Bongo Fury

I've had my two wheel drive Bongo for two months now with no problems. However I noticed a clunking sound from the rear when going over rough roads and when I turned left into my drive yesterday 19/8/2011 thought I heard somthing break. Now evertime I turn onto my drive there is a loud metallic clunk mainly from the rear passenger's side wheel arch area. I found a snapped piece of metal on my drive . I believe it has come from the vehicle as there is waxyoyl residue on and my van was done about three weeks ago. Any suggestions I can give to the garage on Monday would be great.

If your going to be a bear be a grizzly

ARB Link? Bit of panhard rod?

Stick up a photo, and I'm sure it will be identified.

It could be this... (part 28-155) Cheap fix if it is...? But get the two done/replaced along with the bushes (part 34-156A) http://lushprojects.com/bongopartsmk2/c ... mgno=.html

Hope this helps..?!

Have a look & see if there's anything visibly broken that matches the piece of metal (if it's from the bongo). Could be anything TBH from a loose spare wheel clonking around to the suspension about to collapse. Most likely is probably anti roll bar brackets/bushes or droplinks - http://lushprojects.com/bongopartsmk2/c ... mgno=.html
Stick a pic of the bit of metal up, may help - http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... =42&t=9285

Too slow

Koga wrote:I've had my two wheel drive Bongo for two months now with no problems. However I noticed a clunking sound from the rear when going over rough roads and when I turned left into my drive yesterday 19/8/2011 thought I heard somthing break. Now evertime I turn onto my drive there is a loud metallic clunk mainly from the rear passenger's side wheel arch area. I found a snapped piece of metal on my drive . I believe it has come from the vehicle as there is waxyoyl residue on and my van was done about three weeks ago. Any suggestions I can give to the garage on Monday would be great.If your going to be a bear be a grizzly

Hi,I think if you take the vehicle to the garage on Monday they will tell you what is wrong,I dont think you should suggest what the problem is.These people are the Real Deal.

All the best..

teenmal wrote: Hi,I think if you take the vehicle to the garage on Monday they will tell you what is wrong, I dont think you should suggest what the problem is.These people are the Real Deal.

All the best..

Might aswell shut the forum down then eh & all go to the garage Unfortunately not ALL garages are "the real deal", what a ridiculous stament on a forum that's there to help people.

missfixit70 wrote:

teenmal wrote: Hi,I think if you take the vehicle to the garage on Monday they will tell you what is wrong, I dont think you should suggest what the problem is.These people are the Real Deal.

All the best..

Might aswell shut the forum down then eh & all go to the garage Unfortunately not ALL garages are "the real deal", what a ridiculous stament on a forum that's there to help people.

Hi,answer me one question,Would you take your vehicle to a garage that was not the Real Deal.
Where would you go.??

All the best..

How do you know until you've been screwed or let down? Always best to go in with some idea of what's going on or they could say you need work doing that you don't actually need. It may even be something that could be fixed yourself.

Not often I go to a garage, I usually fix it myself, because I have been screwed over by "the Real Deal" before & quite recently with a local garage when I did my research & thought I'd found "the Real Deal"
Personally, I'd go to Allans, 100+ mile trek, cos ther're too many idiots with spanners that profess to be mechanics in garages

IME, most garages these days are far from "THE REAL DEAL". If you find one that is, then consider yourself lucky. Almost without exception, the times I have had to put any of my vehicles into a garage in the last 10 years I have come away feeling like I've paid to nudge along the training of some muppet who should have paid more attention at school.

That's why I value fora like these.

Now, I agree that if you ask for an opinion on here and you get a handful of suggestions you must bear in mind that none of them came from anyone who has seen / heard / felt / smelt your particular vehicle / problem so at best they are educated guesses. Sometimes very educated, and backed up with plenty of experience, but still guesses based on what information you have given in the first place.

There is a caveat that if you go to a garage and tell them what to replace, then it's on your account if the remedial work you suggest doesn't fix the problem. They are after all only following your instructions. So, you have to present them with the vehicle, and the symptoms, and ask "could it be the flux capacitor, the squble flange, or the warp drive?" - or whatever has been suggested. The advice on here given as suggestions and the garage's own knowledge & experience should get them in the right direction.

Having said that, if they have never seen a Bongo before, and lots of people on here have experience that the ARB support brackets can & do break, and may give the symptoms you describe then that wealth of experience should be passed on to the garage (or find one that knows Bongos, preferably)

As I suggested before - stick on a photo of the bit of metal you have found. You will know very quickly once the collective minds on here see it if it's a bit of a Bongo, and which bit it is (or was), and if it is likely in any way to contribute to your reported symptoms.

HTH
DA

Edit : Too long typing. For the record, I'll only put my cars into a garage if I really have to. Last time was for an exhaust manifold removal, snapped stud removal (the issue I couldn't be 100% sure I could resolve at home) and a skim on the manifold. I used an engine rebuilder who are a specialist I have used in the past, and have always been spot on. This time they overcharged me and told me it took extra time "Because the driver's seat doesn't lift up very far with the conversion in". I had printed out the factsheet which shows them how to do it without going under the driver's seat. And - it's only 5 bolts to remove the seat! Surely they could have worked that out? And they snapped a vac pipe which plumbs into the intake, and did a 'araldite & bit of brake pipe' repair, without telling me. Grr.. Rant over....

Better put than my outburst

dave_aber wrote: "could it be the flux capacitor, the squble flange, or the warp drive?" DA

I can say with some confidence that these WON'T be the issue in this instance

Well....... If you're sure......

missfixit70 wrote:How do you know until you've been screwed or let down? Always best to go in with some idea of what's going on or they could say you need work doing that you don't actually need. It may even be something that could be fixed yourself.

Not often I go to a garage, I usually fix it myself, becuase I have been screwed over by "the Real Deal" before & quite recently with a local garage when I did my research & thought I'd found "the Real Deal"
Personally, I'd go to Allans, 100+ mile trek, cos ther're too many idiots with spanners that profess to be mechanics in garages

Hi I feel sorry for the fact that you have been screwed over by the local garage.I hope you reported this to your local TSO.
I am simply saying,go to a reputable motor engineer and tell them the symptoms not the cure,would you go to Allans and tell him how and what to do to fix your vehicle.I dont understand the hostility that you are showing,please excuse me if I have taken this in the wrong context.

All the best

Mal,

I agree that if you go and tell a garage how to do their job you are asking for trouble. However to assume that "the garage" in question is the real deal is maybe being a wee bit hopeful?

Of course if we knew a garage was The Real Deal, such as Allan's, then we wouldn't tell them the cure as opposed to the symptoms because we wouldn't have to - we would tell them the problem and would value their opinion.

I know when I started driving many moons ago you could find motor engineers, and they really did "ken their ingins" as we say round these parts. Sadly these days they are a rare breed. Would you really trust your pride & joy to the likes of Kwik Fit (sic) without watching them like a hawk and making sure they knew what they were doing?

As for the original question, and the further request of "Any suggestions I can give to the garage on Monday would be great" - let's get back to that issue rather than bickering about the state, or not, of the motor repair trade.

So, facts as I see it:
1. Loud clunk when turning left - Also when on rough roads.
2. Bit of metal with waxoyl which may or may not be related found in drive

What I would suggest :
1. Identify if this clunk is when simply turning to the left, or (as I suspect) with a wee bit of speed on a clunk as the van rolls to the right. Make this symptom clear to the garage.
2. Take the bit of metal with you. It may well be recognised by the garage, and point them in the right direction. For example, it it's a bit of ARB bush bracket, they will probably recognise it (depending, of course, on how close to "the real deal" they are!)

It could be a number of things, but the Bongo is not a complex beast in the rear suspension department. Live axle, trailing links, coil springs, telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar and a panhard rod. Most likely one of these things has a problem.

That's my tuppence worth anyway

Hi
Don't be fooled by smart premises and certificates on the wall...In all the years I've been driving...about 45, I've only ever found a handful of garages that really cut the mustard...it's not about mechanics that have served time or been to college, but those who understand what they are doing....so many times I've been fobbed off with blarney to cover inability....One case in particular...my Jag had an exhaust which was falling off...took it to a local "centre"...."ooohhh, we can't touch Jags, they're specialist" ...Took it to a very well known Jag main dealer who had huge premises (I hadn't wanted to travel that far with an exhaust hanging loose)...they just put it back on, and charged appropriately....it came loose again in a day or so ...so, a friend of ours offered to fix it, and his favourite phrase was "I'm not very bright, but I can lift heavy weights"...and, believe me he is a real diamond....5 minutes with a "Club Hammer"....it lasted years
Personally, with a bit of experience, and sometimes a bit of advice on here, I buy the part and take it to a garage if we can't do it....getting too old now ...you then know they know which nuts to undo and tighten
That's the beauty of a good Forum...there are folks who REALLY know what's what
Agree with Kirsty...Allan's the main man
Cheers
Helen

Hi Koga,

If by some chance the piece of metal looks a bit like this...?

But possibly a bit twisted with the bolt holes torn....?

It's a £6 part...


I for one am curious to find out what this snapped piece of metal on the drive is??