Whether you are already a Mazda Bongo or Ford Freda owner, or are just thinking about joining the ranks of many happy Bongo owners, we thought we would put together some top tips to help you keep your Bongo running! As they say, they are not making any more of them so we have to look after the ones we have.

Mazda Bongo Tyres

Tyre size: 2 & 4 wheel drive (2.5L turbo diesel & 2wd 2.0L petrol) Front: 195/70 R15 92S (inflation pressure 30 PSi) Rear: 215/65 R15 96S (inflation pressure 34 PSi) NOTE: 4WD vehicles can sustain serious drive train damage if the wrong tyre sizes are fitted!

Tyre size: 2.5L V6 petrol Front: 195/70 R15 92S (inflation pressure 30 PSi) Rear: 215/70 R15 96S (inflation pressure 34 PSi)

Space saver spare wheel (All models) T135/90 D15 (inflation pressure 60 PSi)

Mazda Bongo Engine Oil

All petrol & diesel models will run fine on a semi synthetic, 10W 30 or 10W 40.

(Please see our Filters, Spark Plugs & Glow Plugs section for the quantities needed for each engine type). It is recommended to change the oil in a diesel bongo every 6,000 miles or 12 months (whichever comes soonest). For petrol engine the interval is 10,000 miles or 12 months (whichever comes soonest).

Mazda Bongo Coolant / Antifreeze

The recommended replacement interval to change the coolant in a Mazda Bongo is every 2 years. Remember antifreeze has a corrosion inhibitor in it, so will protect the internals of all those metal pipes & radiator. Based on the assumption you change the coolant, a good quality standard anti freeze will be suitable i.e “Bluecol” 2 year blue antifreeze or 5 year red antifreeze. The whole system holds about 13 litres so you will need 6 litres of antifreeze in your system if you are filling from empty. Please remember to refill with the same colour that is already in your Bongo.

Mazda Bongo Coolant System Inspection

Take a good look round the coolant system & the radiator. If the hoses look swollen, change them! This could save you the cost of a new cylinder head if a hose bursts & the vehicle over-heats. Inspect the coolant radiator; this is behind the air-conditioning radiator. If the air-conditioning radiator is collapsing and furred up it could be seriously reducing the air flow to the main cooling radiator. If you change a hose it is worth using a Jubilee clip rather than the original Mazda clip. The original clips will be old and were perfect when all the parts were new, but perhaps not so good now.

Mazda Bongo Corrosion

Unfortunately, some Mazda Bongos were not under-sealed when they were imported into the UK. As vehicles are not under-sealed as standard in Japan, you will need to have the underside of your Bongo inspected to avoid expensive bodywork bills or MoT corrosion failures.

Mazda Bongo Front Heater Motors

These are prone to failure if the bearing at the bottom of the front fan motor starts to seize. The front Fan Motor will then draw more current and burn out the resistor pack, positioned above the fan (most common on manual Air-con cars). If you have this problem, simply replacing the resistor pack may not be best fix. If the fan motor is still tight, the new resistor is likely to blow again. You may still need a new fan motor. To help avoid this and prolong the life of your front fan motor, there is a small drain hole in the front screen scuttle that is often blocked! Water from the screen can then run over the lip of the scuttle and drip onto the fan box. Keep this drain hole and its tube clear, check it when you wash your Bongo.

Mazda Bongo Elevating Roof

If your elevating roof won’t go up or won’t come back down then it could be a small wire that is meant to be attached to the back of the handbrake lever. You will need to remove the grey plastic centre consul to see this. It is a single wire that should be attached to the back of the handbrake on a single spade terminal. This is the safety wire to stop the roof working unless the handbrake is on.

Mazda Bongo Head Gasket & Cylinder Heads

Head gasket or more commonly, cylinder head failure, is usually caused from something as simple as a failed thermostat or split hose. In 90% of cases the head will be cracked. With some excellent value quality cylinder head packages available from us, this doesn’t have to be a huge problem. We have supplied hundreds of cylinder heads and fit the exact same ones in our own work shop. We have never had one back and have never had a failure. We offer full technical support to all our cylinder head customers, and will do all we can to ensure you only fit one new cylinder head & one that will last.

All information supplied is done so in good faith. AVA Leisure (Vehicles) Ltd. cannot be held responsible for any errors. If you would like to offer any other topics for inclusion why not send us an email. Happy motoring.