Bongo Fury

Hi all,
After a short run (the bongo not me ) getting a hot rubbery smell from the rear nearside wheel arch, wheel is cool so is the tyre and nothing else seem amiss any ideas anyone? 2.0 petrol year 2000 lpg'd
Cheers.
Bob & Sue

I get this too, same van as yours with LPG but no idea what causes this, interested in the replies.

Yep ours does that as well. No idea what it is, other than it is not brakes sticking or anything like that. I have always thought it was exhaust related May be wrong.

dunslair wrote:Yep ours does that as well. No idea what it is, other than it is not brakes sticking or anything like that. I have always thought it was exhaust related May be wrong.

Hi,
You could be correct,it might be the CAT burning.

Cheers..

We don't have a Cat...

Is it anything to be alarmed of?

Getcarter wrote:We don't have a Cat...

Is it anything to be alarmed of?

If it was the Cat,your engine would probably be dumping unburnt fuel down the exhaust,this can cause the Catalytic Converter to burn(I have seen them Red Hot).If you dont have a Cat it wont be your problem.

Cheers.

teenmal wrote:

Getcarter wrote:We don't have a Cat...

Is it anything to be alarmed of?

If it was the Cat,your engine would probably be dumping unburnt fuel down the exhaust,this can cause the Catalytic Converter to burn(I have seen them Red Hot).If you dont have a Cat it wont be your problem.

Cheers.

And it would presumably show up in the emmisions

Our V6 has also always done that a bit, although usually only after a bit of hard driving. Don't forget the Bongo's engine-in-a-box (which is what the mid engine configuration essentially is), collects any hot engine fumes in that "box", to then slowly leak away underneath, unless the scavenger fan (there for that reason) has kicked in beforehand to clear them while still driving - but it only kicks in at very high engine bay temps. Perhaps the best exit path for any fumes once stationary is along underneath to that wheel arch - I think ours smells most around there too. Perhaps the recirculatory crankcase air breather valve is wonky, and fumes are escaping into the "box", and not recirculating for combustion as they should do. I checked the scavenger fan BTW, by heating its sensor (on top, under the engine cover - driver's side, I think) with a paint stripper air gun - carefully! Shouldn't be an issue (the fan that is) on short runs but maybe the crankcase air breather could be. Any experts know the answers?

Hi all,
thanks for the replies, common thread is we all seem to be lpg'd! so whats the cause?
Bob & Sue

zeberdy1 wrote:Hi all,
thanks for the replies, common thread is we all seem to be lpg'd! so whats the cause?
Bob & Sue

Nope, were not lpg'd. so that's not a common point, and nor would it appear to be limited to the 2.0l

Not everybody here has said they have LPG conversions but perhaps you know something I don't?

This is a perennial topic on the forum though, and it does not only apply to LPG converted petrol Bongos - it has also been complained about by owners of unconverted petrols, and by owners of diesels.

Don't think anybody's come up with a universal answer yet, which is why I've suggested that the closed box mid-engine/slow acting scavenger fan layout is perhaps part of the explanation, in not clearing trapped fumes very well while moving - plus reduced cooling airflow over the engine. Can't pretend to be an expert in the thermodynamics involved but perhaps in an engine more open to cooling airflow, the outer surfaces at least do run cooler than in a Bongo mid-mount engine - only the outer surfaces though, as internal cooling is down to heat removal bythe liquid coolant in both cases, assuming "water" cooling.

Causes of fumes in the first place could include simple things like spilt oil, hoses or cables run too close to hottest engine surfaces, crankcase breather issues, etc.

Of course, the typical LPG installation does drape more rubbery bits around the engine than in a standard petrol engine, so if they're laid too close to hot bits that could fall into that same camp - although it's not the apparent cause in mine.

Anyway, although it gets complained about a fair amount, I've never seen it implicated here in any serious failure issues. and certainly mine has always done it - although significantly less since I added MotorMax coolant enhancer, plus Gunked the engine clean.

thanks for that ron, my 2001 v6 is the same, but cant find no probs with it.

I found that once we had the 'cam seals' replaced and had a thorough clean of the cambelt compartment (we did have a melted plastic smell for a while - now gone) it solved our 'oily/rubbery' smell I put it down to this
V6 LPG by the way

Hi, I have just logged-in and seen this. It has taken me several months to sort my 'burnt rubber smell' - I solved the problem. Dont laff but the cause (on mine) is due to the high heat from the middle box (the one after the cat) and spreads to the (2) rubber exhaust mounts giving the burnt rubber smell. By wrapping aluminium (kitchen) foil around the top metal bars which the rubber mounts onto has solved my problem. You need to wrap the ally tight around the metal bar so that it acts as a heat-sink. I have removed the rubber mounts expecting to find them burnt but they are still ok and I re-fitted and used the ally trick. Maybe silicone exhaust mounts would solve the problem but until the rubber ones need replacing I'll stick to them using the missus foil. Give it ago - remember the foil must stay tightly wrapped around all the time, if the smell comes back I bet you will find the ally has become loose.
My Bongo loves kitchen foil......

Top tip sir and if you have any foil left over you can wrap yer spuds in it and whap em in the back box...... ready to eat when you make camp And all the time i thought it was just the smell of me 'laying down some rubber' from my grunting 2l beast of a machine