Speedy_Gonzales Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 My 2000 TD5 has been losing water for a while, not a significant amount, but enough that it needs checking every couple of days... I couldnt work out where I was losing it as there were no obvious leak areas or leakage under the engine bay !?! One thing I haver noticed recently is a small pool of water in the drivers footwell, directly under the downward heat vent, and the heater does seem down on heat.. Now I know 'its a landy' and the heaters are carp and I always presumed that a small amount of water in the footwell was just down to water ingress through the door seals... Anyone had similar experiences? How do I go about checking the matrix and if it is the heater matrix how do I repair it? Thanks in advance Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 You could put something like K-seal in the system. The matrix is just a small radiator. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 more likely to be either the door seals or from around the corner area above your feet, water from the channel at rear of the bonnet does drop directly onto the top of the footwell in the engine bay & rots it, unlikely to be the heater matrix as you would be getting the cab full or steam & smell of antifreeze. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotian Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 Yes. What western said. My matrix is leaking just now and the first sign of it was a steeming up windscreen and a funny smell. I had to by pass the matrix in order to get home without having to keep wiping the windows. The coolant was leaking into the heater box then out the bottom front corner. Today I am going to take it out and see if I can repair it with solder and a blow torch. If I cant then I will be looking for a simmilar shaped one from some other car over here in Romania as I cand really justify 50 odd quid plus at least 15 pounds postage to get one when we are just going into summer. Things might be different in october/november if I still havent fixed it Money will be no object when youa re sat in a -15 landrover :-S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimAttrill Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 The heaters are badly made in that there is a plate that holds the matrix in place. It is this plate that wears holes in the matrix. I wrapped everything in lots of rubber tape when I changed mine. The normal problem with a second hand matrix is they normally also either have holes, or will have holes very soon. It can also try your patience to get the heater box out as it is glued in with black stuff which goes solid. Not a fun job at all... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotian Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 My matrix is less than a year old but I dont know what condition it was in when it was replaced becuase my mate did it for me when I was away from home. It makes sense what you said about jiggling around and wearing holes. Here in Romania everything has been so badly vibrated that there are a few vibration caused problems. Every bit of rust in the doors fell out and now the doors are falling off including all the window frames :-( I think since October last year I have had about 100 000 miles worth of vibration through the poor thing. I didnt succeed on getting the heater out. I looked at it and couldnt be bothered working out how the heck its meant to be removed. I'm going to go look in the tech archive but if anyone knows or knows a link for it please let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 to remove the heater unit, unclip the flap operating cables from the top & side [keep the green spring clips,you'll need them later] at the top of the heaterbox on the bulkhead is 2 bolts remove these & underneath the box is 2 bolts, pull back the trim inside the cab above the passengers feet [you should find them] take all these bolts out & on the wing top, remove the intake grille & screws that hold the duct in place, pull the duct forward & then lift out the heater assembly. refitting is the reverse way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotian Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 Thanks very much. that looks pretty straight forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameslwt Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 It can be a bit of a PITA to get it out so bypass the heater first of all for a few days and see what happens. Just disconnect the two hoses from the top and join them together with some copper pipe and jubilee clips. If you are still getting water loss then it's not the matrix. If it stops leaking then it is the matrix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotian Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 Already did that the day it started. There was coolant running out of the heater box and it stopped as soon as I bypassed the matrix. Its the second time in a year its happend so I'm used to the symptoms. Dont suppose anyone knows what other cars use a simmilar size matrix that I can get over here? Or do you think I will be sucessfull with some older and a wee blow torch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedy_Gonzales Posted March 17, 2008 Author Share Posted March 17, 2008 You could put something like K-seal in the system. The matrix is just a small radiator.Les. Thanks Les Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedy_Gonzales Posted March 17, 2008 Author Share Posted March 17, 2008 more likely to be either the door seals or from around the corner area above your feet, water from the channel at rear of the bonnet does drop directly onto the top of the footwell in the engine bay & rots it, unlikely to be the heater matrix as you would be getting the cab full or steam & smell of antifreeze. Thought it was more likely to be the door seals (errr or gaps!)...!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotian Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 I got my heater matrix out yesterday. It was well padded and packed and I cant see any signs of anything rubbing on it to cause a leak but the bottom of it is so dirty and there is lots of small debris in their and its all soaked in coolant. I cant see where the leak is comming from and to be honest I cant be bothered testing it fully to find out. I'm just going to go out today and find a replacement one from some other model of car that is more readily available out here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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