Bongo Fury

Good morning, I'm some 10 years into this Bongo malarkey and still seking solutions. I strongly suspect my thermostat is knackered and have read of it's removal, but can't find, with a few searches attempted, what if any are the major downsides to this. My aim is to remove the springs & stuff so I can still fit the body of the thermostat, I would be grateful if any of the Bongo oracles could point out the glaring but as yet unspotted (by me ) error in this plan? thanks!

Just put a new one in !!!! Simples
Not a good idea to remove the workings......it controls the engine temp and removing it will mean it never gets to a good constant working temp.

If you are removing it because it overheats.....again not a good idea.....you need to fix the cause.

Ditto with Haydn.

4wd trickier to change than 2wd. With the former, official advice I think is drop the driveshaft but I''ve read some have managed it without doing that, using (i think) knuckle jointed socket set.

Why do you want to doctor the old thermostat, does the vehicle have an overheating problem.??

it has overheated, but I believe the thermostat not opening was the cause, as the bottom pipe on the radiator remained cold, why remove it, because they stick shut on a regular basis. I may be wrong on both counts which is why I've posted the question

to clarify, I was losing small amounts of coolant....no sweat checked round..small drip from a hose, sorted that, refill bleed, bleed and bleed a bit more. test drive, overheat bleed a bit more...read up, suspect water pump ( due to a few other symptoms which would be too long winded)..change pump...damn...glaring error, cold bottom hoses...read up...suspect thermostat....so here we are. I've just ordered a replacement thermostat, I suppose I just wondered what purpose it served, I thought it just brought the engine up to temp a little sooner, but once open that was that....so why not just dispense with the gubbins leaving the body in place due to the seal.....every day is a school day!

I repeat my advice above!! They do not stick shut on a regular basis.......put a new one in...gen Mazda......it will probably overheat again and you must find the cause.....head could be cracked after overheating...
Did the coolant level drop....have you a coolant alarm fitted?

yes the level dropped a few times, but never overheated till I drained the system to repair the dripping hose. I realise the head maybe cracked, but with a cracked head I still would have thought that the bottom hoses on the radiator would have got hot as I didn't think the head being cracked would stop the coolant circulation?...No no coolant alarm, but a new head some four years ago

oh and after your liberal use of exclamation marks,you needn't fret I have already ordered a replacement thermostat!!

Did you bleed it according to the YouTube videos?

What !! Marks

I have since seeing the videos yesterday, previous to that I was bleeding it with a method posted previously on here, bleeding through and maintaining level in header, which incidentally has always worked for me in the past.

Right, I'm at the end of my tether.....thermostat changed...bottom of the radiator is still cold....I have read back and whilst I wouldn't expect the bottom hoses to be as warm I would expect a little more even temperature in the rad.
So am I facing the almost inevitable conclusion that head #2 has gone, in which case I am afraid she's down the road!!?
All Ideas gratefully considered.

You have to rev the engine, with the vehicle stationery, for a long time to get the bottom hose hot, which is why bleeding takes so long. During normal driving I don't remember my bottom hose ever getting hot - it really needs long hills or a good blast along a motorway - it's not like a normal car.

Easiest way I found is to remove the thermostat housing from the block.

This will allow you to fit the thermostat a lot easier.

The housing to block gasket is readily available from any Ford dealer.

Presuming that you are talking about a 2.5 diesel engine of course.