heater matrix

[martin 27]

does any one no how to change the heater matrix in me cavalier just sum advice our anything how much is it to replace thank you

[Gaz]

its been years since i did one but its not too bad a job, drain the water out of your engine first, and follow the haynes, its fiddly but its simple enough, its getting access thats the hard part.

[martin 27]

hat to get a new haynes it's the passenger foot well its soaking but just the sound proofing not the carpet just noticed when changing the seat's making me think the matrix thank you

[Gaz]

see if it smells of anti freeze if it doesnt, id suspect the scuttle panel drains have blocked, undo the rubber trunk at the back of the bay - above the steering rack. remove and clean, and take the plastic shroud off near the wipers and give it all a clean out

[humbucker]

how would you know if your matrix had gone. i dont mean it chucking water out into the car, but my heater doesnt work properly at the moment so i wanted to diagnose the problem. how could i tell if it was the matrix? she runs fine, just not a lot of heat, if any, out of heater system. is there a sure fire way of checking it?

[Gaz]

its either the flaps not working or a blocked matrix, probably worth flushing it out

[humbucker]

im hoping its the flaps, but she blows air, just not hot air... is there a test or some visual cue to test your matrix? would the car run off-colour if the matrix was at fault?

[Gaz]

not really. it would possibly run fractionally warmer but it would be impossible to tell

[humbucker]

any sure fire way of checking/sorting the flap problem? dash out? your assistance greatly appreciated (it's freezing in there at the moment haha!)

[Gaz]

would have to take a fair chunk of the dash out. to get to it, id be flushing it myself its a lot easier than faffing about with the dash

[humbucker]

would have to take a fair chunk of the dash out. to get to it, id be flushing it myself its a lot easier than faffing about with the dash

thats for the matrix though right? you're suggesting flush it and if spillage then you know that its a matrix?

i wondered what the remedy/fix for the flaps were

[Gaz]

basically undo the pipes at the back of the bay shove the hose in one side and let it blast through, when it comes out the same rate as it goes in, its fine

Ive never actually never had the flaps go i was just making a suggestion for all probable problems but id assume it would be the cables snapping or coming off- if they can move really easy they have probably come off.

[humbucker]

basically undo the pipes at the back of the bay shove the hose in one side and let it blast through, when it comes out the same rate as it goes in, its fine

Ive never actually never had the flaps go i was just making a suggestion for all probable problems but id assume it would be the cables snapping or coming off- if they can move really easy they have probably come off.

ok thanks for the tip, i'll have a butchers. hoping the cable is the likely culprit as i think one of the cables is loose... thanks again gaz

[nuno_gt]

Hi everyone,

As i saw this topic, i'll take the opportunitty to ask you, Cav specialists, one thing: in my Cav, the driver footwell is all soaked. but the blower expels hot air when needed and cold air when requested and the temperature needle doesn't move too much if i get stopped on traffic. Is it the heater matrix or it only need a cleaning in the area when it gets dirty?

Cheers

[Colorado]

Have you cleaned out the rubber drainage hose in the engine bay on the middle of the bulkhead? Start there first just to make sure it is not blocked up.

[humbucker]

well today i went out and reattached the cable to the slider for the windscreen/centre vents. its quite stiff compared to the others i have to say, maybe it needs a bit of wd40 somewhere?

anyway, the heat is still fairly luke warm. i checked the matrix pipes in the cabin and one is hot hot hot and the other is luke warm. am i right in thinking this suggests that the feed in is good but back out is luke warm, therefore suggesting the matrix is blocked?

if this is the case i have read that i need to get a hose out and flush the matrix by inserting hose in one pipe and pushing water through til all the crap comes flying out of the other one. thing is, a) i'm not sure which hoses are necessarily the right ones in the engine bay, and b) how on earth do you get down there? ramps?

[Gaz]

def partially blocked

[humbucker]

in which case is the hose method the best way to deal with it and do you have pics of the hoses which need attending to? and how do you get to them? thanks in advance

[Gaz]

in which case is the hose method the best way to deal with it and do you have pics of the hoses which need attending to? and how do you get to them? thanks in advance

Other than removing it id just remove both sides put a hose in and flush it or,
take both hoses off, get a scrap length of hose, make a bung for the end of it and attach it to one side, add a longish length of pipe to the other side and stick a funnel on the other and get some kettle descaler from the supermarket and follow the instructions then flush it out.