I've done a matrix replacement solo, so if I can do it, anyone can do it. Granted I did have the dash out, but I did still spend a lot of time upside down in the passenger door well. Took many hours but got there in the end and the car has been roasting hot since! As mentioned, dump all the bypass pipework in the bin. Did you know, the bypass pipework was an official VW induced recall solution in the 90s for the exploding matrix issue! I did a bit of reading about it when I was researching the job a couple of years ago, and was delighted to find that they could be dumped now in lieu of better quality matrixeseseseses'. Come to think of it, I probably read it here!
Ok girls put away the handbags now....ye're both great (not said with even the slightest touch of legendary Irish sarcasm..)
Nah, I'm actually only a See You Next Tuesday. Being nice is AWFULLY overrated. I think about the only thing I haven't worked on with/for Ronan in his mk2 is the interior.
So with the promise of a dry albeit cold day we cracked on with the replacement of the heater matrix. I won't bore you with what has been reported many times but, we have heat! In fact, almost instant heat, what a difference. Without a doubt it would be an easier job with the entire dash out but it's not too bad with just the lower sections. I watched a couple of Utube vids but they never manage to include all the bolts and screws do they? Did the flaps as well of course. I used the foam I had left over from the head liner. Total time taken was 6 hours including new foam and a test drive. Afterwards I cut the old matrix open out of interest. At first I cut the inlet outlet end and all the tubes were clear. Then I cut the other end and you can see at least 4 tubes are blocked. I suppose it only takes one tube and it's done. Air flow is much better as expected. All in all, very happy.
Well done, think I may have this coming in the nearish future, hopefully will not get too cold until I start engine swap. Love the fact your mind works similarly to mine as in 'why or why not does this work?' And so the angle grinder comes out.
For mine would a hosepipe jammed into matrix hose pipework for half an hour improve things or is the blockage rock hard
I tried that and I also did a coolant flush with a cleaning additive and it made no difference. I would say that leaving the hose in doesn't work because the water takes the route of least resistance and therefore doesn't go down any blocked tubes, just in and out of the two main pipes. In my matrix the blocked tubes are properly blocked and would need mechanically cleaning out which would be all but impossible. I would add that the date on my old matrix showed it to be the original one. Doing this job once in every 20 years is not so bad.
yeah as above really, once clogged the coolant just bypasses the affected tube. another clue your matrix is done is when you find bits of curley pasta in your header tank
I'm not really sure what this curly pasta would be or where it would come from. There is nothing in the matrix that looks like that? I drove to work this morning (-1.4 degrees). There was warm air but the temp gauge didn't get off the first white section. As a result the air was not as hot as it should be. I will fit the new thermostat at the weekend and see what difference that makes. It is the last thing I can think of.
The original ones have these plastic inserts which helps the coolant to swirl around the channels and makes it more efficient