So, I took the plunge and ordered some new heater parts.
Me being me, I decided that the best way of doing this would be to take out the broken, (or rather perished) items of the heating system and then replace them with new ones when they arrived (Thinking that my parts would have arrived yesterday, I tackled the dismantling yesterday in the hope that I would get a head start on fitting them.
It was a fraught morning. Anyone who has replaced the heater tap on a Moggie will tell you that actually getting to the bolts to undo them is an art form. An hour or so after staring, I’ve gutted the heating system – Taken the heater tap off the engine block and cleaned up. After that, I decided to tackle the heater Matrix.
Again, having no instruction (the Haynes Book of lies* not having anything in it about dismantling the heater) I set too, first undoing the parcel shelf and lowering it down, and then slowly dismantling and removing the heater. The matrix was well and truly fuzzed up with dead insects and other rubbish, so I hope that the cleaning out of it will help remove some of the junk from the system. The felt inside needs replacing too, but sadly a lack of a second set of wheels in the form of the Honda (which was sitting at the local train station waiting for my partner) and I decided to re-assemble the heater without renewing the foam. I must find out what specifications the foam has to be however, since I think it would cut down on leakage of air and stop cold air getting into the car a bit more.
Today the parts arrived, and I’ve just spent an hour or so putting the first few pipes on. Currently (it’s a really cold day) I’m soaking the last of the pipes so that it slides nicely over the end of the matrix. Be warned, the matrix in situ is a nightmare to fit new pipes to. I should have left it and fitted the heater with the new pipes on first before re-attaching it to the bulkhead. I will know for next time (hehe)
There are videos on the way, but as of the current moment in time I am lacking the proper video editing software required to make an interesting presentation. It goes without saying that they are not half as good as Pyoor’s anyway, so I shall bide my time.
Once more into the breach. I hear you asking “why is she doing this on a cold day when it’s raining?”. Simple: I have an appointment with the tyre (or tire) centre (or center) this afternoon. More to follow!
*As named by Pyoor, myself, and numerous other Mog owners