Blocking off a blown matrix..

[jamie_pyrite]

Hi all, so the matrix has gone on my mk2 and it leaked all over the footwell. I put the heater controls on cold and ran the car and no more leaked it (or that I could see!)

The car has been sat for a week and I've just had a look and there's water in the footwells still. Do I have to somehow cut off or bypass the matrix? ie. even when the heaters are on cold, coolant will pass through it and into the leak?

I'm not doing the matrix swap til march but still need to drive it without a wet floor every time! Thanks

[VeeDubGTI16v]

you could join the two hoses together with a bit of angled copper pipe?

[jezza16v]

^^ As said above, the coolant is always running through the matrix, the heater controls only move flaps to direct and mix the air they do not control the coolant flow at all. Make sure you top up with antifreeze especially in this cold weather.

[jamie_pyrite]

to be honest, I think the lack of anti-freeze is what blew it! Before I picked the car up the core plug had popped out due to not enough anti-freeze.. then once he got it running again, the matrix blew!

I'll have a look for some copper

[nealey]

ive bypassed one before using copper pipe between the two matrix hoses, it will be fine for a temp fix, will just be cold in the car!

[weazgti]

Why you leaving it till march?
If you never done one before it could be done in 5 hours i would say. sunday job!

[jamie_pyrite]

Because I'm at Uni and the car is just sat on my drive at home, no MOT or anything I won't need it until around April/May. I just need it so it doesn't piss out every time I want to move the car!

Hopefully the copper pipe works ok. If I can be bothered, I'm going to start stripping things tomorrow and just do the matrix bit by bit every time I'm home for the weekend!

[tony_ack]

Why you leaving it till march?
If you never done one before it could be done in 5 hours i would say. sunday job!

The matrix is a 5 hour Sunday job, but then there's the nightmare of pulling up the carpets, chucking out and replacing the probably-rotten sound-proofing and drying out the passenger footwell which should all really be done with the heaterbox out.

It took me two days to dry mine out properly in the height of summer, so god knows how long it would take to dry in the winter.

If you don't do it properly you're leaving yourself open to a rusty floorpan (if it's not already rusted)

[tony_ack]

Just re-read all your posts jamie - if it has happened recently, get the heater stripped down once it is bypassed and get start to dry it now - if you're lucky the soundproofing may not be rotten, and it'll just need drying out. It should still be driveable throughout the job as long as the matrix is bypassed.

[Wayne]

As above get the carpet out etc.