Need to improvise repair for heater matrix elbow

[elma]

The hoses and the matrix are fully intact, the issue is that the elbow is only about half there.
I'm just off to take a picture now which I'll post this evening as I totally forgot today.

For me not having heaters is a major issue. I drive mostly at night and usually to London which is 2-3 hrs each way. I drive with the windows open and the heaters on full blast. A car with no heater is prity much useless to me.

[elma]

Own work

Very difficult to get a picture but hopefully the above shows what's left of the elbow.

[ekjdm14]

Off to the scrappy in a bit, if the guy is there it'll be the one with the Xantia in so will have a gander and see if I can rescue it intact for you.

[elma]

Thats very much appreciated, thank you.
If you are not familiar the metal clip pushes to the right and the elbow pulls out towards the drivers side headlamp, hoses can be cut.
Chances are it will disintegrate in your hands but worth a try if you can.

[ekjdm14]

I think the one on the car I saw was damaged already sadly, access is a bit of a bugger with the bonnet only lifting as far as the subframe of the 405 that was on the roof

I was told, however, that there will be another Xantia there next time we visit so could check that one out. Not likely to be till Tuesday after next though as I splurged more than expected on parts this time owing to the estate I took parts from being an S1 not S2 as I previously thought! So a lot of extra bits been had & still more to come (I want to try and rescue the strut tops if I can & a load of niggly little trim bits if I find them good.

Sorry it's not gone as planned but I'll still have a look at the new arrival when next there & do my best to get the elbow out intact, and here's hoping it too is an S1 but this time with leather and all the toys

[elma]

No problem, I appreciate the effort massively.

[ekjdm14]

No effort at all really, if there's one thing I love to while away an afternoon it's being in a good old fashioned scrap yard pulling bits off a car that I like a lot/enjoy working on & even more so if I can help someone else out while I'm there...

I was thinking, depending on access maybe it'd be "safer" for the elbow if I could cut/snap the matrix stubs and remove them from the elbow in comfort.

[elma]

I was thinking, depending on access maybe it'd be "safer" for the elbow if I could cut/snap the matrix stubs and remove them from the elbow in comfort.

I think you are probably quite right about that.
Give the lower end a bit of a squeeze first maybe before you go to the effort as it may well crumble.
I managed to repair my original one but it was so brittle it crumbled as I tightened up the hose clip which is how I ended up here.

[ekjdm14]

Ah, why do manufacturers insist on using this material for cooling system parts? Same thing happened to the water pump inlet housing on ours & fords (largely KA and fiestas) from the last 30 years are well known for crumbling heater valves.

Must be a lot cheaper at point of manufacture for them to move away from metallic parts (or, being super cynical, maybe they'd be too reliable and kill the market for replacement engines/heads etc)

It irks me somewhat, because even if metal were impractical, like with the heater elbow, there's better plastics available for the job. I mean, radiator end tanks/hose stubs etc never seem to go that brittle even on really old stuff.