Just been reading Whitedog's "Talk me off the ledge" post and I think I too am almost there. I have a vehicle which I don't think will be known in the US but some general advice about temperatures, engineering and cooling systems would greatly help me out, and maybe off the ledge, the good way
The vehicle is a Mazda Bongo MPV converted to a camper. These were originally produced for the domestic Japanese market only but as they don't keep older vehicles they quickly filtered out to loads of other countries. Ours is a 2.5 TD Auto with 4WD and is now 20 years old but only 40,000 miles.
they seem to have become somewhat notorious for overheating issues, I always thought we were immune as it's low mileage and well maintained, you can probably guess what's coming.
One burst pipe and total coolant loss later, I cannot get it back together and despite changing hoses, thermostat, radiator and so on it just will not bleed all the air out.
There is a process on the owners Forum/You Tube as ti how to do this, i have followed it to the letter, also checked and re-sealed everything in case it is drawing in air when running. It will however hold pressure or vacuum, so there shouldn't be any leaks and there is no visible coolant loss. There are also none of the normal head gasket issue signs and it doesn't seem to lose coolant when running.
The heads seem to trap air easily, so I have been monitoring the temperature with a laser gauge, it is frequently about 90 degrees but has been over 100, at which point I normally switch off as I think that's too much, but is it? To be honest I am not sure how hot a normal cylinder head gets, so this would be my first question. how hot is reasonable for an alloy head on a Diesel engine?
Forums seem to suggest it is likely I have a Head gasket issue or a cracked head. I have to say the quality of mechanical information and knowledge of owners of these vehicles is not as good as VWs and there's a guy just now who was advised he needed a head, a job which he duly undertook, to find ther is nothing wrong with the head. So for me no outward signs of head trouble and I am struggling to accept I may need to remove the head. It has never had a full overheat situation, it has got hotter than I would like at times but we have pretty much treated it with "kid gloves" and with the low mileage as well, I just can't accept it, am I wrong?
I am not a mechanic but I have worked in cars as a hobby all my life, now 56 I have a fair knowledge and set of tools and like to think I am not stupid and can usually think my way out of a problem but this ime, it's looking less and less likely. Why, Oh why, didn't I just buy a rusty T4? Basically any advice, thoughts would be great, bearing in mind I am already on that ledge
The vehicle is a Mazda Bongo MPV converted to a camper. These were originally produced for the domestic Japanese market only but as they don't keep older vehicles they quickly filtered out to loads of other countries. Ours is a 2.5 TD Auto with 4WD and is now 20 years old but only 40,000 miles.
they seem to have become somewhat notorious for overheating issues, I always thought we were immune as it's low mileage and well maintained, you can probably guess what's coming.
One burst pipe and total coolant loss later, I cannot get it back together and despite changing hoses, thermostat, radiator and so on it just will not bleed all the air out.
There is a process on the owners Forum/You Tube as ti how to do this, i have followed it to the letter, also checked and re-sealed everything in case it is drawing in air when running. It will however hold pressure or vacuum, so there shouldn't be any leaks and there is no visible coolant loss. There are also none of the normal head gasket issue signs and it doesn't seem to lose coolant when running.
The heads seem to trap air easily, so I have been monitoring the temperature with a laser gauge, it is frequently about 90 degrees but has been over 100, at which point I normally switch off as I think that's too much, but is it? To be honest I am not sure how hot a normal cylinder head gets, so this would be my first question. how hot is reasonable for an alloy head on a Diesel engine?
Forums seem to suggest it is likely I have a Head gasket issue or a cracked head. I have to say the quality of mechanical information and knowledge of owners of these vehicles is not as good as VWs and there's a guy just now who was advised he needed a head, a job which he duly undertook, to find ther is nothing wrong with the head. So for me no outward signs of head trouble and I am struggling to accept I may need to remove the head. It has never had a full overheat situation, it has got hotter than I would like at times but we have pretty much treated it with "kid gloves" and with the low mileage as well, I just can't accept it, am I wrong?
I am not a mechanic but I have worked in cars as a hobby all my life, now 56 I have a fair knowledge and set of tools and like to think I am not stupid and can usually think my way out of a problem but this ime, it's looking less and less likely. Why, Oh why, didn't I just buy a rusty T4? Basically any advice, thoughts would be great, bearing in mind I am already on that ledge