i bought a p reg manual 2.5turbo diesel bongo a few weeks ago. On its 3rd trip it started to overheat on a dual carriageway so pulled over. steam coming from bonnet and when i checked - it came from the coolant.
I called the aa out . they checked it over and said it was most likely head gasket. I had it towed to my usual car garage. They checked it over and said it was the head gasket and would call me with a quote.
Spoke to them yday - they gave me a quote £850 for taking engine apart,head gasket skimming, time belt, oil filter change. they said if the head is cracked will need to pay for that also.
Forget getting the head skimmed. You are better sourcing an original head and getting it fitted. You will be wasting £850.00 in my view, but it is only a view. Paul9 will have more to say on this, he has more experience on Head problems.
I watched a cylinder head being replaced just last week,the head that came off looked perfect,we removed the valves for further inspection but still couldn't see any obvious signs that would cause head gasket failer symptoms,the head gasket didn't show any signs of being blown either,so we had it pressure tested and a crack was revealed deep inside the valve chamber unnoticeable tio the naked eye,so make sure the garage has the head pressure tested and not just skimmed,very important,i have seen the cracks now on a few heads that are not noticeable at first or to the inexperienced,if you need a head speak to mark at engine express in bury,he advertises on ebay,beware of cheap chinese copies on ebay,expect to pay £350-£550 for a decent head,bolts £25,genuine mazda head gasket £50,i would also recomend a radiator £100 and thermostat £13(blueprint or mazda),cambelt £20 blueprint,labour in the region of £300,these are my estimated costs,there may be a few other bits you could need aswell.
This is one of the reasons the Haydn Coolant alarm is a must. Any coolant loss resulting in the level dropping in the header tank and the alarm gives an audible and visible warning. This alarm has saved many £'s for a few people, including myself.
hi there before you go for a expensive job try steel seal a product that seels a cracked head or blown head gasket i took a chance and it has worked and it only cost me, doing it myself about £50 try it what have you got to loose cheers nick
Steel seal is not really a good idea.....it will also restrict the passageways in the head and may only last a few weeks making things worse in the long run
hi there i used steel seal in my bongo and yes i was very sceptical being a machanic, but i used it in my bongo and its still going strong .I have no longer white smoke ,overheating, back pressure or coolant lose. that was 3 months ago and i have done over 1000 miles. big test will be when i travel to south of france soon , yes it goes against the grain but i am very pleased with the result and as of yet it has saved me few hundred pounds . this stuff is not like rad weld or barrs leak which is a fiberas material that fills a crack or hole but falls out after various running tempretures it acts on a chemical reaction between the sreel seal and a good quality anti freeze and produces a fix that stays in the crack or hole and expands with the different tempratures.yes i would always suggest to replace head gasket or head if it needs one but sometimes things like this happens when you have not got the money to do the repairs specialy if you cannot do it yourself. it cost me 30 pounds for the steel seal and 20 pounds for the right antifreeze, and it was an expreriment to see if it works and it has on my bongo cheers nick hunt
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