Poor heater performance

[Deleted]

I recently changed the heater matrix together with all hoses and heater valve,although I didn't expect the heater to burn the polish of my shoes I did hope for a slight rise in cabin temperature. I bought the matrix new from J Wadham! Has anyone experienced a similar problem.

[theroveringmember]

Sounds like it's probably going to be an airlock in the heater. You can fill the system from the top heater hose to try & avoid this. Disconnect it & stick a funnel in the hose. Fill it slowly (theres no quick way) with the rad cap off & as soon as no more coolant will drain from the funnel (it'll probably run out from the rad too), push it back on to the matrix pipe. I recently had my matrix re-conned & it's toasty-warm now. It also helps to jack the car as high at the front as you can to get the radiator up on a level with the heater box as the heater being the highest point in the system is the cause of the air getting trapped in there. Once you've done that you can also get someone to rev the engine up to 2000rpm (in park) & you'll see the rad level drop. Keep the revs up & fill the rad then replace the cap before you let the engine rev's drop.
Also check the bleed-pipe from the rad to the manifold, it should be hot. If not, theres a blockage as has been discussed in other posts.

[Deleted]

When operating correctly, the heater will be great and puts out a lot of heat: you will notice the difference!!

Cheers

Freddy

[Phil Nottingham]

The operating rods/cables must be properly set to ensure correct air flow. Its hard to describe how to to do this but it obvious on the bench how it all should work