Hi, heater matrix has just gone on my 'K' Pug 405 Estate - 1.8 petrol. My daughter was driving - she had to call out the RAC - and they have bypassed the heater to get her home. How expensive is it to replace the heater matrix? I intend to use a local garage (not a Pug dealer) to do the work as I haven't the time at present. So: is it an easy job and does a replacement matrix cost an arm and a leg? TIA Dave R --
The actual matrix is only around £50 - it's the labour for removing the dash that costs the money. You're looking at somewhere around the £300-£400 mark.
Just had same problem on my 406. Book figure for the 406 was 4 hours labour, but Nigel (see parallel thread "406 water in footwells") pointed out that it is now reduced to 1.4 hours. My local garage "remembered" when I told them! The 405 is reportedly a 6 hour job, but the matrix itself is only about £45 plus VAT. In view of the age of the motor, I would be inclined to either leave it bypassed for the summer, and then "trade" it, or leave it bypassed until you can find a Haynes manual and the time to do it yourself! John
This subject keeps coming up, so I've dug out the post I did in December 2001 after I swapped a matrix on my Mark 1 J Reg 405 turbo diesel estate, which I did only after a lot of advice and encouragement from others on this site. In fact apart from the one fascia screw I didn't need to touch the fascia at all. This, at the time, saved me £440 over the book price quoted by Peugeot London. WARNING: It worked for me, but I take no responsibility whatever for whatever mess you might get into. Note that at the time another poster said Mark IIs were harder and dash did have to come out. And once again I point to this link http://rangerovers.net/repairdetails/heateroring.html which is for a Rangerover but the O-ring housing and construction is virtually identical to a 405 - it helps to see the O-ring cover to know what you are going for. I guess it was about an hour to get the matrix out. Half an hour to fit. And an hour and a half to reassemble. But I'm slow. All while very uncomfortably laying with the door frame sticking in my ribs - so get a pillow! Here's my post: "" Well, the new heater matrix is in and working, and while it is fresh in my mind I thought I'd set out how I did it (saving £444) ... in case anyone ever needs it. Mark 1 1992 405 turbo diesel estate, without air conditioning. Basically you get the glove box out and everything else is easy. 1. Remove the soft cowl under the glove box. 2. Remove the lower side of the central tunnel. It's plastic and pops off four or five clips. 3. Remove the lower plastic inner door surround, one screw and then pops off. 4. Remove the eight or nine screws inside the glove box cover, and pull off outer skin. 5. Tap out the roll pins inside the cover end of the two restraining arms with a suitably sized drill bit, split pin or drift. The glove box door is now free. [[Note how the springs go - I didn't and never got them back right]] 6. Inside the glove box, with a mirror, find one screw in the centre top edge and one in the left top edge with heads facing away from you. Remove. 7. On the left side near the big fascia screw, find a small screw pointing up. Remove. 8. On the right side, near the big fascia screw, with a mirror, find a small screw pointing up, remove. 9. Well above this, in the mirror, you can just see the last retaining screw, which I could not reach. 10. Free the glove box, starting on the left. There is a big cable bundle tied to the box. Cut tie. 11. At the top at the back is a clip which holds the edge. Prise edge free. 12. The only thing now holding the glove box is the last unreachable screw noted at 9. I decided to break the plastic mounting tab rather than pay £450. I did this by pulling the box down and toward me. I don't think the box will be that much weaker without that screw. 13. Under bonnet remove battery and clamp heater hoses. [[ KNOW YOUR RADIO CODE FIRST!]] 14. Back inside, take out the big fascia screw just below matrix and near radio. 15. Undo screw between two heater pipes [[A sod little x-head screw. See rangerover link for talk about replacing with Allen head screw]]. Push pipes back and up and catch no more than a litre of escaping coolant. 16. Release clips holding matrix as if in a book's slip cover, and pull it out (to the left) taking care to hold clear pipes and bit of fascia mount near screw you removed. It just makes it. 17. Instal replacement (£56 inc Vat from Peugeot), connect, top up coolant etc."" [[ Obviously use new O-rings ... maybe they were all that were at fault! And get the x-head screw tight. Leave glove box out until you are sure you have fixed leak! Reassembly is the reverse, but you may need chewing gum or a magnetic screwdriver with some of the screws.]] [[I found that the replacement matrix did not go in all the way, though it works fine without it. Subsequently a helpful posted pointed out that sometimes there is a plastic cover off the end of the old matrix that gets stuck in there if so you can usually hook it out(or remove the cover off the end of yours). Subsequently to be tidy I hoiked out the matrix and fixed this. Three years later - still no leak. Touch wood. ]]
And I remember you were the one who knew about the plastic on the end of the matrix and much other good advice. Thanks again!
