Heating matrix bypass.. Possible Problems?

Hi, My 306 94 L reg XND has just failed its mot,

Heating matrix replacal £94+vat & £300 +vat labour
wipers £20
load arm? £20 +vat & £30+vat labour
service £125
crazed pipes £20 & £20 labour
possible cambelt replacement - not quoted.

I was thinking of not bothering with it all... unless

If I can bypass the Heating matrix, apart from me putting up with the
cold, what possible side effects can happen(to the car)? Any ideas
welcome, thanks. (I'm no car expert!)

 

306hell wrote in message

Easy to do, no known drawbacks other than no heater, poor demisting etc.

Find the two hoses, next to one another usually, going to the bulkhead.
Disconnect both. Find a piece of metal tube to be a good fit in the hoses,
join together and clamp with jubilee clips.

Why not change the heater matrix yourself? It is not hard, just time
consuming hence the high labour charge.
The service will be little more than an oil & filter change, possibly new
plugs plus checking of fluid levels. Easy DIY. £20 of parts and an hour or
so of your time. Could be well worth changing the coolant as well. It goes
acidic over time and can start eating through things (like your heater
matrix??)

The dosh you save should be put towards a cam belt change.This is not an
amateur DIY job and is best entrusted to a local citroen/pug specialist not
a main dealer who will likely be expensive.
Also change the cambelt pulleys/bearing.
If the cam belt breaks then it is big, expensive, engine damage and you will
be throwing the car away when you ge that quotation!

 

I would consider getting an MOT elsewhere first, they may fail it on more or
*less* stuff....
This is a well known loop hole in the MOT system...

Andy

 

No problems whatsoever. In fact theres a 106 diesel sat on my drive with
the matrix bypassed. The owner drives around in a ski jacket, gloves and
hat, but the car itself is fine!

 

Hi, thanks for your suggestions..

Just 2 last question.

If I bypass my Heater Matrix, can the Garage fail me on my MOT for that
reason?

Also, they say when they push down at the back left of the car, is is a
little more easier to push than the right, so they say I need a Load Arm?
rplaced. Does that sound correct?

Thanks in Advance!

 

That garage is being rather harsh. I've never heard of a heater
leaking or being bypassed failing the MOT. And the suspension has to
bounce quite a bit to fail. Very unusual on Peugeots.

 

Hi,

It sounds as though they're scrabbling for work - all of their prices
are well and truly high, or so it would seem to me - and I never yet heard
of an MOT fail on a non-functional heater (mine hasn't worked properly in 3
years, and no garage has ever bothered about it), unless you're intending to
drive the car at the North Pole (in which case you might have a problem).
Why do you want to bypass the heater matrix? Sorry, I came into this thread
late, and in spite of synchronising on all messages today, I missed the top
of it.

As for the Load Arm ...????? That's a new one on me - check in a Haynes
manual, and see whether you can identify the part - or ask at the local
Peugeot Main Dealer or someone like this http://www.peugeotparts.co.uk/ guy.
(In fact, ask him for prices on all of those parts, and find out what they
really cost.)

Personally, I'd have said that suspension deflection was quite a
subjective matter - but that, if the car bounces, you'd be more likely to be
into it for new shock absorbers.

If you want to discuss it more, contact me off-group and I'll see what I
can suggest. It sounds to me as if you're being had over.



Philip

 

Hi,

Wondering if any of you cab help... I have a Pug Partner '56 plate. Basically there's liquid all in the foot well of the passenger side, when l put the blower on heat with the fans on no heat really comes out, just what looks like steam with a nasty smell... it doesnt demist the windows, infact it makes it a lot worse. Also when l turn the engine off an leave the vehicle, on my return usually my windows have then steamed up just above the heating air vents... the coolant also appears to be lowering in level in the engine bay, which is what could be leaking on to the foot well...

I need to replace what l believe is my heating matrix - does anyone know from the description above whether that is correct? Also how hard a job is this to do? Any advice greatly appreciated...


Steve