chaps, help!!!!!

 

i think my heater matrix has just gone, ive just topped up my coolant, and its just flooded back into my passenger foot well ive got steam coming out of my vents and my car i nearly over heating!!! :shock:

 

am i right in saying my heater matrix has gone

 

how much to fix and how long does it take, i NEED the car for jap show!!!

 

help please

 

nick

please lads help!

Yup, sounds like the heater matrix, a few memvers have done them themselves, it takes about two full days of work your first time i believe.

 

http://www.aus300zxclub.com/tech/heater/heatercore.htm

 

this is the method for correction without removing the dash

you can also bypass it by putting a pipe between the 2 hoses to keep you going. obviously you will have no heating until you fix it tho! ;)

When i bought my car the matrix had gone , Manta v8 downloaded some pages from http://www.aus300zxclub.com/tech/heater/heatercore.htm you get 6 pages giving you step by step instuctions with photos on how to replace the core without removing the dash if its an AUTO ,

Relaced my rad and matrix in one evening and a saturday morning on my own , did,nt find it hard ,its just a bit fiddley.

Priced a new one , i think it was about £160 , if its the valve on the side of the matrix there also available seperately about £40.

As has already been mentioned you can bypass the matrix , just pull off the two hoses at the back of the engine that go to the matrix pipes poking through the bulkhead , get a length of hose the right bore and link the engine pipes together , then at least you can get the matrix done at your leasure Hope this helps , iknow it did for me !! :) :) :)

is it much different if its a manual, which mine is???

 

cheers for the help chaps, there is no way im missing the jap show!!!

I think I have heard you have to remove the dash if it is a Manual!

sorry mate - it sounds like the heater matrix - welcome to the wet foot brigade. Looking on the bright side y9ou can bypass it and have the car running. Not too much of a problem until the weather gets cold an I think.

 

p.s. get one of shrimpy's earth connections - a bad earth can lead to the heather matrix going.

 

Regards,

 

alex

Nick,

 

If you haven't sourced a new heater matrix yet there is a guy in the For Sale section who's selling one for £45 - might be worth looking at.

 

Cheers mate!

 

Danny

 

(PS - your A'PEXi induction kit is on it's way to the UK from my supplier as we speak - I'll call you when it has landen ...)

Nick,

 

I have a heater matrix for sale at the moment which I got from AndyZ. I was going to fit it in my Z but my engine went bang before I had chance.

 

I'm looking for £45 for it. There are some pics of the unit in the Items For Sale section.

 

Cheers,

Nick

The difference between the auto and the manual, is that you have to remove the clutch pedal assembly in order to slide the matrix out. To be honest, I found it a lot easier to remove the dash, which is a 20 minute job, than do the whole "long-armed monkey" thing upside down in the drivers footwell looking for screws you cant see. My 2p

 

p.s. get one of shrimpy's earth connections - a bad earth can lead to the heather matrix going.

 

Regards,

 

alex

 

Just curious, how can a bad earth damage the heater matrix?

Metal i would have done mate but i've just ordered one from nissan. If i get chance i'll put a pic on what my dash now looks like. Cheers danny call me when its in

Just curious, how can a bad earth damage the heater matrix?

 

not too sure to be honest :confused: it has somthing to do with a bad earth connection causing your coolant to become slightly acidic - truth or old wives tale i'm not sure - is the main rad steel and the heater matrix aly ?? - is it like how a battery works stripping ions off one thingy and depositing it on another thingy?? perhaps one of the boffins might shed more light on this.

 

Regards,

 

alex

The difference between the auto and the manual, is that you have to remove the clutch pedal assembly in order to slide the matrix out. To be honest, I found it a lot easier to remove the dash, which is a 20 minute job, than do the whole "long-armed monkey" thing upside down in the drivers footwell looking for screws you cant see. My 2p

 

Yes, I had to remove the clutch for to sell it... and it was a bloody site easier to take the dash out than it would have been to do the upside-down thing. The dash comes apart and goes together fairly simply - don't just unbolt everything in sight, try and work out the minimum you need to do...

 

If you want to be anal about it get a load of freezer bags and put the bolts in them as you take them out and label them!

well i know for cert the matrix is ally not sure about the rad, but mine was as manky as manky thing from manky'sville so what exactly im getting at im not sure, but the dash on mine has been out before and aload of screws are missing and some really bad connections done with crimp connectors and scotch blocks, and its taking longer than expected