Bongo Fury

Today been told that the coolant loss was down to the radiator[bottom l/h side] slowly leaking. After much searching on here /online/ebay etc I was still confused; Genuine Mazda product or not ?????? Price on here [AVA Liesure] is £265 + postage.
Others £84 + etc. Meanwhile my garage owner, bless him, rang his contacts/dealer and got me one for £130 + Vat ....what a difference !! I asked re 'Genuine Mazda' etc. His response was he'd visited where rads are made for various cars, and depending on which 'box' they went into when leaving the factory, were either classed as genuine Mazda etc, and sent to certain dealers, or in another box....sent to different dealers. One charges the exhorbitant price and the other a much cheaper one. Hence the different pricing !!! I was gobsmacked !
I trust this chap/garage and have taken my previous cars...Honda/Volvo etc, to him for over 30 years and his reputation is consistently excellent. This is his first and only Bongo, and is keen to always get it right and at the best price too.
So, maybe YOUR own garage could access the same quality.....just in a different box ? I dare not trust Ebay on things that really matter to me.
This message is really for all those none techies out there who are unsure of such 'similar' products to the one they need.
Hope it helps someone.
[ In case you wish to know.......its.... The Crown Garage. Wyke. Bradford. 01274679214....John Ramsden.

It isn't unknown for that to go on and it isn't just radiators....... I am currently working on a list of real O.E products in their makers boxes instead of Mazda boxes.....

yorkshirelass wrote:Today been told that the coolant loss was down to the radiator[bottom l/h side] slowly leaking. After much searching on here /online/ebay etc I was still confused; Genuine Mazda product or not ?????? Price on here [AVA Liesure] is £265 + postage.
Others £84 + etc. Meanwhile my garage owner, bless him, rang his contacts/dealer and got me one for £130 + Vat ....what a difference !! I asked re 'Genuine Mazda' etc. His response was he'd visited where rads are made for various cars, and depending on which 'box' they went into when leaving the factory, were either classed as genuine Mazda etc, and sent to certain dealers, or in another box....sent to different dealers. One charges the exhorbitant price and the other a much cheaper one. Hence the different pricing !!! I was gobsmacked !
I trust this chap/garage and have taken my previous cars...Honda/Volvo etc, to him for over 30 years and his reputation is consistently excellent. This is his first and only Bongo, and is keen to always get it right and at the best price too.
So, maybe YOUR own garage could access the same quality.....just in a different box ? I dare not trust Ebay on things that really matter to me.
This message is really for all those none techies out there who are unsure of such 'similar' products to the one they need.
Hope it helps someone.
[ In case you wish to know.......its.... The Crown Garage. Wyke. Bradford. 01274679214....John Ramsden.

Spoken like a true Yorkshirewoman - and very good sense it makes too. I think you are on the right track with all this. Just make sure the mechanic is aware of the proper bleeding procedure.

As Kirsty (missfixit) has pointed out on another thread, make sure the radiator does not have a vent tube under the cap, if it does it needs to be blocked off.
http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... =3&t=48863

Thanks for the tips...will make sure my garage is aware of them.

mikexgough wrote:It isn't unknown for that to go on and it isn't just radiators....... I am currently working on a list of real O.E products in their makers boxes instead of Mazda boxes.....

I even doubt if Mazda make the boxes or anything else that goes in them.

Cheers..

Has anyone bought one of these radiators from ebay?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mazda-Bongo-Freed ... 19bf73dfe1

bongo radiator by timfriedel, on Flickr

They look a good design, with welded metal top and bottom tanks...?

Aww hope you get sorted Pam

Jo xx

teenmal wrote:

mikexgough wrote:It isn't unknown for that to go on and it isn't just radiators....... I am currently working on a list of real O.E products in their makers boxes instead of Mazda boxes.....

I even doubt if Mazda make the boxes or anything else that goes in them.

Cheers..

daveblueozzie wrote:As Kirsty (missfixit) has pointed out on another thread, make sure the radiator does not have a vent tube under the cap, if it does it needs to be blocked off.
http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... =3&t=48863

IMHO....best off keeping clear of those Radiators a) you don't have to modify the rad by blocking off the extra overflow b) no future problems should that modification become fragile..... for me the original design has been fine for 13 or more years in most cases before the originals might give leakage problems.....but yer pays yer money....

Whilst a lot of what has been said above is good advice. As with most things in life you get's what you pay for.....Many of the "cheap" radiators do not have enough "flow through" due to less/smaller passagways. The last thing you want on a Bongo is restricted coolant flow.