Hi peeps, my first post and I thought Id share my experience with ya'll.
So, I had a problem with the heater blowing cold and then the windscreen started misting up on a trip back from Wales, got a good whiff of coolant in the cabin also.
Google told me that the heater matrix was probably blocked and leaking, so I took it to the dealer and nearly feinted when they quoted near £1000 for replacement.
Now my i30 is 10 years old and done over 120,000 miles so £1000 is probably near as much as its worth.
So I decided to try and replace it myself - bad mistake !
I managed to get a copy of the workshop manual, which turned out to be pretty useless, bought an aftermarket heater matrix for £70.
I then set about dismantling the dashboard to get at the heater box, took a whole day to get that out and then took a look at whats underneath and decided there was no way that box was ever coming out. The amount of paraphernalia around it was just too much to dismantle and ever hope to get it back together again.
So had to come up with a plan B.
The heater matrix has integrated aluminium pipes that go up the side of the blower box, around the back and through the fire wall into the engine compartment.
Plan B was to cut the pipes to get the old matrix out, cut the pipes on the new matrix in the same place and join them up with some radiator hose and seal with jubilee clips.
So I went to halfords bought a metre of 19mm hose for £3 and then to B&Q to get some 25mm clips.
To cut Aluminium pip you really need a toothed saw, but its impossible to get a saw in such a confined space, so I got the angle grinder out and whipped through the pipes.
This leaves a really splayed end to the pipe because ally tends to melt with grinding, so a lot of filing was needed to get a clean end.
Once cut, the radiator does pulls out.
I then cut the new rad with a hacksaw at the same point so it would match up.
Cut some small lengths of hose, lubricated the inside with washing up liquid, slid then on the existing pipes, popped the new rad in, mated up the pipes with the hose and tightened
the clips up.
Imagine my surprise when I filled the system with water and it actually worked with no leaks.
So here's what it looks like
Took another day to refit the dashboard mind you.
Thing is, if I'd done this to start with, all that is needed is to remove the panel under neath the steering wheel and a couple small panels covering the rad and the job can be done in under 2 hours.
Also if the rad blocks up again, I can just unclip it, slide it out and flush it clean.
Hopefully this info comes in useful to others who get this problem and want to save some dosh.
