Xantia Heater Matrix-diagram

NewcastleFalcon · Post by **NewcastleFalcon** » 14 Oct 2010, 19:23

Has anyone got a diagram of the Xantia 1.9TD heater matrix anatomy (no aircon)?

I have just noticed a dribble from mine and read the following thread which contains just about everything you ever wanted to know about the heater matrix job.

heater matrix job

Looks a bit of a daunting job, and I have unsuccessfully attempted to remove the fascia from my previous xantia so I think I may wait until the dribble becomes a flood before I get round to doing anything about it. I came to the conclusion that the portion of the fascia immediately under the windscreen was actually glued to the bodywork and wouldnt come out without destruction. In reality I probably didn't remove the nuts under the rubber caps referred to by Jim in his contribution to the above link.

Thinking laterally.............

I just wonder if there is the faint possibility of a creative bodge. The heater matrix is just a little radiator with an inlet and outlet. Its housed in what I assume to be a plastic box. Say you cut a hole in the end of the plastic box (from passenger footwell access permitting), removed the old matrix (using destructive/cutting techniques as necessary), plumbed in the new matrix with flexible rubber hoses, route these into the engine bay any which way you can and plumb them into the appropriate feed and exit hoses. The "hole" in the plastic box could then be closed off as neatly or haphazardly as desired, as to regain its function all that would be required would be to block the hole and make a reasonable seal.

any thoughts? can it be done?

Neil

citroenxm · Post by **citroenxm** » 14 Oct 2010, 19:29

Ummm. for me its a reletivily straight forward job....

The dash is fixed to the car by 3 Nuts under the scuttle thats glued to the bottom edge of the screen... you need to remove the plastic scuttle trim, then behind 3 plastic covers one in the middle and two at each side, they need to come out...

Inside the car its bolted at each side under the lower left and right side of the dash, and theres a number in the middle behind the ash tray/heater panel... and two on each side of the steering colum...

So there was possibly a couple of these still in place...

Oh theres another behind the radio, in the side of the heater box....

Ive done a heater matrix in around 3 hours...

paul

Post by **CitroJim** » 14 Oct 2010, 20:01

Neil,

I'm sorry to hear this. Try a bottle of Forte Stop leak to (hopefully) stave off the day when the job must be done.

As Paul says, it's not too bad. Just long and tedious. No part is really difficult and the only tricky areas is to get the scuttle panel off and to disconnect the matrix elbow.

Sadly, the 1.9TD offers the very worst access to the elbow (Activa excepted) and I heartily recommend taking a little time to remove the turbo pipes to give better access. the batter the purchase you can get on the elbow, the more sure success you'll have in successfully disconnecting it.

Again, as Paul says, a number of us are veterans of this job and we're here to guide you. Just shout for help.

spider · Post by **spider** » 14 Oct 2010, 20:41

306 is quite nasty too in this respect. TD models worse for access around piping.

Its more 'time + time + time' rather than massive expense though, fortunately.

If it was summer (did we have one this year?) a short term fix would be to bypass and join the pipes together, although not ideal is better than water loss.

I've noticed with some (non PSA though) when you get a tiny matrix leak you tend to get more problems regarding demisting (ie: you return to the car and its misted up inside, which is quite annoying too)

Post by **RichardW** » 14 Oct 2010, 22:37

Forte rad sealant is an almost permanent cure. Mine's been dry for at least 30k miles, maybe 40k since I 'Forted' it.

NewcastleFalcon · Post by **NewcastleFalcon** » 15 Oct 2010, 18:01

Thanks for the replies

When I do get round to doing the job it will be the conventional way. Unscrewed a bit of the carpet by the passenger footwell and surveyed the scene, to amuse myself while waiting for the shopping to arrive. Not exactly easy access for the surgical hacksaw approach..ridiculous-what was I thinking of?

30 to 40,000 miles with the forte rad sealant sounds good to me. The manual demisting does get to be a bit of a pain in the neck.

regards

Neil

Gregg1100 · Post by **Gregg1100** » 15 Oct 2010, 22:09

Hi,
Your method of matrix renewal is how it should have been in the first place. Two hoses coming in from the bulkhead, a little end plate, and the matrix secured by a self tapping screw. Easy.
But what did they do. Bury the thing in an oversized plastic box, whereby you have to take all the dash out to get at it. Lunacy over design.
If I remember correctly, you could remove the Bx matrix by just removing the steering shaft, and out it would pop.
Greg

NewcastleFalcon · Post by **NewcastleFalcon** » 10 Nov 2023, 12:58

Gregg1100 wrote: ↑15 Oct 2010, 22:09 Hi,
Your method of matrix renewal is how it should have been in the first place. Two hoses coming in from the bulkhead, a little end plate, and the matrix secured by a self tapping screw. Easy.
But what did they do. Bury the thing in an oversized plastic box, whereby you have to take all the dash out to get at it. Lunacy over design.
If I remember correctly, you could remove the Bx matrix by just removing the steering shaft, and out it would pop.
Greg

Hi Greg

Thanks! Always a nice surprise to have one of my old threads dug up from the archives. Some good stuff lying dusty on the shelf needs an airing from time to time!

Neil

French Car Forum