Maybe a heater matrix ?

[vince70]

I wonder if someone could give me some advice I'm not to sure but I think I may have a leak on my heater matrix on my Audi 80 cabriolet 2.3.


When I put my heater on hot I get a smell of antifreeze from my heater and what looks like smoke coming out the vents for a split second, also the car doesn't seem to use water but it has had some air locks which when I take the cap off the expansion tank the gauge goes back down to zero and wont go back up again and the anti freeze level seems to also go up a tad.


Also I've noticed that the vent knob which directs air from the screen and footwell doesn't go all the way round and wondered if this was related.


I was thinking if it has a small leak on the matrix could I use k seal without damaging the car.


I'm hoping that its more to do with the car being standing for months that's caused this but maybe I'm being to optimistic.


Any suggestions would be appreciated

[tbass]

Hi there
My heater matrix is leaking, and the giveaways are
- the air coming out of the vents is moist when I turn the heating on, but not when it's turned all the way to cold
- the air smells of coolant
- there is a white deposit on the footwell airvents like you get on a leaky radiator.
Dead giveaway...already bought the replacement and looking forward to a long weekend of dismantling the dashboard...
Hope this is useful

[fourringsrus]

Dont put k-seal in it, you'll just block the microbore pipework, been there.
If your matrix is dud, as above you'll get plenty of condensation in the cabin, wet tranny tunnel and discolouring on carpet.
If you can drive a set of screwdrivers and read a haynes manual ( only available for b3 coupe, but identical procedure ) and armed with a replacement matrix, you can do it in a day but set yourself a weekend aside and indoors if possible just to make it a bit less painful

Stuart