bypassing water going through heaters

1. adamf0707 Established Member Joined: Oct 2008 louth, lincolnshire Posts: 1267 94 eg civic

   #1 18th May 2009, 15:11

   hello people
   i think the heater matrix on my car needs replacing as there is water in my footwells coming from the vent things under the dash board
   ive been told its quite a big job as the dash board has to come out or something.
   ive also been told i might be able to bypass the heaters by using a bit of radiator hose or something and where the water goes into the heaters put the hose from there to where it comes back out bypassing the heaters
   has anyone heard of this or know what to do and how to do it?
2. Lozza_vtr Established Member Joined: Jun 2007 Sunny Essex!! Posts: 2342 VW Golf Mk4 1.8T

   #2 18th May 2009, 16:00

   You should be able to.
   
   If you look in the engine compartment you should see 2 hoses that go through the bulkhead, they are the pipes that connect to the heater matrix, disconnect them and join the 2 together using a piece of hard piping/hose joiner.

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3. Sparco_Tom Saxperience Addict Joined: Jan 2007 Aylesbury, Bucks Posts: 12836 Yeaaahh Fiesta

   #3 18th May 2009, 16:03

   as lozza says before the pipes enter the bulkhead join them together. you might aswell get the dash out using the guide on here. and replace it.
   
   The job isnt huge seems bigger than it really is

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4. jinx Frequent Poster Joined: Jun 2008 Staffordshire Posts: 745 Saxo - Furio 1.4

   #4 18th May 2009, 16:05

   Does it leak water from both vents or just 1?
5. adamf0707 Established Member Joined: Oct 2008 louth, lincolnshire Posts: 1267 94 eg civic

   #5 18th May 2009, 16:15

   thanks for the info guys has anyone got any pics of where these pipes are?
   and yeah from both vents i think mate
6. Lozza_vtr Established Member Joined: Jun 2007 Sunny Essex!! Posts: 2342 VW Golf Mk4 1.8T

   #6 18th May 2009, 16:39

   Quote:

   Originally Posted by adamf0707 thanks for the info guys has anyone got any pics of where these pipes are? and yeah from both vents i think mate

   They should be the only 2 pipes going through the bulkhead really mate. Look behind your engine and you should see the couple of pipes going through into the cabin of the car, they should be going through a big rubber grommet.
   
   The only pic i have got at the moment is this, it shows the 2 pipes that need connecting.
   
   
7. Lozza_vtr Established Member Joined: Jun 2007 Sunny Essex!! Posts: 2342 VW Golf Mk4 1.8T

   #7 18th May 2009, 16:40

   Hold on, will go out to the saxo and have a look.
8. Lozza_vtr Established Member Joined: Jun 2007 Sunny Essex!! Posts: 2342 VW Golf Mk4 1.8T

   #8 18th May 2009, 16:54

   Right, it might be a bit hard to remove the pipes, bit of a tight fit around the area. Might do with some long nose pliers to try and release the clamps from the pipes.
   
   
   
   Look at the pipe in the middle of this picture, it has the little plastic dust cap on it, this is one of the pipes you need to join. Follow this pipe back and you can see where it routes through the bulkhead, they have metal clips on them that need releasing. You will see the second pipe just below this one entering the bulkhead.
   
   It will be tricky to release the clips (limited space), but looks possible.

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9. adamf0707 Established Member Joined: Oct 2008 louth, lincolnshire Posts: 1267 94 eg civic

   #9 18th May 2009, 16:56

   Quote:

   Originally Posted by Lozza_vtr Hold on, will go out to the saxo and have a look.

   thanks mate for the pictures and info
   i will go and have a look and see what i can do haha
10. topmodinponty Newbie Joined: Oct 2009 pontypridd Posts: 23 citroen saxo vtr 2001 silver

    #10 20th March 2011, 09:41

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Lozza_vtr You should be able to. If you look in the engine compartment you should see 2 hoses that go through the bulkhead, they are the pipes that connect to the heater matrix, disconnect them and join the 2 together using a piece of hard piping/hose joiner.

    thinking of doing this for the time being. anyone got any diagrams?
11. simonwillis1988 Infrequent Poster Joined: Feb 2011 Posts: 174

    #11 1st April 2011, 22:37

    i did this on a mk4 golf last week, get a bit of plastic piping from a auto spares shop and hose clamp the two pipes together