The official heater matrix thread?!

[Tom]

Mine has died and the chap at the motor factors said theres 2 different types, one was made by valeo and the other by behr? He said he cant say for sure which i need so im hoping someone on here will know, need to know fast really guys cos obviously its christmas so i gotta get this sorted

[ash240970]

It's easy - one is for air con and one is for non air con - that is the two different types - not manufacturer

[Tom]

Do you know which is which?

[RJDubya]

I doubt there's any difference other than the valeo 1 will be OEM whereas the other aftermarket.

[Bananalad]

Valeo for non aircon, if you dont trust me buy the two and return the one you dont use. Happy Christmas

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234 x 158 x 42 Dimensions

[Tom]

I love you.

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Ordered, will be at the factors tomorrow lunch time 33quid

[Tom]

Dash is almost out!

[Matt]

Didn't think there was a difference between aircon and non aircon?

[samass]

Dash is almost out!

AMAZING!!!

[Tom]

Its out yaay. Anyone know how to get to the actual matrix? Its inside a box and i cant figure out how to do it:/

[Bananalad]

Have you taken off the blower motor?

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Its been awhile since i done mine but i just thought it was all clips.. Dont break the hard plastic pipe that joins to the matrix in the engine bay!

[Tom]

Nope blower (lol) is still on there.. I'll go rip that off now!

In other news the motor factors f*cked up and i cant get the new matrix til 5 tonight. By then it wil be dark. So thats another day added to this catastrophe.

[Tom]

Cant get the blower off nor can i get into that shitty little box... Ideas anyone?

[samass]

I took mine off with my foot. And a hammer.

[Tom]

Dont know if serious or troll :/

[samass]

For reals. But I was stripping the car.

[Tom]

Ahh bugger. I spose its not to urgent cos i cant get the f*cking matrix til 5 cos those cocks at the motor factors are 'tards. Glad i got this far though, I spose it must just be a few awkward screws or something.

[306Puggy]

There is one bolt at the bottom of the centre console where the ash tray is and then two nuts in the engine compartment where the black egg shaped texture is.

[Tom]

I found one what does the other look like? Same thing but more passenger side?

Undone that one but it stuck on the end and undone the whole thing.. Is the other one like that just a bit further to the right if im looking at the engine?

[Tom]

So i thought to myself wonder how much shit is actually inside this thing. So i filled it with water (or what water stayed in it for that long) shook it about and then poured the contents into the sink, All the brown water went away but you get the idea, alot of shit!

[Ben]

I cut mine in half to see how blocked it was. It was very blocked!

[Tom]

Im almost afraid to put a new one in now... looks like they block so easily :/

[Parksy87]

Theres mine after i cut the ends off, 12 out of 16 pipes blocked2-3 of them were bone dry, it was block the water wasn't even able to seep through it

[Tom]

Finally got the fucker!

[londondan86]

Soz mate, I would have commented sooner as ive just finished doing mine today.

This is the guide I followed: http://www.306gti6.com/forum/showthread....p%3Bpage=1

some tips when you come to put it back together.
1. DO NOT remove the rubber bung in the bulkhead, I did and it was a right pig to get back in, just cut the centre and lube it up with some washing up liquid the push the pipes back in.
2. Slacken off (but do not remove) the 10mm nut that is in the engine bay behind the brake lines on the battery side, this will loosen the fan side of the blower unit which will make it much easier to line up.
3. Make sure you get your cable routing right first time, in particular there is a brown and red plug in the passengers footwell. The cables for this need to route between the blower unit and the matrix unit.
4. Fill the coolant system as soon as possible before you put everything else back together in case you have any leaks.
5. Be patient with the dash, try to get a mate to sit one side to help get it all into position.
6. Make sure the vent pipe lines up with the matrix, mine currently doesnt so I have had to block it off to get air up to the windscreen.

Hope some of this is useful, if you need anythig else let me know as its all fresh in my head at the mo

[Tom]

Thanks bud thats a great help, mates coming over in the morning so hopefully touchwood i'l be sorted tomorrow. I know what you mean about the dash though, it took 2 of us to get it to move haha.

[londondan86]

No probs if you need me to take any pics tomorrow to explain anything gimme a shout!

[Tom]

Cheers man i really appreciate that!

[Tom]

Dash back in today, coolant bled through, its running aswell touchwood. Will be getting some antifreeze for it tomorrow as long as all goes well. That heater box was an absolute lady garden to get back onto the bulkhead. Only problem so far is i left it all apart last night so i think the fan and heater box are full of water and the fans not working. Does anyone know the voltages to the fan per each switch setting?

[londondan86]

Do you mean rain water or coolant? Mine got a bit wet from the rain and now it squeaks!