It was only a matter of time......

Stempy · Post by **Stempy** » 07 Mar 2005, 01:39

......before the heater matrix sprung a leak I suppose.
Noticed it weeping today while replacing the pollen filter. How long can I ignore it in the hope it might stop by itself?[:o)]

tonespeed1999 · Post by **tonespeed1999** » 07 Mar 2005, 01:46

not a chance in hell!.antifreeze searches for leaks.leave it too long and it will start to smell,fill the heater box and your front screen will steam up badly!.rad weld is a waste of time,will only clog the system.

Stempy · Post by **Stempy** » 07 Mar 2005, 03:52

Mmm, I kind of knew that would be the answer. Certainly wouldn't put Radweld in I just don't think I have the enthusiasm at present to dismantle half the car to change it.

Richard Gallagher · Post by **Richard Gallagher** » 07 Mar 2005, 04:15

Gee thats bad luck, still to cheer you up and give you something towards the job, I received the MAP sensor so I'll Paypal you the refund.

Post by **RichardW** » 07 Mar 2005, 12:47

I, ahem, 'fixed' a Xantia matrix leak with Forte Rad Sealer. This stuff costs £14 a bottle and is supposedly far superior to the radweld gunk. Says on the bottle it won't block matricies or radiators, but then it would I suppose.

mattpc · Post by **mattpc** » 07 Mar 2005, 13:34

Forte Stopleak All the way. I was losing a litre a day of coolant, now I have to top it up by the smallest ammount once a month. I've done about 6k on it since I put it in. The heater works great and the cooling system seems to function fine. I do a mix of inner city and motorway driving.

davethewheel · Post by **davethewheel** » 07 Mar 2005, 14:11

putting anykind of stop leak in will only be a tempory measure as usually when the matrix has started to leak the alloy its made from has rotted through and its only a matter of time before it goes altogether.

bxbodger · Post by **bxbodger** » 07 Mar 2005, 18:11

Just bung in the radweld!!
Its cheap and it does work-and if it doesn't, what do you have to lose by trying? I think they are all being Jonah's.......[V]!!!

adzbaby · Post by **adzbaby** » 07 Mar 2005, 19:46

Why is it that it is always the most hidden away, bloody awkward parts break/die! I think its called a combination of Sod's Law and equisite french design!!! [;)]
Are the heater matrices all the same on the Xantia's or is there (I am sure there is!!) differences between diesels, petrols and marks? I have P reg 2.0 petrol that smells like a swimming pool and is pretty humid inside with a very steamy windscreen. By the signs and from what I have read it looks like that matrix is leaking and I have a heater matrix from a 1.9td mark II L reg which I may have to do the dirty with.

James.UK · Post by **James.UK** » 07 Mar 2005, 20:04

My friends P405 had a leaking matrix last year, we used fortes sealer and the car has been fine ever since.. Fortes doesn't appear to form any sort of gunk.. The coolant looks fine, and the car doesn't lose any water or over heat.. Based on 9,000 so-far trouble free miles, it seems to be sorted. [^]
.

Post by **RichardW** » 07 Mar 2005, 20:57

Don't bother trying to fit a second hand matrix - it will only leak again! New ones are only £30, and given the amount of hassle involved in fitting it, it would be stupid to have to do it again! I have not had one of these out yet, but I suspect it is not only a corrosion problem - they always apparently go at the same place, and this suggest to me it is an errosion problem. My Dad has a 93 1.8 Xantia, that to my knowledge has had 2 coolant changes in its 85,000 miles (the last only last year at 80k), yet mo matrix leak. This car has mostly been used gently (notwithstanding towing a caraven 300 miles in 6 hours at 18mpg!!), which makes me wonder if it is sustained high speed running (which will give high water pressure / flow through the matrix) that knackers them - although my previous one had only done 70k in 7 years, and was as tight as when we got hold of it. No doubt I shall find out when my current one starts leaking!
My previous one had gone for 10 months, 15,000 miles with Forte sealer in when I had to sell it on (due to headgasket oil leak) and there was no loss of heater performance, or other heating / cooling issues. If I was stuck / it was the middle of winter (it was, on both counts) I would use the sealant again. Given more time, and more favourable weather I would probably strip the dash out.

oscarloco · Post by **oscarloco** » 07 Mar 2005, 22:34

Same trouble here. I used Bar's radiator stop leak. It also claims that it doesn't clog the cooling system or the heater cores. It do recommends that you flush the system BEFORE applying the product. I used half a bottle (about 3 oz) and it worked pretty good. The heater stopped leaking very fast. The radiator took a little longer but eventualy stopped dripping. I used it tuesday. On sunday I flushed the system again (to avoid any unnecesary blockage) and filled it with a 60/40 coolant water mixture. Everything seems fine now.