Leaking!! Heater Matrix or Core!!! NEED HELP ASAP!!!!!

[winstonerogers]

Hiya People,
I mainly want this as a project car, so if i end up with no heater no problem.
also if it makes a differance I live in the UK.
Ok, my problem is that the heater does not work, and there is water leaking in the passanger footwell.
My big quest is that could this cause the car to overheat or blow the head gasket?
Does the heater core or matix (I think they are the same) use the same water that is used for the engine (coolant).
By what i have gathered is that they use the same water, meaning the coolant level will go down and cause the car to overheat thus blowing the head gasket - AM I RIGHT?
Is the heater matrix and core the same?
How hard to change (as in diy)?
REMEMBER CAR IS FOR IS A PROJECT CAR FOR ME TO FIX UP.
And if im wrong what blows the head gasket?
I Thank you all in advance for answering my question, thank you!

 

[cardiffboy27]

i had this problem in my car and if enough coolent leaks out then the engine will over heat and will cause serious probs, it took my water pump out and damaged the head gasket. the quick fix i found was to bypass the matrix.
just follow the 2 tubes going in to the firewall and join them together thus completing the cooling curcit
fingers crossed this helps

 

[Fordy]

the heater matix and heater core are both the same thing just people use either to describe it,

if its leaking then yes it can cause the engine to overheat as it will be drawing in air into the coolant system which can cause overheating.

to replace it you will have to remove the dash and then the heater box and then remove the heater matrix from inside the heater box.

its easy enough to take the dash out as its only 9 10mm bolts and nuts that hold it in, then your gunna have to take off the steering column surround then the speedo surround and take out the speedo cluster, heater control front cover and take the radio out, also you will have to disconnect the hazard switch, rear wiper switch, rear fog light switch, take the wiring loom off the dash and then the dash should come off be carefull that you dont scratch the a post as you will see it all the time.

thats the way i do it some people take the loom off with the dash but thats personally peference. after the dash is out its pretty easy to see what you need to take off from there

 

[Speedle]

i remember doing this a long while back me and my brother did it ourselves in about 2 hours bearing in mind we had no manual and no idea how to remove the dash it was pretty easy in the end but as a temp measure you can remove the heater pipes going to the heater matrix and join them together to bypass the heater and stop it from leaking further

 

[pharland]

Just bought an 02 plate K11. Didn't notice for a day or 2 that the matrix has been bypassed. Reconnected and I have a leak :-(

Have started loosening and removing bits to get the dash out, but stuck on a couple of bits.

"take off the steering column surround" How? 2 holes underneath that I have poked a pozi thru', but nothing there?

"disconnect the hazard switch, rear wiper switch, rear fog light switch". Same question. I can now get my fingers behind the hazard and hrw switched through the heater control gap, but can't feel how to release it.

Any advice on the above, plus any other tips greatly appreciated.

the heater matix and heater core are both the same thing just people use either to describe it,

if its leaking then yes it can cause the engine to overheat as it will be drawing in air into the coolant system which can cause overheating.

to replace it you will have to remove the dash and then the heater box and then remove the heater matrix from inside the heater box.

its easy enough to take the dash out as its only 9 10mm bolts and nuts that hold it in, then your gunna have to take off the steering column surround then the speedo surround and take out the speedo cluster, heater control front cover and take the radio out, also you will have to disconnect the hazard switch, rear wiper switch, rear fog light switch, take the wiring loom off the dash and then the dash should come off be carefull that you dont scratch the a post as you will see it all the time.

thats the way i do it some people take the loom off with the dash but thats personally peference. after the dash is out its pretty easy to see what you need to take off from there

 

[MrFahrenheit]

Stripped down one of my k11's recently (2000 1.0 facelift model so very similar dash I believe).

The hazard warning and hrw connectors were quite stiff on mine, iirc I got most of the dash loose and free before I had enough room to get behind them, even then they were fiddly. There were also 2 fasteners right at the edge of the dash (1 either side) that I had to pull the door seal out of the way to get to.

I'll have a look at my steering column surrounds tomorrow afternoon.

Are you in need of a heater matrix? Pulled a working one out as a spare for my latest acquisition, however as I now have a lhd (and they're 'handed') it doesn't fit so it's no longer needed.

 

[pharland]

TKU. Realised after I posted that I was in the K10 stream!

I 'think' that I will need the matrix, but want to strip it out first just in case it is something silly like maybe a split plastic, or something else

Stripped down one of my k11's recently (2000 1.0 facelift model so very similar dash I believe).

The hazard warning and hrw connectors were quite stiff on mine, iirc I got most of the dash loose and free before I had enough room to get behind them, even then they were fiddly. There were also 2 fasteners right at the edge of the dash (1 either side) that I had to pull the door seal out of the way to get to.

I'll have a look at my steering column surrounds tomorrow afternoon.

Are you in need of a heater matrix? Pulled a working one out as a spare for my latest acquisition, however as I now have a lhd (and they're 'handed') it doesn't fit so it's no longer needed.

 

[MrFahrenheit]

No worries. Hope it goes well and it's an easy fix. Just be patient with it and have a torch handy, there were a few 'hidden' fasteners that nearly caught me out.