Disclaimer – I am NOT a mechanic!! Nor have I experience of anything other than the earlier diesel model of Bongo. Many items are not model specific, however you should get yourself familiar with where everything is on your van. As a minimum, I check all fluids and for leaks every time I fill up the fuel tank. I highly recommend you do the same. Please bear in mind, even if you have one of the newest models, they are at least 17 years old! And, while they may not show many signs of their age on the surface, your engine and running gear are a fair age, and back when Bongos were built, vehicle maintenance was much more frequent than nowadays. Even if you don’t do many miles, the intervals for most fluids to be changed are time OR mileage specific, and your old engine needs TLC to be in tip-top condition.
Japanese engineering is absolutely fantastic. They were way ahead of us here in the UK with regards to extensive testing of components and with engineering things to last and be reliable. A lower priority for them unfortunately was rust prevention! In Japan, they don’t use salt on icy roads, instead using volcanic ash to grit the roads, so corrosion on the scale we see here isn’t an issue. The big down-side of this is that if your Bongo isn’t professionally undersealed, and cavities in chassis and body treated for rust prevention BEFORE it sees a British winter, then it is very likely you have rust working away quietly under there. An annual clean and degrease of chassis and undercarriage, together with a fresh coat of sealant on any exposed parts (avoiding brake lines, suspension parts and drivetrain) will keep things solid.
So, what about servicing? Basic oil and filters is something that most home mechanics should be able to do easily, and it’s worth just re-emphasising the short service intervals on a diesel Bongo. This engine is found in a variety of vehicles all over the world from this era, and it is normally gutsy, torquey and reliable, if a bit agricultural. It’s not like modern diesel cars at all, and revving much beyond 3500rpm won’t do much other than make more noise! For what it is, however, it is quite nippy, and despite the auto box, gentle throttle use and keeping the revs down can return nearly 35mpg on long runs. Certainly my 2WD model if driven gently can achieve this return for fuel, so I don’t expect to win the race at the traffic lights, but rather enjoy the experience of driving my beloved Bongo instead.
I mentioned service intervals, and if you have the glovebox handbook for your van ( you can pick them up new on Ebay for less than £20) the intervals for most things are listed.
Engine oil – 6 months OR 5000kms – that’s only 3200 miles!! I use a good quality synthetic oil, and replace annually, which is roughly every 6000 miles.
Oil filter – 12 months OR 10,000kms – well, I change this every oil change too.
Coolant – Every two years. I wouldn’t take the chance, just give it a good flush out and replace with new ready-mixed long-life Alloy-safe coolant. IMPORTANT!! Follow the bleed procedure for the Bongo – it’s critical that the engine and cooling system is bled properly. Due to the design and the location of the engine in the middle of the van, there are some very long, bendy pipes in the cooling system, and virtually the highest point in the system is the cylinder head, where the bleed tube is attached (if you don’t know what I’m on about, please research it and learn how to do this properly, otherwise serious engine damage can result!!)
Auto transmission and filter – every two years! Your automatic gearbox is a complicated and expensive part of the drive train. Look after it and change the gearbox fluid regularly to maintain it in top order.
Brake fluid – every two years. A big job, but again, this interval is for a reason, and the brakes get extra usage on an automatic, especially one as heavy as a Bongo.
Air filter – 50,000kms – but annually isn’t going to break the bank. It’s an easy swap.
Fuel filter – 50,000kms – again, it costs about £15, and takes a few minutes, why not annually?
Fuel hoses – every 4 years!! Think about that, folks. I had an issue with a perished hose on mine, which was allowing the fuel pump to draw air. The engine cut out, and wouldn’t re-start. For a 30cm length of fuel line!! At least have a good look, trace the lines from the fuel tank to the fuel filter and pump and make sure they are flexible and in good order. Or you could end up stranded, too!
Timing belt – 100,000kms, or 60,000 miles. If you don’t know whether it’s been done before you got the van, then I would be budgeting for this in your service as well. It’s pretty straightforward, but you MUST line everything up before swapping the belt out. I didn’t want to take the chance, personally, and booked mine in to a Bongo-saavy garage for this part of the service. Total peace of mind, for 2 hours labour? Why wouldn’t you?
Glow plugs – every 50,000kms (30,000 miles). Use a good brand plug, eg NGK, it’s worth the extra few £s. If your Bongo is spluttering a bit on cold mornings, good chance at least one of the glow plugs is faulty. £40 buys a set, and a home mechanic can replace them, if you go gently and take your time. They are under the driver’s side.
Everything else is really just common sense – regular checks of brakes, at least annually, but if the van is laid up, then before it is used again. Take each wheel off, check condition of pads and discs. If you get a “wobble” when braking as you drive, then you more than likely have a warped front disc. The brake calipers are the guide-pin and slider type and all the moving parts should be inspected and cleaned, lubed up again to keep everything as it should be.
If this list fills you with dread, then you need to find a friendly Bongo garage. Ask around of fellow owners, they usually know where a reliable mechanic can be found. And if, like me, you are happy to have a go – get stuck in!! The design of most service items is fairly basic and standard, with the obvious exception of the elaborate cooling system, and if you take your time, read up, watch videos and do your research before tackling the job, you will find it very rewarding to keep your Bongo in tip-top order.
Source of everything you will ever need to know is, for me, Bongo Fury, the official Bongo(and Freda) owners’ club in the UK. Membership starts at just £15 a YEAR, and for this you have access to a massive library of “how-to” fact sheets, parts lists, and wiring diagrams, as well as a forum covering pretty much every topic you can dream up.
When you buy your Bongo it’s a good indicator of how well looked after it has been if the owner can hand over service history information, previous MOTs, garage bills etc. You can look up the previous MOT history too, and see if any advisories re-appear, or are dealt with as they are flagged. Don’t be too discouraged by previous rust repairs, if it’s been done right, it should last many years, and as they are old buses, rust repairs are inevitable, I’m afraid. Get it done professionally, get it treated to prevent new corrosion, and you can prolong your Bongo’s life dramatically.
A few hundred £s a year is not a massive amount for vehicle maintenance, and if you care about your vehicle at all, it should be a no-brainer. Everything is relative, and you should be able to avoid expensive and unplanned garage bills by taking care of the service stuff. Frequent exploration under the seats, checking fluids and looking for any leaks, or corroded pipes, is well worth doing and takes the guess-work out of any long trips you want to make. Bongos are still pretty cheap vehicles, excellent value compared to European equivalents, and it makes sense to look after them, offsetting service costs and repairs against the cost of a replacement van puts things in perspective. After all, how much would it cost, especially in today’s market, to buy another van? And, what potential issues might you buy into by replacing your van with an unknown one? Sometimes it is worth spending on the problems you know about, maintaining the van you have, rather than buy another that you don’t know whether the previous owner skimped on things, covered things up with thick underseal, body filler and paint.
Love your Bongo. It will thank you for it in the form of many happy miles, and give you that “Bongo smile”.
I hope this quick guide is of some value to new owners, and remember there is a fantastic Bongo community out there, happy to offer advice, give hints of what to look out for, and swap ideas.
Happy trails!
Ali Bongo's adventures 
That was informative 👍. Thanks.
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