Recommend a garage

[blanch80]

Hi,

Can anyone recommend a garage in/near Hartlepool that is Bongo friendly please?

First time putting it in for a service & MOT since buying it and I want a full service doing on it, not just an oil and plugs change.

Thanks.

[Bob]

Not local to you, but there's a list of 'Bongo Friendly' garages in the Members' Area.

[blanch80]

Thanks for that, there are a couple fairly close - I’d looked in the members area but didn’t realise where they were.

[blanch80]

In people’s general experience, is it worth taking your Bongo to a Bongo friendly garage?

Assume they’ve got their quirks and it’s best to go to a garage that is aware of them.

[g8dhe]

It depends on what skills they have and what is wrong! More modern garages expect their computers to tell them what's wrong.
General servicing /MoT's then any garage should be able to cope.
If something involves the coolant system or the AFT then a Bongo aware garage is worth going to if there is one local. Main problem with the average garage is that they prefer to order replacement items from their normal distributors. I've taught my garage to use the Bongo distributors and suppliers and now they handle quite a few Bongo's without being specifically Bongo aware But they are older school and happy to dive in and understand what is going on rather than relying on a computer to tell them

[Bob]

The real big thing with the diesel and V6 engines is the need to bleed the cooling system after any work on it, this is vital, but as Geoff says, the rest of it is basic old school.

[blanch80]

I’m a 2l petrol - not a V6. Noticed my coolant is down, is it as important on those engines or is it a bit more simple?

[g8dhe]

Yes coolant level is VITAL!
Unlike most vehicles Bongo's use a pressurised system, as the temperature rises the pressure goes up. There is no overflow tank, the tank top right allows gases to come out of the coolant and collected at the highest point, hence its name of De-gassing tank.
The 2l is the most dependable engine as it has an extra pipe to allow any excess gases to flow up to the tank more easily.
However it is vital that you watch the coolant level and if it drops then there must be a leak, these leaks need finding and sorting, otherwise the coolant level goes down, there is less pressure and hence lower heat transport from the engine.