Xsara II 1.4 heater smell ?

uncle buck · Post by **uncle buck** » 15 Jan 2008, 19:23

Hi, I have just recently joined the forum so hello to everyone

Mrs uncle buck has recently got a Xsara II 1.4 LX 2001...I'm more of a Diesel man myself & it’s a good few years since I last owned a Petrol car.

I noticed as soon as I drove it that it had a "Heater Matrix smell"... all I can describe the smell as is a hot smell...I have smelt this smell before but I don’t always think it means that the heater matrix is blown...I hope

My first thought are that the heater matrix is leaking & in my experience a blow matrix is normally as a result of a leaking head gasket, however the car doesn’t seem to be showing any symptoms of this...no Oil in the water or any mayonnaise deposits & the water seems to be staying at the normal level.

There does seem to be quite a bit of condensation coming from the exhaust pipe on tick over, even after a 15 mile journey, but as the car has a cat I believe this is not unusual?

Are the 1.4 engines prone to blowing head gaskets or heater matrix's ?

I also thought that as the car has air con you must get an amount of condensation from the evaporator & I would imagine this is situated beside the heater matrix...could the smell be this condensation being heated by the matrix?

Is there a drain off to take any condensation away...could this be blocked?

Any advice or tips would be appreciated.

Thank you.

Regards, UB

Post by **CitroJim** » 15 Jan 2008, 20:43

Hi Uncle Buck and welcome

All PSA vehicles have weak heater matrixes, especially Xantias

The normal smell associated with a slightly leaky matrix is a vaugely "curry" smell. Think of the smell of the curry sauce offered in your local chippie and you're not far off. It is usually at its worst just before the thermostat opens when pressure in the matrix is at its maximum.

You may feel damp in one of the footwells, usually the passenger one and/or if bad, it may even mist up the windscreen with an oily film.

The smell could just be hot dust, common after a summer of not using the heater or, if it smells musty, like an old rag that has sat under the sink for too long, you may have a bacterial growth in the aircon evaporator. You can get a spray from Halfrauds and the like to kill the growth and sanitise the evaporator. The pollen filter may also be the guilty party and is worth replacing; it's usually forgotten and will end up in a right old state.

If it is the dread curry smell and it's not too bad, the dread day when the dash has to come out can be staved off with a high-quality rad sealer. The Forte one is best and will not do harm but the liquid Bars leaks (comes in a radiator shaped bottle) also does the job with no apparant ill effects. Don't use the other "stick" type of Bars Leaks though. This could cause problems. However, this'll only be a temporary solution and the matrix will have to be replaced.

I don't think the TU engine is particularly prone to HG failure althugh the head gasket causing oil leaks is not uncommon. The good thing is that the 8V TU is an easy engine to replace the head gasket on. I'm not sure if this applies to the 16V one though.

The HG will give plenty of symptoms if it is on the way out by pressurising the cooling system and filling the expansion tank with mayonnaise.

uncle buck · Post by **uncle buck** » 15 Jan 2008, 23:28

Thank you for your reply Jim.

A chippy curry smell you say...I wondered why I always feel hungry when I’m in the car!

I syphoned a little of the coolant from the header tank when it was still hot & it smells just like the smell that is coming from the heater vents so I guess the matrix is leaking.

I have experienced a leaking heater matrix before in a VW Golf that I had many moons ago & that had the exact same smell. There was no steaming of the windows & no visible leaks (wet carpets) however about a year or so later the matrix did start to leak badly though & just as you say the floor was wet & if you put the blower on & the air control onto the demist setting the windscreen steamed up with condensation.

I’m no stranger to a spanner so I think I would be inclined to change the head gasket as a precaution if I end up having to replace the matrix, or at least have the system thoroughly tested as I would hate to do a full dashboard out job only to find in a couple of weeks the matrix had gone again...nightmare.

But as you suggest I will try the rad sealer for the time being, it may buy me some time until the weather gets a bit kinder.
I have seen the Forte rad sealer & heard good reports but I haven’t actually used it, I have used the liquid Bars stuff before & I know it works well...no fears of me using the stick type as I know their reputation.

I think I’ll get hold of a workshop manual for the car as they are often helpful... unless anyone on the forum has had the joy of replacing a matrix on a series II Xsara & has a picture diary!

I'm not sure if Haynes do a manual for the series II Xsara as I've only seen one for the series I...anyone know if there's one available?

Regards, UB.

uncle buck · Post by **uncle buck** » 15 Jan 2008, 23:32

Double post...sorry.

MikeT · Post by **MikeT** » 16 Jan 2008, 13:18

citrojim wrote:The normal smell associated with a slightly leaky matrix is a vaugely "curry" smell. Think of the smell of the curry sauce offered in your local chippie and you're not far off. It is usually at its worst just before the thermostat opens when pressure in the matrix is at its maximum.

You may feel damp in one of the footwells, usually the passenger one and/or if bad, it may even mist up the windscreen with an oily film.

My Xantia meets those requirements - what do I win?

uncle buck · Post by **uncle buck** » 16 Jan 2008, 15:20

MikeT wrote: My Xantia meets those requirements - what do I win?

You win......The lovely job of stripping half the car to get to the heater matrix

Have a look at the stuff in this link....
http://www.kalimex.co.uk/section.html?s ... 4.&pgid=17

I think I may try a bottle of the stuff as it gets some good reviews.
It's available on ebay for about £8 delivered.

Are you the same MikeT that posts the Dell computer deals on the Hot Deals forum?

Regards, UB

MikeT · Post by **MikeT** » 16 Jan 2008, 16:27

uncle buck wrote:
MikeT wrote: My Xantia meets those requirements - what do I win?
You win......The lovely job of stripping half the car to get to the heater matrix

Have a look at the stuff in this link....
http://www.kalimex.co.uk/section.html?s ... 4.&pgid=17

I think I may try a bottle of the stuff as it gets some good reviews.
It's available on ebay for about £8 delivered.

I've always refused to use any form of rad seal on the principle that it indiscriminantely restricts/blocks flow but in this case (cheap car, awful repair) I think I'll give it a try.

uncle buck wrote:Are you the same MikeT that posts the Dell computer deals on the Hot Deals forum?

No, not me. Anything worth checking out there?

uncle buck · Post by **uncle buck** » 16 Jan 2008, 21:29

MikeT wrote:I've always refused to use any form of rad seal on the principle that it indiscriminantely restricts/blocks flow but in this case (cheap car, awful repair) I think I'll give it a try.

To be honest it's not my favorite thing either but I have used it on the odd occasion in the past. with mixed results ...some worked others didn't...but its a long time since I last used any form of rad seal so things may have came on a bit since.
....I can remember people putting the whites of eggs in the rad to stop leaks...now that is asking for trouble!

MikeT wrote:
uncle buck wrote:Are you the same MikeT that posts the Dell computer deals on the Hot Deals forum?
No, not me. Anything worth checking out there?

Yeah there's some good deals posted on there...especially MikeT...he posts all the Dell computer deals up & some of them are very good value.

The forum layout has recently changed so I find it hard going now as its totally different to what it was, but to a new user it will be ok I suppose...you should check it out.

uncle buck · Post by **uncle buck** » 19 Jan 2008, 18:09

Well I got hold of a bottle of Bars Leaks yesterday & put that in after dropping a little coolant so it would get right into the engine. Bled the system & replaced the removed coolant & ran the car for about 20 minutes.

I took the car for a 10 mile run today & I don't know if I'm just imagining it but the "curry smell" seems a lot less.
Obviously if the matrix has been leaking coolant there will be some in the heater box so it could take quite a while for the smell to go away completely...if it ever does.

I'll keep you all posted.

Post by **CitroJim** » 19 Jan 2008, 21:19

uncle buck wrote:Obviously if the matrix has been leaking coolant there will be some in the heater box so it could take quite a while for the smell to go away completely...if it ever does.

My 2.1TD has (had) a leaky matrix and when I first got it, it certainly whiffed a bit and had dampened the passenger footwell. I'll be swapping the matrix as soon as the weather improves and I can take some time off work but to stave off the job until I have the time, I used Bars Leaks and to date, it's not loosing a spot of coolant but the cabin does still give the occasional whiff of curry but massively less than it ever was.

So yes, I reckon the smell will take a long time to clear. Keep and eye on coolant level and if it is not loosing any, the sealant has done the trick.