Audi 80 1998 Auto serious heater problem

Hi everyone

My car has a problem with the heater. Every time I switch it on a nasty smelling fume comes in with visible particles bellowing out.

Whatever it is coates the inside of the windows in a horrible, greasy film. This then becomes very difficult to clean.

I now can't use the heater at all which is making life difficult, so I can't de-steam my windows with the heater (dangerous !) or get warm !

Any suggestions welcome. Is it something to do with the heater filter or something more serious ? What needs checking or changing ?

Sorry, I am a woman ;) so please say things clearly so I understand !

Hi First you need to see if you have a pollen filter,and if needs changing.If you dont have a pollen filter,then it would seem that the heat exchanger ls leaking (it is a small radiator which the warm water circulates through) usually it is a fusty sweet smell,that is the antifreeze, and it leaves an oily film on the windscreen.I take it you dont have air conditioning.

Hi many thanks for that. Where are the heater radiator and filter located ? Is it under the glove compartment or the steering wheel ? I don't have air con. but desparate to get the heating sorted.

Is the antifreeze leaking into the heater, is it normal for antifreeze to get into the heater ? Is it something I can fix by stopping the antifreeze from leaking (i.e. someone told me you can put some sort of liquid from Halfords that seals the antifreeze pipe so it doesn't leak ?) Is it defo. a heater problem rather than a leak from the antifreeze area ?

Hi the antifreee is in the water,I have found, that any type of coolant sealer usally causes more harm than good,Iam sorry to say its a far too complicated job if you dont know what you are doing,What kind of smell would you say it was?The pollen filter is in the plenium chamber (there were your battery is)

It is difficult to describe the smell as I shut the heater off the minute I switch it on. It is so bad I have to open the window to get rid of it as I feel as though I might choke !

I would say it is quite smokey and oily and you actually see particles being blown into the car. It is defo greasy as it settles on the windscreen and leaves marks that are very difficult to clean.

What does this sound like ?

The thing is it is a very old car (although it still looks pretty good !) and I don't wish to spend any money on the heater if it is going to be expensive. I will just put up with sitting in the cold until the weather gets warmer !! I also don't do long distances, just local stuff so not on motorway for it to be dangerous to clean steam off windscreen all the time. It is just a very annoying problem.

I have a MOT due in a few days and if it fails with lots of things to repair, I might just get rid of it as it won't be worth it. Of course they won't check the heater, but I just want to see whether it passes the MOT or not before I do any repairs.

The car's current value is probably only around £400 to £500.

Sorry for long story, it is just to say that if it is something hubby can fix that would be good ! If not I will just forget about it.

Hi

There would definitely be lots of steam as well, if the heater rad is leaking.
If there is only choking fumes and greasy windscreen, without steam, then I would say you have a blocked engine breather, and probably the engine is showing it's age?
If this is the case, you probably have some leaking breather hoses, and pressure build up in the engine caused by the breather being blocked. There is a breather built in to the steel valve cover (the bit you pour the oil into , on top of the engine) on the 1.8. Probably best to get a new valve cover, but you might unclog it by soaking it in a bucket of caustic soda solution?
Also see if the rubber trim along the back edge of the engine bay is present and correctly fitted, it is supposed to stop engine bay fumes getting into the blower intake area.

If you think it might be steam as well, try bypassing the heater radiator, the two small hoses, which are side by side, and disappear into the back of the engine bay are for the heater. Connect these together with a bit of pipe and the heater will be bypassed, if fault goes away, then a new heater rad is needed.

Scotty thanks very much for your excellent reply. Yes the car is old and the engine doesn't look like it has been looked after for years. We will try everything you have said, it is defo worth trying these things and then deciding what to do next.

I think you'll find that the heater Matrix has failed the "particles" that are coming out is in fact the antifreeze from your cooling system and the grease on your windows is antifreeze, the part from Audi will cost you about £55 but..............................

The car is built around the heater matrix as such, it is in the middle of the car behind the dash!!!, to do the job Audi will quote 4 hours labour, all of the dash has to come out to replace it, other garages may quote you 7 to 9 hours, that is if they want to do the job (most won't!!!).

I know this because I've just had mine done :(.

Total cost £491.

Audi will do a competant job on your car and will do it faster, so it may be a false economy to get a cheaper garage to repair it.

Hope that helps Tony

Thanks, the car has just failed its MOT, the repairs come to around £350 so add the cost of the heater to it it would cost me nearly £900 to fix a car that has a market value of about £400 - £500 (it looks good, but not everyone will wish to buy it I guess as it is 14 years old).

Thanks everyone for your input. I did have a feeling that if it is the heater matrix it won't be worth repairing.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by scotty33

Hi


If you think it might be steam as well, try bypassing the heater radiator, the two small hoses, which are side by side, and disappear into the back of the engine bay are for the heater. Connect these together with a bit of pipe and the heater will be bypassed, if fault goes away, then a new heater rad is needed.

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Its a great help reading peoples responses for advice. I'm having very similar heater issues. How do I access the 'two small hoses'? Im hoping to by-pass the heater matrix all together. Is it a difficult job? I dont want to have to take the dashboard apart.

Thanks in advance for any hints or tips.