HELP ! heater matrix

[Chris Chambers]

Heater matrix leaking into cabin , will this be the end of my car ? Can't get it out and its disconnected and leaking into the cab ! Will this effect wiring / floor pan etc is it worth saving ?

[Andy10v]

As a temporary measure you can just bypass it, disconnect the hoses from the heater matrix where they go into the firewall and connect them together.

What car is it?

A new heater matrix is cheap, not a fun job in a b3/4 but doable in an afternoon for a first attempt to pop the dash out.

[Mellis46]

Originally Posted by Chris Chambers

Heater matrix leaking into cabin , will this be the end of my car ? Can't get it out and its disconnected and leaking into the cab ! Will this effect wiring / floor pan etc is it worth saving ?

Have had to do this to both of my b3 90s. I went to great pains to dry everything by removing the back and passenger seats and seperating the carpet and sound deadening, setting up a couple of portable heaters and mopping it out repeatedly. All is not lost, is completely doable just a right faff.

Its worth taking your time and replacing the duff matrix with a genuine / decent one. Not a job you want to repeat too quickly. On the B3 the matrix for RHD has curved pipes, the LHD ones are straight, be sure to get the correctversion

On the 90q i found an old bodged loom repair on the passenger side when doing this so was able to sort that properly, even found a very rusty screw driver left in there from years past!!!!

[msh]

Drying in situ is rather useless exercise, as the sound deadening acts like sponge, which in situ is hard to dry. Better is to remove everything and dry in free air. I used to dry sound deadening in my bathroom, which is 4 square meters small, with heater that blows hot air - hanged it from ceiling, and turned that heater on, got some 40 degrees heat in the bathroom, after about hour turned the heater off, after some time on and so on, took less than day to get the items in question TOTALLY dry.

Originally Posted by Chris Chambers

Heater matrix leaking into cabin , will this be the end of my car ? Can't get it out and its disconnected and leaking into the cab ! Will this effect wiring / floor pan etc is it worth saving ?

If you have questions like these, it's possible. Usually people understands that everything can be fixed and something as small as this problem can't seriously affect the car, unless there's bigger problem with the owner. After all, it's just replacement of a small part.

[Mellis46]

Originally Posted by msh

Drying in situ is rather useless exercise, as the sound deadening acts like sponge, which in situ is hard to dry.

Hard but not impossible, depends whether your other half likes manky 30 year old sound deadening hanging in her bathroom...

[Andy10v]

I have dried out a leaky coupe in situ with a good dehumidifier.

[Chris Chambers]

I have replace the heater matrix and put some things back in how ever mine is A 100 C3 Avant and the seats have got to come out i believe to get the front half of the carpet out ? the smell from the heater from where the coolant drained the the heater unit can stink but using it as a daily to get to work isnt practical to strip it all the time :/

[leggy]

Have you considered hiring a Vax type carpet washer cleaner?
You could use it initially to suck up the excess coolant, and then use it to wash the carpets

[msh]

Originally Posted by Mellis46

Hard but not impossible, depends whether your other half likes manky 30 year old sound deadening hanging in her bathroom...

I'm single, in any case you can substitute bathroom for some other small room/shed, which you can heat up. Actually drying in the sun should also rather good, although slower. Before doing that it's good to wash it with some buckets of water, washing powder and brush. Afterwards, if compressed air is available, after getting it dry blow out fine sand with air gun, or what's the name of that thing - carpet is able to absorb surprising amount of fine sand, when I tried that, my car looked like I had spent crazy day in beach with my car

[John.]

Originally Posted by msh

I'm single,

No way.........you're pullin' our legsky's?