Ian; as much as I have come to enjoy the comraderie in this forum lately, I find it difficult to bring closure to my Bongo woes!
Thank goodness for your gift of this forum!!!
This is the THIRD (3) time I draft a message back into the forum database on the subject captioned above. I end up falling asleep at the helm and loose everything I've just commented on.
](./images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall"){kind=small}
I try to find an emoticon to describe it
Here is my fourth and final attempt to convey a few facts....
Had my rad rebuilt at a local rad shop dealt with for years. sure enough fully plugged up with mud/shale. Only half of the rad blocked.
Replaced ALL common Genuine Mazda rad hoses [the four main ones!] AND the expansion tank with a DAYCO molded one slightly modified.
Fitted a new autotrans cooling assembly kit to 9,000lb GVW load capacity for towing.
Re & Re stat to fully flush entire cooling system end-to-end.
Serviced all components of the cooling system.
New heater hoses where needed.
The difference is so noticable especially on hills with no more overheating. Recommend this approach prior to just replacing the rad with a new one. My cost before time was $154CDN or about 90GBP for the rad service including VAT.
The rad shop commented that my rad was in very good condition despite the blockage and would deliver many more years if taken care of by flushing and new antifreeze at least every 2 ~ 3 years.
More comming later...
Dave
