Leaking Heater Matrix

[Trevrx]

Hi all,

Has anyone replaced their heater matrix? How long does it take?
I'm doing mine at the weekend, I don't think it's going to be much fun, so any tips from those that have done it would be appreciated :)

[mattmaclennan]

my best time was 2 hours with no breakages. 1 hour in, 1 hour out

Steering wheel off,
passenger seat out,
Radio out,
center consol out,
doors open sides removed from dash,
electrical connectors on passenger side,
any alarm led's etc on drivers side,
2 bolts passenger side, 2 bolts driver's side, one in the middle under windscreen,
2 bolts each side of transmission tunnel under shrouds.

you should be able to get the dash up high enough to get underneath and behind it without totally removing it from the car. See pictures I took when I knew someone would ask.

Matrix is a doddle to remove, just remember to take the pipes off in the engine bay!

[Trevrx]

Nice one Matt :god

That looks like a proper nitemare to do, probably take me all saturday! Then I have to leave it in bits while I get the rad re-cored on monday, assuming that's the problem and not a split pipe or something.

Couple of questions: Does the steering wheel have to come off, it was still on in your pic? Do I have to disconnect the air-con somehow? Are the heater pipes accessible from the engine bay or underneath the car?

Thanks for the help, (if you want a job on saturday let me know - cash waiting!)

[mattmaclennan]

no problem, you don't have to touch the aircon. The only reason I didn't take the steering wheel off when I did that car was because it had half a tonne of badly installed alarm wiring which I knew I could leave well alone and still get enough access. I would recomend removing the steering wheel if it's not a cow as it will give you better acces.

You'll probably find it's the rubber "o"-rings that have perished and the matrix is fine. You still need to take the matrix out to get to them though. The "o"-rings are avaliable through Mazda.

[kev-yorks]

Hi trevrx have you tried a can of radweld to cure the problem. don't be afraid of using it as the stuff thats about nowadays has no harmfull effects on your engine. On commercials now most manufacturers reccommend a dose once a year for the inhibitors that are in it because the engines are a mix of cast and alloy parts the same as a rotary. The only reason poeple don't realise its rad weld is that its repackaged in the dealers logo and called inhibitor then they can charge five times the normal price.
Kevin

[Trevrx]

Kev - thanks for that but radweld didn't work, maybe 'cos it's the o rings?

Matt, I tried messaging you but it won't let me, do u do private jobs? I have workshop facilities on Saturday In Highbridge (mate runs a garage), I would pay you £150 cash to do the job if you're interested? If not no worries, let me know, Trev.