[dealgan]

Hi folks,
My '92 Mk2 Golf GTI (8V) has a bit of a smell of oil (mabye fumes, not sure) from the heater.
Its not very strong, seems to come when you are using heat, but not when blowing cool air.

Is this something common in a mk2 heater ?
Is there an easy cure ?

There are no oil leaks that I can see.
I think there is a slight blow from the exhaust, as under hard acceleration I do get a very faint high-pitched sort of pinging sound, but it is very very faint.

Any ideas ?

Thanks,
Declan

 

[ronan]

its probably a leaky heater matrix and what you smell is coolant

i did one last week there, the car stank when the heater was on and the windows were foggy, changed it for a new one and its perfect since, there was some crap in the heater box where the heater rad fits in so i washed it out.

 

[fendervg]

Yep that's the one. I've done this job twice - takes a while and can be a bit frustrating but is not mechanically complex.

there's a good guide to the procedure in the FAQ section of the clubgti.com forums.

 

[dealgan]

OK folks.

Thanks for the info.

I've heard of a heater matrix problem on these alright, but I just assumed there would be a water leak from it or something noticable.

I'll check it out.

Cheers,
Declan

 

[Oisin]

strange to see it on a 91 though, didnt all mk2s after 90 come with the bypass valve? i might be wrong.
Did this with mine last year, make sure you dont crack anything or remove anyhitng without knowing where to put it back cause you will get confused! Best of luck. (mind the cables from the slider to the box, if you bend them atall, your goosed!

 

[VwDan]

matrix is away on my mk2 aswel, i think its ready to blow, water is dripiing from the heater, mine is a 84 mk2 so i should say its well past it

 

[johnny99]

Oisin is correct. The heater matrix on these gave very little trouble once the coolant has been changed every 2 or 3 years.

John

 

[fendervg]

You can wreck the matrix by overheating/low coolant and aggressive flushing. Also some of the aftermarket versions don't seem to cut the mustard - I went through one very quickly at one stage, much to my disgust.

The first signs are misty windows that won't clear and the sweet smell of G11/12 (hopefully) - the coolant on the floor only happens when you have a catastrophic failure.

 

[Tristan]

Could it be the demister/heater fan motor starting to seize up , or burrn out?

 

[jukes]

is that the small rad in the dash?????
i would have tought youd have a pool on the floor from it

jukes

 

[dealgan]

QUOTE (jukes @ Jan 6 2006, 06:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>is that the small rad in the dash?????
i would have tought youd have a pool on the floor from it

jukes

Nope. Not even a damp carpet ... I had originally thought if the heater matrix went, it "went" and leaked all over the place, but apparently not.

 

[johnny99]

Agree with fendervg. When the leak is very small, the coolant will mostly evaporate and mist the screen. You may find the ducting around the matrix damp on the inside.

John

 

[Oisin]

if your windows are fogging up, good luck getting the antifreeze off them, it took me months to get it off, nothing seemed to get it off!

 

[dealgan]

QUOTE (Oisin @ Jan 8 2006, 03:42 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>if your windows are fogging up, good luck getting the antifreeze off them, it took me months to get it off, nothing seemed to get it off!

Well, they don't fog up while I'm driving, and I don't have to keep airflow up to the windscreen to keep it clear.

They do seem to fog up quite quickly after I stop though ... i.e. Drive somewhere .. fine. An hour later, when you come back to the car, it is all fogged up, and the fan takes aaaaaages to clear it.

Mabye it's just the cold weather !

 

[johnny99]

Let's start again. The window is fogging up when the car is left for a while.

Is the car actaully looseing coolant, because it it's not the matrix is ok. The cooling system should be pressure tested to ensure there is, or is not, a leak.

Is the heater working, like is the heat from blower warm enough.

John

 

[dealgan]

QUOTE (johnny99 @ Jan 8 2006, 09:17 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Let's start again. The window is fogging up when the car is left for a while.

Is the car actaully looseing coolant, because it it's not the matrix is ok. The cooling system should be pressure tested to ensure there is, or is not, a leak.

Is the heater working, like is the heat from blower warm enough.

John

Ooops. Missed your post until now John.

No, its not losing coolant. I haven;t toped it up and have done close to 3k miles. It doesn't look like the level has dropped at all. The smelll is quite faint, so could be only the odd drop from the matrix.

Heater works fine.
Temp gauge seems to take a long time to get up though, but mabye the stat is stuck. Haven't checked it.

I don't have a way to pressure test it, so I might just change the matrix and see if it fixes it.
I assume I should get a genuine vw matrix ?

Cheers
Declan

 

[johnny99]

In that case,as Red Lexus, stick you nose around the fan motor. Could be the resistor, or the blower motor. Have a look at the wiring there as well, and check the connection at the resistor. Pull out the resistor from the bottom of the plastic cover and look at it to see if there is any sign of burning, or heat.

John

 

[jimmylin]

QUOTE (dealgan @ Jan 25 2006, 02:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I assume I should get a genuine vw matrix ?

I took the matrix out of my '92 passat and it was the original one, made by Valeo. So just because you go to VW doesnt mean they make it, I got one from a local auto factors for 85 euro.

On the smell issue, I had the engine out lately and hence lots of oily deposits over the exhaust by the time things went back together. I started up the engine and left her idle and watched as the smoke billowed off the exhaust. As I had the fan on full blast inside, the car filled with smoke sucked in from the engine bay so maybe you have a bit of that going on only on a smaller scale.