Heater matrix replacement guide right hand drive

Post Thu Jul 13, 2023 10:14 am

Last night I lost heaters after a "spirited drive" and noticed they were blowing cold.
I pulled in a mile down the road and checked everything and nothing was untoward.!

Coolant had not dropped, temps were absolutely normal, both pipes to and from the matrix were hot. Basically the car was behaving exactly thr same as any other time.

Couple of miles down the road they kind of came back but not hot just warm ish.

Went to thr garage this morning to check and found no drips on the garage floor, coolant level hasn't dropped and no wet carpet. Very odd.

Now I'm thinking either the heater valve is playing up or the heater core is blocked.

I know the dash does not have to come out as some say, but wondered if there's a guide on changing these and what part numbers for o rings I need.

I'm driving the car to Germany in 2 weeks time and this has scared me a little. But like I say, the car was behaving exactly as it should and all temps were normal so I can only assume either the valve or the matrix being blocked is the culprit

Post Thu Jul 13, 2023 2:24 pm

Are you sure you have bled it correctly and not got an airlock in it somewhere?

Wouldn't be the first time I have seen an E30 needing its nose a foot in the air to get it bled.

Warm the car, heater to hot Nose high and also squeeze the rad pipes (with gloves on) to get things moving.

I would make sure before pulling the dash out.

Post Thu Jul 13, 2023 3:18 pm

flybynite wrote: ↑
Thu Jul 13, 2023 2:24 pm
Are you sure you have bled it correctly and not got an airlock in it somewhere?

Wouldn't be the first time I have seen an E30 needing its nose a foot in the air to get it bled.

Warm the car, heater to hot Nose high and also squeeze the rad pipes (with gloves on) to get things moving.

I would make sure before pulling the dash out.

The thought had crossed my mind as I recently changed the thermostat for an 85⁰ but I was quite sure I'd bled it out like every other time. Although I could have a pocket of air that's now trapped in the matrix.

I drove the car from South wales to the Midlands last week and it absolutely walked it.

Removing the matrix is a bigger issue for me since it's v8 swapped and the brake servo etc is all relocated inside the passenger footwell

So it's a bigger job for me I think

I'll have another go at bleeding it. Might start by removing the top matrix heater hose and see if I can get anything out of there then back fill it.

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