Focus heater matrix leak

[gibbsy]

Hi

So i have the dreaded heater matrix fail.

I have a 2005 ford focus 1.6. This car has the heater matrix that has the joining pipes, 2 black clips a common area for the seals to go, guess what mine isn't the seals!!! its down in the core itself.

I have stripped away the kick plate son the passenger and driver side and i have removed the two big steal plates on either side. Now there are a lot more screws and bolts to remove and i can see im going to need to get my dremmel out and cut away some of the dash to give me some better access but has anybody actually removed the heater matrix this way?

I can see that the heater matrix looks to be enclosed in a big black plastic box, im guessing it has clips on it BUT that to remove all the clips would mean removing that big black plastic box and that is a dash out job, im guessing the plastic box needs to be broken on the drivers side to slide out the heater matrix which is help within, am i right?

So next question then, i can get a heater matrix from ECP for just over £100 or i have seen on eBay that genuine ford focus heater matrix's go for anything from £60 to £150 or i can get one that has been taken out of a Ford focus by a breakers yard, whats the best option?

Also other potential fix is k-seal? the car is only used for trips to the local shops, taking dog for a walk or when my wife has my company car and im not with her, all other times im on my motorbike. K-seal may not be the best long term solution but it would surely get me through winter, Christmas and into the new year when i can then decide to tackle this in spring when its slightly warmer?

Currently i have by-passed the heater matrix in the engine bay.

Any advice muchly appreciated.

[goldtail77]

If it is anything like the way I replaced my HM in a 1988 Escort. The Donor vehicle was a Sierra in a Scrapyard. They could hear me kicking the horse manure out the Sierra to save the 8 hour dismantle time.

The Escort was given a little more finesse but a hammer was employed at one point, more to deal with part discrepancies.

The long and the short of it, do it the best way you can without too much destruction.

[nazsky786]

It's been done,

You have 2 options. 1 you use the replacement heater matrix from Ford which uses the clips.

Or you replace the complete unitbwhich would mean a complete dash removal including the dash framework which involves removal of front doors, but once changed lasts longer then the clips. 

 

I choose option 2 and it is a lot of headache. Including the regarding of AC as complete box needs removal. 

[gibbsy]

Thanks for the replies.

Its not the clips that are leaking they are bone dry the leak is actually coming from the matrix itself within the black plastic housing. It starts with a hiss then some steam and then a steady jet of water.

Its currently bypassed in the engine bay and that was fine while its been summer but i drove it the other evening and my god was it cold and the front screen wouldn't clear, i thought the heated screen would help me here but nope.

So as a temporary measure i could go and get k-seal this weekend and hopefully fix the problem and if it doesn't i then know i either need to get a copy heater matrix and hack the old one out of its current housing on the drivers side or get a ford one and still hack it out or pay a garage to do it for me. Anybody know how easy that black plastic housing is to get into?

If the k-seal fixes the problem i buy myself a few months into the new year that i can then think of a solution or afford to pay a garage to do it.

The car isn't used that often but it is needed.

Or i could sell it as is i guess and tell the buyer they need to spend a few hundred on a garage fixing the heater matrix.

 

[ippy]

Stick some K Seal in and get shot

[nazsky786]

If you have clip version then you can just remove the centre console a few screws, and replace the matrix. There is a guide on how to do it on the free workshop manual. 

Not as hard as you may think. It's just a very tight space.

[gibbsy]

23 hours ago, nazsky786 said:

If you have clip version then you can just remove the centre console a few screws, and replace the matrix. There is a guide on how to do it on the free workshop manual. 

Not as hard as you may think. It's just a very tight space.

the free workshop manual, please help where can i find this?

i have removed the kick plates from driver and passenger side and also the steal brackets that hold it in place. i was going to dremel some of lower dash off to give me access on drivers side then snap, break, crack the black plastic housing to hopefully slide the matrix out. It is the clip version and undo the two clips closer to the bulkheard. get an OEM matrix and fit it back in and fashion some sort of mount to hold the matrix in place better and to re-join the lower dash.

[gibbsy]

k-seal didn't work, i know have copper smelling water all in my drivers footwell.

does anybody know the part number for a genuine 2005 ford focus rhd heater matrix? its the 1.6 zetec climate model.