!

Ok. My man at the garage says his auto box specialist mate reckons it's a layshaft bearing that is on it's way out. However he also reckons I should get a lot more motoring out of the gearbox before it becomes terminal. So adding some groovy friction reducing oil and continuing seems to be the way forward, as this is considerably cheaper than a gearbox rebuild at over a grand! Will bridge that gap when I get to it I reckon!!

AlliDelta wrote:Ok. My man at the garage says his auto box specialist mate reckons it's a layshaft bearing that is on it's way out. However he also reckons I should get a lot more motoring out of the gearbox before it becomes terminal. So adding some groovy friction reducing oil and continuing seems to be the way forward, as this is considerably cheaper than a gearbox rebuild at over a grand! Will bridge that gap when I get to it I reckon!!

See if you can source a 2nd box from a breaking Bongo ready to go in when the old one breaks. Easier to pick up a bargain when you don't need it straight away, and you can always sell it on if not needed over time

Yeah I saw one on aBay for £350 but you never know if that one is buggered too...

AlliDelta wrote:Ok. My man at the garage says his auto box specialist mate reckons it's a layshaft bearing that is on it's way out. However he also reckons I should get a lot more motoring out of the gearbox before it becomes terminal. So adding some groovy friction reducing oil and continuing seems to be the way forward, as this is considerably cheaper than a gearbox rebuild at over a grand! Will bridge that gap when I get to it I reckon!!

His "auto gearbox specialist mate" hasn't a clue and is talking out of his arse - there's no layshaft in an autobox! Groovy friction reducing oil will only succeed in making the clutches slip - there are several clutches in an autobox. There's also the chance it'll clog the tiny passages in the valve block (the gearbox brain).

Unfortunately you've let the 'box run low on fluid and caused damage - your options are to run the 'box until it destroys itself - then you'll have to replace the gearbox, torque converter, the oil cooler pipes and the radiator (cos the 'box oil cooler is in the lower part of the radiator) or bite the bullet and get the 'box overhauled/replaced now. Even now, there's every chance there's metal bits flowing around the cooler system.

Sorry to be a downer but that's your options and tell your "specialist" to sling his hook - he'll cost you more in the long run!

Well Problem has been found. It appears one of the planetary gears has shed a tooth. On emptying the Atf and clearing the filter the garage found the head of a tooth. After looking at a few Auto box exploded diagrams I reckon the shape is that of the planetary gears. Only a thin shard of metal no more than 1mm thick I reckon the surface must be tempered and it's the tempered bit that has sheared off It still runs but still has the noises in 1st gear.

Once in all the other gears all is quiet. Gonna keep my ear on it and start saving to get the box reconditioned. I'm hoping the gears will be something that can be replaced. I'm sure that gearboxes will share parts over the years and spares will be available

Anyhow live and learn. Check your Atf levels on a monthly basis folks! a lot more expensive than a cylinder head rebuild! They should make a low Atf level warning!