Bongo Fury

Our lovely Bongo, which has run like a dream for 3 years, broke down yesterday, on the way home from being priced up as a part ex against a new one! the engine just died as it was travelling. husband pulled over immediately, and it was duly towed to our very reliable local garage. Mechanic has had a quick look today, but initial thoughts are that it is very bad - possibly the cam belt has gone (2.0 petrol) and may be serious damage from that. Worst case scenario is a new engine.

We are supposed to be getting a new one in 4 weeks or so. Can anyone give us a best estimate for the price of a new engine, if it does need one? Would we be able to get less, or more, for it with a different engine to the one it originally started with? Or, would you keep it once it has a new engine? Or should it be scrapped?? It's a 99 facelift model and everything else on it is fine!

To say that we are gutted is an understatement. We are booked in to a campsite this weekend, which will now consist of packing a tent into my Mini. Which is just not the same!

Any guidance appreciated very much.

terrible luck .
try these guys, they may have one, and may even fit it.
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/bongospares2012.
give them a ring.

Its a tough call, depends on the replacement engine cost, I blew the engine in my car it was worth about £700, I spent £500 fixing it, but I have had another 40,000 miles out of it and its still worth about £700.
The problem with Bongos is the engine cost and fitting cost.

I would get in touch with Mike at Wheel Quick in Wigan 01942 217800 - I am almost certain that if the cambelt on a 2 ltr lets go there is no internal contact between the pistons and valves - you may just need a new cambelt.

This as come up before ..

"Unlike diesels some petrol engines are not an interference fit (ie; there is sufficient clearance between a permanently fully open valve, and the top of the piston ... so the valves .. would not .. hit the piston if the belt breaks)

If the 2.0 Mazda petrol engine used in the Bongo is so designed .. I don't know" ..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interference_engine

Did it make any strange noises before it stopped? When was the cambelt last changed?

There are several ways to check if the cambelt has gone including looking thru the oil filler cap while turning it over on the starter to check if the camshaft is turning. Another option could be a broken camshaft, but it could just as easily be a problem with the distributor, ignition coil or petrol pump. Need to establish if the fuel and spark is ok, then move on to more mechanical issues like the timing. A compression test is another good place to start.

And if Wheelquick ate too busy, I use Adrian at Japandirect in Bury, who is excellent. Good luck and keep us posted.

I had the same thing on my 2.0l, and had it recovered to Wheelquick. Just needed a new cambelt, and I was back on the road within an hour. They said that there was no contact with the pistons, so did not cause the carnage normally associated with this type of failure.

Hope you have the same outcome!

Check the belt,if it is broken replace it.Not a big job.Turn the engine by hand before starting it to check for obstruction.

Thanks so much to you all. Van is from wheelquick, husband spoke to mike today and seems you are correct so hopefully we can rebuild him. What a truly fab owners club we have!! Will let you know what happens...thanks all again xx

It sounds like you should be OK. For future reference its fairly obvious that you can't do a compression test with a broken cambelt but another way to check for bent valves is to check the valve clearances - if a valve is bent the gap will be much bigger than it should be.

GreenBongo wrote:For future reference its fairly obvious that you can't do a compression test with a broken cambelt

Why's that then? If the compression varies widely between cylinders it could indicate some valves are stuck open and others are closed which would be the case when the camshaft is not rotating.

As Mike at Wheelquick says..... 2 litre Bongo's are the future....

Simon Jones wrote:

GreenBongo wrote:For future reference its fairly obvious that you can't do a compression test with a broken cambelt

Why's that then? If the compression varies widely between cylinders it could indicate some valves are stuck open and others are closed which would be the case when the camshaft is not rotating.

How would you turn the engine over to get the pistons / camshaft to rotate to test the compression ..??

Using the starter motor .

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/ho ... t-14912158

A compression test reveals the condition of your engine's valves, its valve seats, and piston rings and whether these parts are wearing evenly. Healthy engines should have compression over 100 psi per cylinder, with no more than 10 percent variation between the highest and lowest readings. With a compression tester, a few hand tools, and 20 minutes, you can try this yourself.

STEP 1 Remove the fuel pump and fuel-injection fuses. Disconnect the main wire to the coil and spark plug wires; remove spark plugs.

STEP 2 Start the threaded end of the compression gauge in a spark plug hole by hand.

STEP 3 Turn the ignition on, depress the throttle, and crank the engine four revolutions. This should result in a stable reading; if not, crank up to 10 revolutions, but do the same with all cylinders.

STEP 4 Mark the pressure reading for each cylinder on the valve cover in chalk, then move to the next cylinder.

TIP For a cylinder below 100 psi, pour 1 teaspoon of engine oil into the plug hole and retest. If the reading jumps, the piston rings are worn. If not, think valve problems.