heater matrix test??

[andrewcrofts]

hi all, hopeing someone can help me out here.
i have removed the heater matrix (what a bu??er of a job that was!!) stripped down the air box and removed the heat exchanger (the radiator type thing) i can not see any damage to it, although the heater box was full of coolant so i know it's been leaking from some where.
is there any way of testing it for leaks? i have removed all the fluid, plugged up one of the inlet pipes, submersed it in water and blew down the other inlet in hope i might see some bubbles appear from some where, but nothing! it just builds up the pressure. i know it's under a greater pressure when fitted so may be ive not got enough breath!!
any ideas would be a great help. if not, does any one know if the dealer's sell just the heat exchanger and roughly how much?
many thanks
andy crofts
p.s. dreading putting it all back together again!!

[dirtydog]

hi mate - just had mine done and yes is quite a lot of bits

Why dont you flush it through then test is plugged into the coolant pipes to see if it leaks for sure.
Worth checking its not a pipe leaking instead of the exchanger.
Got mine off a guy called Gerry Mann who sometimes is here - search for his username for a number.
2nd hand mine was £60 ish i think.

[mud-ge]

try taking it to your local rad repairer they will pressure test it for you ,and may be able to repair it ,did this with my main rad and had it fixed for a fraction of the cost.

[Vagrant No2]

Get an old bike inner tube and cut it opposite the valve . Attach one end to each outlet with a jubilee clip . Then pump up with a bike pump . Then submerge in water . Look for any air bubbles .

Old school test for rads and matrix's .

[andrewcrofts]

taking it to local rad repair place tommorow, i'll let you know how i get on. after a better look one of the pipes has a hairline split and the braze has cracked on the inlet joint,(which i could have done being a litte 'ham fisted' whilst trying to remove the heater pipes) although both of these are not inside the air box when the rad is fitted where the coolant was and theres no trace of any water on the outside................i'll wait and see!
thanks for the response
andy.

[andrewcrofts]

took the heat exchanger over to a place called AUTOCOOL RADIATORS in chesterfield (01246-455142), guy had a look and said he could re-core it and repair damaged pipework on the inlet for £75 plus vat (£90 ish in total) he said it will be ready tommorow for collection. a bit cheaper than £352+vat from toyota dealer for a replacement. all's that is left to do now is put the hilux jigsaw dash back together! does anyone have a few pic's of the dash / heater in various states of re-build!! i'm bound to get it round my neck and end up with a pile of 'spares'!
andy.

[Chillitt]

just start with the steering wheel on the right and work from there....

[BUSHWHACKER]

took the heat exchanger over to a place called AUTOCOOL RADIATORS in chesterfield (01246-455142), guy had a look and said he could re-core it and repair damaged pipework on the inlet for £75 plus vat (£90 ish in total) he said it will be ready tommorow for collection. a bit cheaper than £352+vat from toyota dealer for a replacement. all's that is left to do now is put the hilux jigsaw dash back together! does anyone have a few pic's of the dash / heater in various states of re-build!! i'm bound to get it round my neck and end up with a pile of 'spares'!
andy.

http://www.showmesome.info/hilux/workshop/

[andrewcrofts]

hello again, i have managed to get it all back together again with only 1 spare screw left over! i've not conected up the hoses yet as i have run out of daylight but will sort that out in the morning (did a heater by-pass so i could still use car)
my next question is this, when i refill the heater radiator, are there any pitfalls i should watch out for? i am going to fill it with the hose pipe before connecting it up, so as to get out all the air (or as much as possible) then fire up the engine and check it all. do i need to do anything else? i dont want to fry the head after all the knuckle s****ing, freezing my gonad's off hard work i've done sorting the heater!
cheers
andy

[BUSHWHACKER]

Just make sure you set both heaters to hot, remove the rad cap fill with coolant and run engine up to temp then replace rad cap. Should sort it .

[andrewcrofts]

hello again,
heater is now toasty warm again! many thanks to all for the advice, and tips whilst i've been sorting it. it was one of those jobs i thought 'nnaaaa, it'll wait until i've got more time and had chance to get my head round it a bit more!' but now it's done i feel glad i had a go (especially at 5:30 in the morning coming home from work......bbbrrrrrrrrr!) although it was a pretty large task to undertake and with no written 'instructuion' , apart from you guys, i think i would tackle it again if need be.........NOT!!

thanks to all again.

andy