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Showing content with the highest reputation on 12/31/2010 in all areas

  1. Happy to re-cap the steps I’ve taken for anyone to try. A few points to keep in mind – I’d already recently changed the coolant in the car, so I didn’t want to loose too much coolant. If you’re having problems with your heating it would seem to make sense to also first change your coolant. I should also add an “at your own risk” disclaimer, I obviously can’t be responsible for anything that happens as a result of anyone trying this (unless it’s just a lot of heat inside your car! ) – you’re going to be dealing with heat, bleach and other potentially dangerous stuff so make sure you’re prepared and careful! Equipment needed: a.) A hose pipe connected to running water b.) Additional pieces of hose pipe (or similar): * 1 short (~120cm or so should do) * 1 longer (~1.5m or so will be plenty) c.) A funnel (this needs to be able to connect to one end of the short piece of hose pipe) d.) A measuring jug e.) Your kettle with near boiling water to hand f.) A bucket g.) Scissors/knife (for cutting hose pipe) h.) Pliers i.) Mr Muscle Sink & Plughole Unblocker j.) Buster Kitchen Plug Hole & Sink Treatment k.) Engine coolant/water l.) Protective Gloves Hose Pipe Preparation: One of the most annoying things I found when trying to do the flush was that a standard hose pipe is just too small to get around the connecting pipes to the matrix and awkward to fit inside the pipes. If you have a slightly larger pipe it would be an advantage, otherwise I recommend trying to stretch the hose pipe ends slightly. One way to achieve this can be to sit the end in some hot water for a minute and then push something like the end of your funnel into it which, with its wedge shape, should help to stretch the rubber. Leave it in place for a while to really stretch it out. Do this to the hose pipe end as well as one end on each of the additional pieces of hose pipe listed above. Steps to Flush Matrix: 1.) Take the car for a drive to get the engine warmed up, turn the heater on and leave it on when you stop the engine. With the engine still warm I carefully released the pressure on the system by slowly undoing the radiator cap. I did this by wrapping a towel around it and wearing gloves – don’t get burnt! 2.) With the pressure released I then needed to disconnect the two connections that run into the cabin (if I’m right this is actually the connections directly to the matrix itself) – you’ll need your pliers. These photos should help confirm where I’m talking about if you’re not sure Try and hook then upwards out of the way, e.g. so no coolant will flow out of them. When disconnecting them you may still lose a small amount of coolant. 3.) With those connections off and safely up and out of the way connect your hose pipe (with the water mains) to one of the connections. Make sure it’s a snug fit around the pipe. If you’re struggling to get the hose pipe on, re-read the preparation section – you’re going to need to stretch it out a bit or find an alternative. 4.) Connect the longer piece of hose pipe to the other connection and run this down into your bucket. 5.) Start running your hose gently to ensure you have a good flow, if water isn’t shooting our everywhere turn the hose up to full power. Repeat this step for ~ 3 buckets worth. If you’re seeing a lot of debris come out repeat until clear water runs. 6.) Switch the connections around to the opposite pipes and repeat steps 3 – 5. 7.) Disconnect the hose pipe end with the water flow and connect your shorter piece of hose pipe. Ensure that this is a clean pipe as you’re going to need to blow down it to force any remaining water out of the matrix and into your bucket. E.g. after this step there should be no liquid left in the matrix. 8.) Disconnect the long hose pipe so that one side of the matrix has nothing connected to it. Now attach the funnel to the end of the short piece of hose pipe that you have just blown into in step 7. 9.) We now want to fill the matrix with Mr Muscle! Holding the funnel high to let gravity do it’s bit to help slowly pour the Mr Muscle liquid into it. Keep your eye on the end of the matrix that has no pipe attached; you want to see a small amount of Mr Muscle get to the end here as you’ll then know you’ve filled the matrix. I used a 500ml bottle and found this to be just enough to fill the matrix. During the fill I had to add a very small amount of near boiling water from the kettle to encourage it through the matrix. 10.) You can now take a break! Leave the Mr Muscle solution in the matrix for 30mins. 11.) Re-attach the long piece of hose that you have running into your bucket onto the free connection to the matrix and give the Mr Muscle an initial flush through with some near boiling water - this is where the kettle comes in! Pour it slowly into the funnel which should still be attached. You may want to repeat this a couple of times. 12.) Disconnect the short piece of hose that you had attached with the funnel. You then want to repeat steps 3 to 7 to completely flush the system and empty the matrix. 13.) Optional Step – I repeated the steps above using Buster Kitchen Plug Hole & Sink Treatment. As I didn’t test the car in-between using the Mr Muscle and this I can’t say for sure which one solved the problem, or if it was a combination of both. As this is a powder type solution I mixed it up with some near boiling water in a measuring jug and poured it in once more via the funnel. 14.) With the matrix empty reconnect the engine hoses that you disconnected in point 2, again, using your pliers. 15.) Put the radiator cap back on. Check you’ve not missed anything else – everything should be reconnected. 16.) Take the car for a short spin (enough to get up to operating temp) – hopefully by that point you’ll feel some heat! 17.) Once the engine has cooled check your coolant levels in your radiator and overflow tank, you may need to top them up to replace the coolant lost from the matrix during the flush. I hope this is of some help, I'd be interested in the results anyone else gets from it. Also, if it's unclear at all please let me know.
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