Replacing heater matrix
 

Anyone know how easy this is to replace? I've watched Robert DIY do it on YouTube and and it looks pretty easy, although in practice might be another matter.

Anyone know a good place to source one from?

Final question, am I safe to go on a long(ish) journey tomorrow? I am due to travel from Leeds to Manchester, so a round trip of about 80 miles. I have lost a bit of coolant in the reservoir.

Cheers.

yes not a bad job at all , someone has designed it properly which makes a change in the automotive industry ! volvo will do a kit , i would renew the two alloy pipes too and O rings

It's a couple of years since I did it but it was really easy, IIRC being RHD made it even easier than the videos. The worst bit is trying to catch the coolant that escapes when you remove the pipes or, more likely, trying to clean it out of the footwell.

You should be safe to drive as far as you want, provided your low coolant light works and you keep an eye on it.

I don't know the best place to buy one. I got one from ECP that claimed to be a Behr (which is supposed to be the good one), but I don't think it gave as much heat as the old one.

That is exactly why i suggested volvo , an extremely high capacity heater core . you get what you pay for ..

The new Volvo one I installed failed just after 12 months. However the aftermarket one (hella) from memory has been fine for over 8 years and was half the price of a discounted Volvo one. As others have said get the two o rings as well.

many thanks all, for the replies. I will give it a go myself. I rang a Volvo specialist this afternoon and he quoted over £600, which is more I paid for the car.

I did come across this, but not sure what brand it is: https://www.partsforvolvosonline.com...oducts_id=3634

on my long(ish) trip tomorrow, will it help if I keep the cabin temperature dials down to cool? Presumably that means no hot coolant running round the matrix, or have I misunderstood how it works.

Your Volvo specialist is having a laugh at £600.
2 hours work max
The matrix is on all the time in these so heater setting has no effect on coolant loss.

It's an easy enough job. As mentioned above you will have quite a bit of coolant making its way into the passenger footwell. I purchased a Behr branded heater matrix which was identical to the original one that came out of the car. It was a quarter of the price of the Volvo part and has been working perfectly for over 1000 miles since fitment. There's no difference in heat output from what I can tell. When installing the two new o-rings I would recommend applying some silicone grease to stop them from rolling as you slide them over the aluminium pipes.

30 min job once you get your head round it.

The original ones were clamped at the ends, Ford replaced the proper blue box parts for their own ****ty cleap version. Not ideal for us in the long term

There will be spillage.

So presumably this is why you were steaming up?

+1 the O rings, they're pennies from the Volvo dealer if you don't get them with the matrix.
The only issue I have with doing the matrix is it requires reaching in to the car at just above the floor of the car, I suspect it's easier if you can lift the car so the floor is about waist height, I found myself uncomfortably between crouching at the side of the car and half laying across the door cill.

they are ripping you off , the volvo standard time is 1.5 hours ... have you contacted the dealer for the price and availability of the Genuine parts ?

As above, go Behr. They're the OEM for the heater matrix but have changed the design to avoid the issue that causes them to fail. I cheaper out and got a PPS one - the heat output is significantly lower and my demist times have doubled as a result.

Some guides state that you can just clamp your heater hoses and not worry about draining the coolant. That failed spectacularly for me and I drained almost the entire systems worth into my footwell. I'd drain your coolant (only adds 5-10mins, as you have to bleed the system after installing the matrix anyway) and clamp the hoses.

Regarding those hoses if they're aluminium they don't need changing unless in a visible poor state. If they're the earlier steel ones then they are worth changing for the aluminium parts.

O-rings are vital, they're actually not quite a standard profile so buy Volvo not just any old o-ring, and as mentioned keep them lubed with some silicone grease before installing. If you don't lube them they'll rip and then you'll find yourself with a leak either immediately or shortly after.

After removing your leaky matrix clean out the box that it sits in, if you don't you'll have that sickly sweet coolant smell every time you touch your heaters for months - and this will induce paranoia that you didn't quite get the install right.

I think you're going to end up draining the matrix into the footwell whatever you do. It's still worth draining the system though, it's a good opportunity to change the coolant.

Something else worth mentioning is that you should make sure there's a good seal around the matrix when you put it back in the box, otherwise the air will pass around rather than through the matrix. The kit should come with a length of draught excluder type stuff, I think I should have used more on mine.

If you want to feel better about it have a look at the pictures in this thread about the Citroen Xantia https://frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v...ic.php?t=22181 They suffered matrix failure when they were well under 10 years old. It's an 8-12 hour job on those and some of the bits never really go back properly. Both my Xantias had a leaky matrix and both got a bottle of sealant.

Digressing a bit but that reminds me of fixing a heater problem in my Renault Espace, remove both front seats, drop steering column, remove entire dash, replace aforementioned bit of foam draught excluder (with better quality draught excluder bought in B+Q), and then as Mr Haynes says 'refitting is a reversal of removal'. Now I recall that it makes my gripe about having to crouch, twist and squirm to reach the Volvo matrix seem rather trivial. :)

It's a pretty easy job, just be ready for the coolant spill into the footwells.

Don't bother with a new matrix from the likes of Eurocarparts, the 'partsforvolvo' online one that I got for our S70 is still doing fine, but make sure that you do get genuine Volvo O-rings. they are pence each and it's absolutely vital that you don't try to re-use the old ones.

I've done this repair several times now, and can say that it should take no long than 90 minutes, two hours at most.

Jack

many thanks all

I guess that was why I was steaming up

On a Google search I cannot find a Behr one to come up, the only places I can find to buy them are Partsforvolvo and ECP.

Is it essential to drain the cooolant system before I do it? I've not done that before. RobertDIY didn't bother, I think, he just topped the reservoir back up afterwards.

eBay for the Behr matrix, or autodoc et al. Don't worry about fakes as long as you buy from a reputable company like parts

Its not essential to drain your coolant but it is advisable. It's not a hard thing to do either, just undo the drain bolt with a suitable drain pan beneath it and the expansion tank off. Don't necessarily even need to jack the car up. If you don't drain it there's a risk that if your clamps aren't completely sealing the heater hoses (or if one slips) that you'll lose your entire coolant reservoir into the passenger footwell. That is not fun to have to deal with, believe me I know.

It is actually quite easy to release the pipes as they enter the bulkhead.....

I have put two Hellas in two different motas with absolutely no probs

As advised if your coolant is not tip top use this opportunity to flush and replace

Best bit of advice I can give when installing the new matrix is ensure you have a second pair of hands on tap - alignment will be a breeze - trust me I learned the hard way trying to do the first on my Todd

Behr and Hella are the same company regarding air conditioning conditioning components...

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showt...=275582&page=2

There are a few bits in there that may help. Particularly a fix if the bulkhead pipe bracket was as brittle as mine!

Still going strong 2 years on.

cheers-

Ben

when you say undo the drain bolt, do you mean under the radiator or the engine block?

As I understand it, if I don't drain the system the danger is that trapped air could blow the new matrix off, but isn't that always a risk as when I re-fill with new coolant I would still have pockets of air?

No, that's nonsense, as you say there will always be some air in it after a drain-down. These systems bleed fairly easily after a drain-down.

To drain the system I'd recommend leaving the drain bolt well alone (on the bottom of the rad) as it can snap off and possibly trash the radiator. Best way IMHO is to loosen the bottom hose clip and drain it from there. This clip is often rusty and it's not unheard of for it to rust all the way through and let go, so a good opportunity to inspect it and either oil the threads or replace it if it's at all suspect.

cheers Luxobarge. Good idea re the hose, makes sense

Replace it with a good quality stainless steel clip.

Radiator is what I use, both is only really necessary if one is doing a full coolant flush.

Luxobarge's suggestion is much quicker however, and a includes a good preventative maintenance step.

I did mine several years ago. If I remember correctly I used clamps on the hoses to the matrix (engine bay side) as suggested in one of the on line videos, and then removed the matrix - bad idea as all the coolant in the matrix needed draining and most ended up in the foot well. I also ended up having to drain and re-fill the full coolant system after as I had an airlock that I couldn't clear. - Given the cost of anti-freeze I would suggest doing a full drain down and refill as part of the job - it will be a lot easier and less chance of flooding the foot well. - Took me about 3 hours with basic tools and plenty of tea brakes :)