watchgollum Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Hi. Does anyone know the internal diameter of the heater matrix hoses for a mk2 Focus 1.6 ti-vct engine? The reason. I want to fit a coolant valve going into the heater matrix so I can control the temp inside the car. It seems Ford use the heater matrix as an oil cooler which means there is always hot coolant going through it and when you turn the cabin temp control down it just moves a flap that stops air going over the heater matrix! This makes the interior of the car very hot especially if you turn the fan on. Thanks Watchgollum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 I can't help with the pipe size, but I really wouldn't be altering it. A lot of cars run hot water through the matrix all the time and its 'balanced' so the water flows to the right places. I've seen people bypass a broken matrix (albeit on older cars) and end up with the coolant not flowing through the head...which then leads to headgasket failure. You shouldn't get hot air coming through if it's set to cold though, that's the idea of the diverter flap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watchgollum Posted October 14, 2014 Author Share Posted October 14, 2014 Hi Tom Thanks for the reply. It seems nuts to have something so hot in the cabin as the heater matrix full of hot water all the time. The facia below the radio in my car gets so hot it nearly fried my mobile. I want to build a bypass system so when the coolant valve is closed the hot water still flows back into the engine avoiding any OH issues. Ford do a valve that do this for the Fiesta, it has four pipes. I just don't know if it will fit my car and it's electrically controlled hence why I need to know the pipe diameters. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artscot79 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 you clearly have a problem then as i have the ti vct and there is no change in interior temp unless i ask for it to be hotter nor does the ddash get hot at any time you cannot fit a bypass valve to the pipes for a lot of reasons that i dont have enough time to go into but you have a problem somewhere you need to fix quite a serious one to have that kind of heat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watchgollum Posted October 14, 2014 Author Share Posted October 14, 2014 Hi Arthur. Hmm... Interesting you say your dash does not get hot. The only culprit I can think of is the heater matrix as the pipes are always roasting hot, same temp as the other coolant pipes. It won't be electrical as a short producing that much heat would blow all fuses involved. The engine temp is always spot on and the car runs fine. I know that these cars have a weird electric thermostat with two stats and one of these goes off to the heater matrix. It could be that but I've just seen the cost of them and they're £70 and upwards. Another thought is that the exhaust manifold runs between the engine and bulkhead and below the heater matrix pipes. Is there meant to be a heat shield around the exhaust manifold, there is one on the bulkhead? Help and comments are appreciated. Thanks Watchgollum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artscot79 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Ues theres a shield over the manifold at the rear of the engine a shield clipped on the brake pipes that goes under the car from the bottom of the bulkhead a shield top and bottom if the double cats...i can honestly say the fascia etc shows no heat i never usually have it at max hot but when i do its never like youre describing The coolant systems pretty complicated at best so i wouldnt add bypass valves etc the fiesta has this but the engines slightly different and it doesnt get as much air through the front due to a crash bar covering the middle of the radiator.the pipes will be hot thats just normal if they were that hot you would get an overheating engine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Hi Gollum, I also checked my dash today and even after a 40 mile drive the dash didn't get hot at any point until I used a CD (yes, some people do still use those haha), then the stereo face got warm, but still not the rest of the dash. I'd say theres another issue, but I'm not sure what! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artscot79 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 perhaps the plastic box holding the pollen filter and heater matrix has a split ir crack in it but apart from electrics theres not much behind there i cant see heat from the manifold or exhaust penetrating through unless theres a hole in the bulkhead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troy45 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Coolant is routed through the bulkhead into the heater/hvac unit because this is the source used for the heater. However if your dash is getting hot it'd be better to find out what's causing that, going to the trouble of fitting external valves etc will only be masking the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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