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[matt]

smell of coolant closely followed by half pint of hot water on left foot.  I was only pootling round town.

Only had the damn thing a day...  I know previous owner has changed header tank and HBV - dunno how recently.  Local garage I trust can't do anything til Tues  

Anyone know a good mechanic near blackpool?

1. can i safely limp it a mile back to home when it cooled?
2. what are the likely causes / complexity of fix.

Supposed to be going on hols tomorrow eve.    

[Markie]

Heater bypass valve the normal suspect, an easy albeit cumbersom job. No need for mechanic.

VX part should see change from a £30 note  

If driving keep some spare fluid in the boot - and do it soon as often the leak will end up causing problems with the coil pack ( dispack)

[IrmscherKris]

Sounds like the heater matrix to me... not too difficult of a job  

[Markie]

...actually left foot...where were you standing  :-/

[ians]

Heater bypass valve the normal suspect, an easy albeit cumbersom job. No need for mechanic.

VX part should see change from a £30 note  

If driving keep some spare fluid in the boot - and do it soon as often the leak will end up causing problems with the coil pack ( dispack)

I've never heard of HBV resulting in coolant dumping INSIDE the car.   I am inclined to think heater matrix too.

Can someone confirm - if you switch AC on, does that take the heater matrix out of the coolant circuit?  wondering if their is a temporary solution given the chap's off on holiday tomorrow.

[davlad22]

Standing!?! I'm guessing he sits down to drive like the rest of us!  

[Markie]

Standing!?! I'm guessing he sits down to drive like the rest of us!  

aye awrite i had read that originally as left hand side thinking hbv which clearly this is not....must not be on here whilst working as clearly i cant multi task..CLEARLY this is not hbv  

[matt]

Appreciate the speed of replies - thanks!!!

car isnt far away, so I'll go get it in an hour or two...   heating to cold.

Only mention HBV as previous owner mentioned he'd changed it.

All coolant seems to be inside.

So I presume its dash out.  and dig out the haynes manual.

(oh and yes I was sitting!!!   )

[tunnie]

could be a number of things, hbv, some pipes, oil cooler....

[davlad22]

Not the heater matrix then?

[TheBoy]

Water inside on drivers side is likely to be heater matrix.  Bit of a pig to change...

[matt]

OK, thanks for the clues guys...

To *check* if it is the heater matrix - what's easiest method (i.e. can I check easily without pulling the dash?)

How feasible is it to bypass the inside from the engine side of the bulkhead?  I am assuming this will be easier (like couple of right angles from wherever they come out the block and some jubilee clips), than a dash out, change, dash back in.

I'd rather have a week with no heat than start completely messing up plans by trying to do a rushed matrix swap.

And cars/bikes were much simpler with more last time I did much DIY mechanicing.

[johnc46]

Bypass the heater Matt its the best solution  

[matt]

OK, before I start buying some 19mm hose and jubilee clips, I found this:

http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1185891036
They're not jubilee clips  

So I take it length of 19mm flexible hose & two jubilee clips isn't going to cut it...  Am I gonna need to slice the OE hoses and cobble some sort of join??

[CaptainZok]

Does it still leak when the heater is set to cold both sides?
I think the HBV should close off the heater matrix when the controls are set to cold.
Might be a temp solution till you get a new matrix installed.