heater matrix - 1992 Ford Escort 1.4

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Fri 12 Mar 2004 17:04
heater matrix - 1992 Ford Escort 1.4 - escort man
Hi,

Heater matrix on my car has blown, filling the car with steam when the fan is turned on. This has been made worse by the garage who confirmed it, after they pressure tested the cooling system and made the hole bigger!!

Does anyone know how difficult it is to replace one of these, and is it possible for an amateur to do - Haynes manual makes it sound 'relativly' simple - the garage is quoting £150+ just for labour.

Also how much is the part itself gonna set me back (i got a Ford spares near me but they close early fri - typical!!)

I appreciate the cooling system needs to be drained, but its high time for that anyway!

Thanks for any advice

Dave
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Fri 12 Mar 2004 17:59
heater matrix - 1992 Ford Escort 1.4 - elekie&a/c doctor
It is not a difficult job to change heater matrix,but requires some trim & part dash removal to release heater box from bulkhead& 2water pipes onto matrix itself.A competant person would take 2-3 hours max. cost of matrix approx £60.
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Sat 13 Mar 2004 08:56
heater matrix - 1992 Ford Escort 1.4 - jc
It may be worth while contacting Serck(or Halfords who are Serck agents) for the price of an exchange matrix.
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Sat 13 Mar 2004 11:34
heater matrix - 1992 Ford Escort 1.4 - rg
Can it be by-passed for now to keep the vehicle on the road? I did this effectively on my Pug 405. Use a couple of jubilee clips plus a 28mm copper water pipe. This, of course, all depends on getting access to the hoses where they go into the bulkhead (scuttle?).

Oh yes. Wear thermals.

(My buddy once had to stop at a service area and stick his big toe up the hot air hand dryer to stave off frostbite in minus 5 on the M6 and no heating.)

:-))

rg
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Mon 15 Mar 2004 12:54
heater matrix - 1992 Ford Escort 1.4 - doug_523i
I bypassed mine with the gudgeon pin from a Yamaha 350LC. If I remember correctly the Escort matrix is a mixture of plastic and alloy and is prone to failure. It's a fiddly job getting the plastics out of the dash, but well within the average persons capability.
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Mon 15 Mar 2004 13:07
heater matrix - 1992 Ford Escort 1.4 - rg
doug_r1

An -excellent- use of a gudgeon pin!!

:-)))


rg
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