Rear heater matrix leaking

[hjulmand]

Hi,

I wanted to do a bit of vacuuming to get rid of the smell of stale food when turning on the rear heater and I noticed a slight leak from the heater matrix. I'm driving it out of the country on Wednesday, so any advice is most welcome. And as I have to go to work tomorrow, time is short.

It leaks a little even with the engine off and the valve closed, but as the valve only closes one hose I guess that's to be expected when there's a leak.

Options:

1. Replace the heater matrix. Brickwerks has one, but do they do day-to-day delivery? It's a '89 Westy, does anybody know whether different types were used during the life of the van?
2. Remove the matrix and blank off the hoses. Which diameter blanks, and are they readily available? I suppose the existing hose clips would be sufficient to keep the blanks in place?

No matter what I foresee I have to disconnect it; how much coolant can I expect to lose into the van? Any tips? If I lift the matrix as high as the hoses will go is there a chance it becomes the highest point in the system? Can I avoid a drain with accompanying fill/bled?


Cheers,

Lars

[Oldiebut goodie]

Quickest way is a 15mm copper bendy pipe like plumbers use for tap connectors and just join the two hoses together. You would have to cut off the nut. This sort of thing http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BASIN-FLEXIBL ... 20edfebc5d If you have parts make up a short loop with 90 deg elbows and pipe in 15mm - that is what I did as a temp fix for 5 years.
15mm wooden dowels/plugs will work as a temp fix with clips - the wood swells and tightens the joint.
Or 2 x pipe clamps as a more temporary fix.
Or drill a drain hole in the floor.

[hjulmand]

Oldie,

thanks. So it's 15mm internal? I think I'll head down to the local DIY to see what they have. In some ways I'd rather not have the copper pipe heating the seat for 1500km, but it's an easy solution.

Any idea on the amount of coolant lost when doing the disconnect, if I don't sit around watching it flow?


Cheers,

Lars

[Oldiebut goodie]

If you can clamp the hoses before removal the loss will be minimal with no need to bleed. You will not notice any heat from a short length of pipe like that. Should be 15mm - that's what I used. The bore is larger if you remove the Ts underneath and replace with a straight piece - can't remember what bore that was though.

[hjulmand]

Hi Oldie,

thank you for the advice. it was spot on, and the fitting from B&Q didn't even have to be cut. I'll post a picture later. It's probably the shiniest part in the entire van

The coolant loss was minimal, just as predicted. The hardest thing was loosening the screw that held the heater in place. That required an impact driver and a 4 lb lump hammer.

That only leaves another point on the to-do list, as I might want to re-instate the heater, so I'll need a new heater matrix.