heater question and antifreeze question

**tick73** · 17-10-2010,11:05 AM

hi

my mk2 only blows out very slightly warm air, even after 30 mins of driving. last year she was fine, blew out nice and hot.
when the slider is in the cold position, its how it should be, but slide it over, only a miniscule change.
the coolent level is fine, so is not lack of coolent. any ideas?

also, is it worth putting more than 50% mixture of antifreeze into the system? as the stuff i got ( recommend for pre 96 vw's) says maximum mix of 50/50. so would it do any harm in using more or would it be just wasting money? and if you did use more is there a chance of overheating?

**phil miller** · 17-10-2010,12:05 PM

hi mate a 50/50 mix of antifreeze is more than strong enough mate, as for your heater do both heater hose's get hot? if they do, id check the lever is moving on the heater box, it could be something as simple as the cable has come off, if the lever works fine and both hose's get warm/hot then it could be the matrix, a simple flow check would give a good idea as to if the matrix is blocked, hope this helps bud

**Boardboy** · 17-10-2010,08:19 PM

Tick73 have a look where the heater pipes go through from the engine bay in to the car. Have you got two inline valves on the hoses's with a small hose that bridges the other two hose's? If you have: the chances are one or both those in line valves have failed. I can't think what they are called. I think they are used to stop the flow if the heater matrix fails suddenly. Apparently they play up. I removed them both and used some copper pipe to replace them.
Hope this helps

**tick73** · 17-10-2010,08:47 PM

it has that kind of set up, with the smaller hose that goes inbetween. im off work tomorrow, so, i will take the valves off and give them a good inspection, is it ok to get rid of these and bridge the gaps?

**Boardboy** · 17-10-2010,08:53 PM

That's what I did. I had the same problem little or no heat coming out of the heater.

Good luck.

**Crasher** · 17-10-2010,09:19 PM

If you remove the recall fitted heater check valves, you MUST install the Golf 3 upgraded heater matrix from a reputable manufacturer such as Valeo. If you don’t there is significant risk that the heater matrix WILL burst and spray boiling hot coolant all over your feet and instantly mist up the inside of the car to the point that you cannot see. This is no joke on the motorway and a boiling hot foot spa is not a nice experience. I am not kidding here either, I have seen numerous Golf 2 heater matrixes explode over the years and I have had it happen to myself twice.

**Boardboy** · 18-10-2010,05:05 PM

Thanks for the info crasher. Maybe I was lucky I ran my Golf for a couple of years with them removed and had no problems. I enquired at my local VW spares place about replacing them and they surgested removing them and bridgeing the gap with pipe.

Boardboy

**tick73** · 20-10-2010,03:59 PM

hi
i checked the valves, took them off, gave them a clean, they are working fine, as hot coolent is flowing thru both valves and the pipes that go into thru the bulkhead get hot ( both ).
but still no heat in the passenger compartment!
the heater slider control seems to do something, as i can hear a small clonk from lower down. but its still next on my check list. if its not that, any ideas?

**Crasher** · 20-10-2010,05:38 PM

I have still seen them close up but as you say they are working what I suggest you do is fit a new Valeo Golf 3 heater matrix and new hoses as these do not require the check valves.

**macmillions** · 22-10-2010,04:33 PM

Silly q, but have you checked the theromostat?

What's the temp gauge showing? Also, after a good run, check the hoses coming from the rad. The top one will be hot, and the bottom one should be about the same temp. If its cold, your thermostat is stuck.