Wanted: Heater matrix.

Buy or sell parts etc. Please put 'Wanted' in the title if it is a request for parts.
Post Reply
User avatar
DavidRutherford
BX Digit man!
Posts: 2706
Joined: Wed May 18, 2005 5:07 pm
Location: Placing comments on YouTube.

Wanted: Heater matrix.

Post by DavidRutherford »

Does anyone have a new or known good newish heater matrix?

Just 6 months after changing my leaky one for a supposedly-good one it's leaking again, which is an utter pain in the backside, but hey, it's leaking and that's that.
this might be a signature
User avatar
Philip Chidlow
Over 2k
Posts: 11594
Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2005 1:08 pm
Location: Chelmsford, Essex
x 25

Post by Philip Chidlow »

I know someone who's got one and might sell. I'll be in touch.
• 1992 Citroen BX TZD Turbo Hurricane
• 2006 Xsara Picasso 1.6 16v
tim leech

Post by tim leech »

Im sure I have a spare one kindly donated by Ken somewhere if you struggle David.
PiLsY.
BXpert
Posts: 179
Joined: Wed Aug 16, 2006 1:55 pm
Location: Chester, Cheshire

Post by PiLsY. »

Dear god are you serious? Tell me thats a joke....?
User avatar
Philip Chidlow
Over 2k
Posts: 11594
Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2005 1:08 pm
Location: Chelmsford, Essex
x 25

Post by Philip Chidlow »

BARS LEAKS is better :twisted:
• 1992 Citroen BX TZD Turbo Hurricane
• 2006 Xsara Picasso 1.6 16v
Stewart (oily!)
1K Away
Posts: 1604
Joined: Wed May 18, 2005 6:23 pm
Location: North Wales

Post by Stewart (oily!) »

Pop an egg in there :D
Stewart
TZD 19 TD one of the few
Xantia Td estate, going soft
PiLsY.
BXpert
Posts: 179
Joined: Wed Aug 16, 2006 1:55 pm
Location: Chester, Cheshire

Post by PiLsY. »

At what? Sealing all your bleed points up, blocking pipes at flow restriction areas or gluing together your heater valve tap? Or just blocking your heater matrix up altogether. Really just depends on what you want to achieve I suppose.

Its taken me hours to free off the heater valve tap in RLO as much as I have just to get a trickle of heat from it. Would that be your doing Mr.Childlow? [-X
User avatar
Philip Chidlow
Over 2k
Posts: 11594
Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2005 1:08 pm
Location: Chelmsford, Essex
x 25

Post by Philip Chidlow »

PiLsY. wrote:Would that be your doing Mr.Childlow? [-X
Not at all mate... it was all I could do to stop LHM spurting out of that car. Once that was sorted - it was left well alone :lol:

BUT, to answer the question, I have had Bars Leaks recommended to me over the years and never had any problems with it AT ALL. Recommendations too from people who should know. Dennis, who has worked professionally on Citroens for 35 years - and who I go to for my BX/ZX servicing and repairs etc. - insists that it won't harm the system. I added it once to a leaky BX (not RLO!) - I think it was my green GTi when it sprung a leak in the heater matrix as well as having a slightly weepy radiator and it fixed both problems, and held good for ages afterwards.

To paraphrase Bars Leaks themselves:The tiny particles will pass through a 24-gauge mesh screen which is the specification for the big 3 car/truck manufacturers. Any product installed in the cooling system must pass through this screen. Bar’s Leaks is the only stop leak to pass this test and to be approved by the vehicle manufacturers.


BUT it's down to individual choice. It isn't a fix, it'll only delay the inevitable. But sometimes. when money's tight, it's got to be worth considering :)
Last edited by Philip Chidlow on Tue Mar 11, 2008 1:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
• 1992 Citroen BX TZD Turbo Hurricane
• 2006 Xsara Picasso 1.6 16v
User avatar
docchevron
The Immoderate half of the admin team
Posts: 7524
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2006 7:03 pm
Location: A Bucket of Fish
x 7
Contact:

Post by docchevron »

I just wouldn't ever use a sealing agent. It's a bodge and piss poor engineering practice.
Changing a heater matrix in a BX is not a hard job, but as David says it's enough of a pain not to want to do it again, hence fitting a new one is really the only way to go.
Smokes lots, because enough's enough already!

Far too many BX's, a bus, an ambulance a few trucks, not enough time and never enough cash...
User avatar
Philip Chidlow
Over 2k
Posts: 11594
Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2005 1:08 pm
Location: Chelmsford, Essex
x 25

Post by Philip Chidlow »

Don't get me wrong. I used it once on a BX (and once on a 1961 Ford Consul!). I avoided using it on the 16v by forking out on a new radiator and hoses etc. The heater matrix/heater tap are only going to be touched (read: replaced) if they become a problem. BUT in my very humble opinion, if one is running a car on a real shoestring, and it isn't intended to keep the car for years and years - and there's a shortage of cash - these sealants do a job. Bad practice it may be, but these products do get used.
• 1992 Citroen BX TZD Turbo Hurricane
• 2006 Xsara Picasso 1.6 16v
User avatar
docchevron
The Immoderate half of the admin team
Posts: 7524
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2006 7:03 pm
Location: A Bucket of Fish
x 7
Contact:

Post by docchevron »

Point taken, but K-Seal, or Rad Weld or any other equally glupy "in coolant sealant" product will cost what... between £5 and £10 maybe?

Given that a new heater matrix is £25, does it really make economic sense to use a product that might last 2 days or 2 years, or fit a new matrix?
Smokes lots, because enough's enough already!

Far too many BX's, a bus, an ambulance a few trucks, not enough time and never enough cash...
User avatar
Philip Chidlow
Over 2k
Posts: 11594
Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2005 1:08 pm
Location: Chelmsford, Essex
x 25

Post by Philip Chidlow »

Point taken too...

Bars Leak's £4.99 BTW 8-[
• 1992 Citroen BX TZD Turbo Hurricane
• 2006 Xsara Picasso 1.6 16v
User avatar
docchevron
The Immoderate half of the admin team
Posts: 7524
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2006 7:03 pm
Location: A Bucket of Fish
x 7
Contact:

Post by docchevron »

I remember the days you could buy almost anything for 3 shillings...

Ahhh, the good old days.....
Smokes lots, because enough's enough already!

Far too many BX's, a bus, an ambulance a few trucks, not enough time and never enough cash...
PiLsY.
BXpert
Posts: 179
Joined: Wed Aug 16, 2006 1:55 pm
Location: Chester, Cheshire

Post by PiLsY. »

I just found a 1948 shilling stuck in the bottom of my drivers door...

Was it yours chris?


Having pulled and reconditioned a heater tap that had what could only be described as cement in it I'd never recommend anyone to do it ever. The problem comes when the cooling system isnt flushed often enough and the old antifreeze starts to bind with small oxidation particles and form a sticky sludge. This builds up in any areas of restriction where vortices are created - ie off the sharp angles going through your valve tap or at the seams of the cooling veins in your matrix/radiator, the expansion flange in your thermostat or around the water temperature sensor coating it and insulating it.
If you regularly flush your coolant then they may work ok for years, but then if its regularly flushed you probably wouldnt have a leak would you? If it only affected the problem area then I suppose id consider it a bodge, but as it goes through your whole cooling system then steer well clear. Imagine the consequences if it sludges up in your thermostat (ask Vanny about the one he swapped on my black GTI years ago, and the radiator that came out of it too).

I really wouldn't risk all the potential consequential damage for the sake of saving a couple of hours work and twenty quid. How bloody shoestring can you run a car? Get a pushbike ffs!


(BTW Phil - all good natured mate - no offense intended :wink: )
User avatar
Philip Chidlow
Over 2k
Posts: 11594
Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2005 1:08 pm
Location: Chelmsford, Essex
x 25

Post by Philip Chidlow »

No offence taken 8)

It's far more satisfying fitting new parts than doing any sort of bodge.
• 1992 Citroen BX TZD Turbo Hurricane
• 2006 Xsara Picasso 1.6 16v
Post Reply