Did i do the right thing

[Neocorrado 0]

well i told most of you about my heater core problem, i'm fixing it next week but for the time being i took the hoses and i pluged them to stop the steam. i took them out of the heater core and pluged each end. was that a good move?

the car seems to be runing fine but i dont know about the long run, i did it yesterday and i put some water in to make up for what i lost in the process but this morning i had to put more water in , whatls up with that??? :?

[bcstudent 0]

If you mean you simply plugged each of the pipes then that doesn't sound like a good idea since the circulation of the water in the system may be affected. However, bypassing a leaking heater matrix by connecting the input and output pipes together is fairly common. Having never looked at a VR cooling system I'm not 100% sure what you're doing is right/wrong but it just doesn't seem like a good idea to me.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yep bang on Bcstudent.

 

Neo, get a U shaped peice copper pipe from a hardware store and join the two hoses together ASAP!

[dr_mat 0]

Even a straight-through pipe connector should be ok, as long as you bend the hoses round enough, but definitely do NOT leave them blocked...

[Neocorrado 0]

OK thanks i'll do it right away i'll get the copper pipeght away from HOME DEPOT , thanks guys but i'm shacking with fear do you think i messed up anything in my motor i drove 30 miles with it like that ??? :cry:

[dr_mat 0]

Probably be ok, well, who knows, but it's too late to worry about it now! As long as your oil didn't boil off, the water coolant system is not so vital.

Trace the pipe that comes from the heater, find out where that goes - that's what got starved of coolant, if anything.

[Neocorrado 0]

dr_mat, will do

Thanks

[Henny 0]

I'm pretty certain that the US Corrados ALL should have had the recall valves fitted, so as long as you plugged the pipes right up close to the matrix (core) then you should be OK as the valves will route the coolant back around the system bypassing the matrix (core)... I wouldn't run it like that for long, but if you've not been hammering it anywhere you should be OK... 8)

[Neocorrado 0]

Henny, i Dont know if i got that Valve or not i hope i do but when the core went, the steam came in the car but i just came from the car and i unpluged the hoses and i connected them together with a link made for that purpose so now i have the coolant flow in the motor i hope that does the trick untill i get the core fix in a week or two. :?

[Neocorrado 0]

Thanks alot everyone :)

[Henny 0]

the link will sort it out properly for you... 8) to check to see if you have the recall valves fitted, (just out of curiosity) have a look at the pipework in the engine bay which goes through the bulkhead into the passenger area. If the pipes just go straight into the holes and into the cabin then there's no valve... if there is a cylinder in each pipe which are connected together, then that's the recall valve and you have no worries at all about how you drove it with the pipes blocked... 8)

 

To be honest, the distance you drove with it blocked shouldn't have done much anyways, so you should be OK... 8)

[bcstudent 0]

Doh. Forgot about the recall :oops:

[dr_mat 0]

I had heard that the later cars had the "recall valve" as an integral part of the matrix, so you may not be able to see anything on the engine bay side like Henny suggests, but the symptoms seem to suggest that there's been no "recall" thing fitted, whatever form it takes.

[Andi 2,147,483,647]

Is there an official VW document somewhere for the recall?

I fancy having a go... ;)

[Andy T 0]

I had heard that the later cars had the "recall valve" as an integral part of the matrix, so you may not be able to see anything on the engine bay side like Henny suggests, but the symptoms seem to suggest that there's been no "recall" thing fitted, whatever form it takes.

 

Thats interesting, i've also heard that the later cars ('92-on) might of been fitted with the mk3 golf matrix, which is stronger/uprated, and didn't need any kind of safety valving....

 

Just had a quick look on etka, there was some change to the heating system on 1992-93, but the part number for the matrix is the same for all years -

 

1H2 819 031 A (RHD)

 

Checked the mk3 golf, again it uses the same part number as above for all model years! :?:

[dr_mat 0]

Is there an official VW document somewhere for the recall?

I fancy having a go... ;)

 

There is, I've seen it - search on the Vortex forums for a link. I couldn't find it when this thread popped up tho, otherwise I'd have attached it! :(

 

AFAIK for the early cars, the recall consisted of adding an inline valve to the heater pipes, i.e. under the bonnet, not inside the cabin. Maybe this valve is an integral part of one of the heater hoses now? Perhaps that one that always blows first on VR6s, and costs £43 + VAT? :(

[dr_mat 0]

Thats interesting, i've also heard that the later cars ('92-on) might of been fitted with the mk3 golf matrix, which is stronger/uprated, and didn't need any kind of safety valving....

 

Just had a quick look on etka, there was some change to the heating system on 1992-93, but the part number for the matrix is the same for all years -

 

1H2 819 031 A (RHD)

 

Checked the mk3 golf, again it uses the same part number as above for all model years! :?:

 

Perhaps they internally modified the matrix, and now supply the improved matrix for *all* model years? That would seem a little sensible for VW, but there you go!

[Neocorrado 0]

I just got the matrix from this place called bus depot, they sell the good original stuff at better prices :) i hear that the coppor matrix is better than the aluminum one ? but i guess it don't matter now cause i didn't get the copper one. i'll check to see if i have that valve i hope i do but i guess even if i do have it , it didn't work :wink:

[Henny 0]

The valve is only there to prevent the matrix (core) EXPLODING due to being blocked/overpressurising... it won't stop it from leaking and steaming up the widscreen... :?

 

VW got a little (!) scared by the fact that the original heater matrixes used to get bunged up with cr@p pressurise and then explode showering feet in the front foot wells with 90degree+ C coolant.... :| so they implemented the recall and fitted a valve which allows the back pressure to vent back into the engine's coolant system which can easily handle the extra pressure....

 

VW then said they'd replace matrixes which leaked because they'd been over-pressured before the valves were inserted...

[Andy T 0]

Thats interesting, i've also heard that the later cars ('92-on) might of been fitted with the mk3 golf matrix, which is stronger/uprated, and didn't need any kind of safety valving....

 

Just had a quick look on etka, there was some change to the heating system on 1992-93, but the part number for the matrix is the same for all years -

 

1H2 819 031 A (RHD)

 

Checked the mk3 golf, again it uses the same part number as above for all model years! :?:

 

Perhaps they internally modified the matrix, and now supply the improved matrix for *all* model years? That would seem a little sensible for VW, but there you go![/quote:7311c]

 

Yeah they must of done, but without changing the part number! makes it difficult to find out whether you have a good 'un or a bad 'un.....

[Neocorrado 0]

OH i see ! well i just wished they made a better matrix than that but i guess nothing's perfect :mrgreen:

[craigowl 0]

The valve is only there to prevent the matrix (core) EXPLODING due to being blocked/overpressurising... it won't stop it from leaking and steaming up the widscreen...

Any idea where this valve is Henny?

When I changed over to Samco hoses I found that there was a constriction in the original hose leading to the heater. It was a plastic thing which merely reduced the bore - there were no moving parts. To be on the safe side, i secured a similar-bored cylindrical piece of metal into the Samco hose to act as the constriction, but I never understood what the original narrrowing of the hose was for.

[Henny 0]

on the later UK VR6s it's built into the heater matrix which is why they were not covered by the recall... 8)

 

On earlier cars, the valves are in the engine bay, in the pipes just as they go through the bulkhead...