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How to change the heater matrix on a V90

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Old Nov 10th, 2008, 16:48   #1
keithC70
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Last Online: Mar 25th, 2024 13:40
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Andover
Default How to change the heater matrix on a V90

How to change a Volvo V90 heater matrix

I recently purchased my third V90 and on the way home immediately realised that there was a problem with water loss and that it was getting inside the car. The windows were misting and the smell from the anti-freeze was terrible. I could only just bear it with the windows wide open.

Once home I did a bit of research and soon discovered that a main dealer wanted over £2000 in labour alone to do the job, that they wanted £340 + VAT for a new matrix, and worst of all, websites in America were saying that it couldn’t be done on a V90 without removing the whole dashboard and the whole air control system including the air-conditioning unit, which would mean more cost in re-gassing afterwards.

The only wet area inside the car was the rear nearside foot well which was saturated. I tried using radiator sealant and it stopped the water loss but the smell was still unbearable and so I decided to take out the carpets and clean and dry them.

I knew that to do this I had to remove the seats and the centre armrest and the various bits of plastic trim – all very easy and soon accomplished referring to an excellent guide for the same job on the 900 series,

http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=43621

posted by chesh740r. I recommend you study his guide before starting the job.

The only problem I encountered apart from difficult access (how could you possibly do this job with the seats in?) was due to my failure to remember where each screw went on re-assembly. I’d strongly advise you to mark each one as you take it off. If I did it again I’d use a bit of cardboard and write on it a description of each location and then push the screw into the cardboard to hold it there next to the description. You’d also have the benefit of assembling in exactly the right order. My system of plastic trays didn’t work – made worse by my tipping them over a few times!

For those who haven’t taken out seats before, there are two bolts to each seat runner and also then two shaped locating studs that fit into tapering holes in the floor. You take out the four bolts and then wiggle the seat forward until the studs come out of the locating holes.

You can then tilt the seat and unplug the electric connectors, (you need to undo the screw holding on the plastic cover at the front end of the outer runner as on the 900 and pull the connectors out from under the carpet. The plastic trim bits at the rear end of the runners simply lift straight off upwards.) undo the large nut holding the seat belt, (lift, to unclip the plastic cover to gain access and use the red plastic sleeper clipped to the cover to protect the airbag unit) and then lift the seat right out.

Starting on the driver’s side, remove the long trim cover on the door sill panel.
In the footwell undo the three screws that hold the panel just above the pedals. There are two directly beneath the steering wheel and one to the right. There’s also one of those trim plugs that you rotate through 90° to undo. Then pull bottom corner nearest the gear stick outwards, - it pops off – and then the whole panel slides out rearwards (unplug the footwell light).

You can then get at the plastic trim on the RHS of the footwell.
Remove the screw holding it that’s just under the bonnet release.

Moving over to the passenger side remove the panel below the glovebox. There are trim screws and one of the trim plugs as on the driver’s side, pop off the bottom corner and slide the panel out rearwards (unplug footwell light). Also remove the long trim cover on the door sill panel. Then remove the side kick panel on the LHS of the passenger footwell.

Getting the centre consol off is awkward. Remove the rear ashtray and using a flat bladed screwdriver gently prise out the 2 clips at the bottom and pull out the bottom edge of the panel. Then remove the panel and disconnect the bulb there.

There are two vertical screws in the cubby box (as on 900) and then two horizontal screws at the front end through plastic lugs. Then you can start to lift it. You need to remove the wiring – the OBD plug slides out backwards, the seat warmer switch connectors and the bulb wiring to the rear foot well light need to come off, the gear surround unclips and then slides up and forwards and the handbrake surround comes off and then you can remove the consol. There’s a bit of trim beneath the handbrake handle that you need to unclip and remove as well. Then you can lift it out and remove the carpets.

When I had removed the carpets I came in for a shock – all four were soaking and I had about half a pint of anti-freeze in each footwell after I’d lifted them out. I laid the carpets out and hosed them for a long time and then hung them in the garage for over a week.

The rear carpet lifted out easily and the underlay was separate and I simply cut it front to back with a Stanley knife underneath the handbrake cable so I could lift it out easily in two pieces. The rear carpet and the two bits of underlay dried out after hanging.

The front carpets are separate but attached to the sponge underlay. They were still wet when I re-fitted them after hanging in the garage for a week. The sponge doesn’t give up liquid easily. I had to keep repeatedly squeezing and hosing off to get the anti-freeze out of it. I think it would be better to put it in the bath and “tread” it to get it all out.

As I’d got this far I decided to carry on and see if I could get to the matrix.

Remove the glovebox after removing the screws holding it in place.

Take out the radio (push in the two little vertical handles on the front face – they click and then come out so you can simply pull on them and slide the radio out. Undo connectors on rear and remove radio.

Remove ashtray and two screws low down behind it and you’re now ready to remove the radio surround. In the radio aperture there are two spring clips that you need to lever out (they don’t come right out, just enough to free the surround )



and then the whole trim eases out – be careful – I’ve seen snapped ones! – and when it’s out move it slightly left to get the right hand end out. You can now remove the electrical connections from the switches before removing the trim altogether. This is difficult, particularly the hazard warning light one for some reason. It may be better to remove from underneath before prising the trim out.



You can now undo the four screws holding the heater control panel in place and unclip the electrical connectors before removing.

Now lift out the relay/fuse board and move it into the left footwell. Undo the 3 bolts that hold the metal bracket to the transmission tunnel and remove. Undo the two screws (hidden beneath bits of foam) holding the metal cross piece bracket which is under the ashtray.



In this picture you can see the three bolts you need to remove to take out the metal bracket for the relay board. You can also see the metal cross bracket just in front of it.



You are now ready to start removing plastic ducting. However you can’t get it out without first removing the long piece that feeds the left hand vent. Lever out the air flow director – it’s clipped in place and pulls straight out. When it’s out you’ll see four screws holding in the housing. Take these out and take out the housing (the trim just under it comes out a bit as well) and this frees off the end of the ducting which can now be removed.

The plastic ducting from it and behind the radio can then be manipulated out in pieces. It’s just clipped into place. I didn’t remove the centre vents but I did take off the ducting to them. In retrospect it might have made access a lot easier if I’d taken them out and it would also have let more light in.



On the dashboard you can see the air flow director on the left, the housing for it next to it, and you can see the aperture where it’s come from and the way the trim is out proud of the dash.



Having removed the ductwork you now need to remove the lower distribution plastic part that sits on the transmission tunnel. First you need to remove the two pipes that go back underneath the seats to allow you to get it out. Each one is held with one vertical screw only.

There’s one central screw (roughly behind where the radio would be) and then the centre plastic distribution section slides out to the rear, and then can be removed out into the footwell to the side.



In this picture you can see the lower unit with the ductwork removed. There’s one screw holding it in place. You can see the head of it just below the black rectangle. With that out, it slides back and can be taken out to the right.

You can also see the plastic collar on the ends of the vacuum hoses. To remove the hoses you lift the collar over the bend in the pipe and the hose slides off.



With that now removed, you can see the matrix housing. The cover plate to this is held on with 10 screws around the edge. There are four each along the top and bottom and two on the RHS. Some are awkward to access. You need a 5.5 mm socket with a long flexible drive so you can bend it round obstacles. I used torches, inspection lamps, mirrors, bits of wire as an extra hand, etc.



In this photo you can see the bottom four screws and the two on the right hand edge.

At one point I withdrew the socket and the end fell off and disappeared. It took me over two hours fishing with a magnet on the end of a wire to get it back. Make sure yours is securely fixed!!!!

Once the 10 screws are out the cover plate is still firmly held in position. I ran a Stanley knife along the joint sides and bottom, and then opened the joint up with a wide bladed chisel. It’s very securely held with sticky black sealant and difficult to do.

Looking at the fixing of the cover plate, I think that there are also two locating wards about halfway up at either side that vertical screws lock into (You can just make them out in the photo above, one below the two yellow wires at the left hand edge of the picture and the other to the right of the two screw heads on the right hand edge of the cover) – I didn’t even notice them until I’d got it in pieces – I broke them off when I ran the Stanley knife along the join, but at least it made re-fitting easier.

With 10 screws out and the seal broken, the cover plate comes off and you can undo the vacuum hoses from the mixing unit, making a note which colour hose goes to which vacuum switch. I pulled and struggled before I realised that you simply lift up a loop or collar of soft plastic that holds the hose in place and pull it round the bend in the black plastic pipe and then the hose slips off easily. Unplug the last electric connector and remove the cover.



You can now see the matrix. It is held in place by two vertical metal spring straps that are fixed top and bottom by more screws. Remove these (5.5 mm socket) and then open the bonnet and undo the hose clips on the inlet and outlet to the matrix. Remove the hoses and now you can now remove the heater matrix.



It’s very difficult as the pipes through the bulkhead are fixed with old sealant. You can’t hold the matrix on the inside as there’s no room and the plastic housing isn’t strong so can’t be used as a fulcrum to lever off. I managed in the end by pushing alternately on the end of the pipes with a long piece of wood from the front of the car using my whole weight. I wasn’t worried about damaging it at the time, but I eventually had the unit rebuilt and they re-used the ends and the pipes! Be warned – don’t damage them!

You can then get a replacement matrix for a V90 from

http://www.vehicleheaters.co.uk/menucat.asp?alpha=Volvo


They were very helpful and replied to my query as follows,

” Our part No 020528 is a replacement matrix for your original "Harrison" matrix. We have already supplied a number of these to Volvo owners, on the basis that our end tank design is different from the original and does not use the spring clip fitting method. Instead we supply some self adhesive foam which is attached around
the heater and the end tanks to allow the matrix to fit tightly in the case. Unfortunately, to tool the original end tanks would be expensive and make the final selling price prohibitive to owners. The feed back has told us that the fitting method suggested is satisfactory and has given no problems in use.
Our price is £58.80 plus £10 carriage plus VAT on the total which is £80.49 inc.
We have these units in stock. If you require further help please ring myself on 01527 64126 between 9am and 4.30 pm Mon to Thursday. Regards, Mike Hemming”

After such a helpful reply I was reluctant to go elsewhere but I wanted to retain the original fixing if possible. I tried various places but in the end used a local firm who were also very helpful and rebuilt mine using the original end pieces with a new core so I could use the original fixing straps. It cost £80 and would normally take two days.

Dragon Radiator Services
Unit 13 Mannesman Close,
Swansea Enterprise Park,
Swansea SA7 9AH 01792 799321

And finally…..

Well as you can see it’s a relatively simple job but very awkward and requiring a great deal of patience. The only special tool required is the 5.5 mm socket with flexible extension. It also helps if you’re double jointed!

I’ve seen comments by others saying, “allow 4 hours for the job” or, “set aside a weekend”. That tells me they didn’t do it themselves.

I’m pretty handy and it took me more than two days to get it all apart, and once I had the new matrix, I worked for 6 hours the first day and 5 hours the second (without a break either day even for a cup of tea ) before I started up and went for a drive. I know I could do it a lot quicker now but the first time you’re careful because you don’t want to break anything and make it worse.

I’ve now done 200 miles with no smells (apart from slight initial one from the new paint on the matrix) or loss of coolant. Wonderful! And it’s worth it because this is the best Volvo ever made. (Sadly now written off – skidded on black ice on M4 and hit the crash barrier – luckily no other car involved and no-one hurt!)

I estimate I’ve done more than 600,000 miles in Volvos which I’ve always serviced myself, and apart from the normal wear parts like discs, I’ve never had to replace anything on any of them.

I’ve only ever had one bad experience when the 1992 960 engine cracked under the exhaust manifold at 145k (poor casting design which was corrected on these engines after 1995) and I had to fork out £1600 for a new post ’95 block, which I then took to 225k before selling.

So my advice is to have a go – they’re great cars and it’ll be worth it in the long run.
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