General Water in footwell

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General Water in footwell

Morty Mort

NobodyBlamesTheHappyGuy!
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Hm. On the passenger side under the plastic mat, it feels wet. When i rub the carpet with my hand it somewhat "soaps" up. Smells nothing. It's not rain. But.... I fear a coolant leak to the heater matrix! But I can't find any leak. My passenger seat is where you sit and drive, on the right seat. Has anyone seen anything like this?

Morten.


gas lowered on abarth wheels. upgraded interior and visuals. audio through phoenix gold and kenwood.

projects: air in and out.
 
Old post this, but thought I'd add my experience.

Yes Mort, it sounds like the heater matrix. If you get down into the footwell (passenger side in Europe), look up at the back of the heater control console you should see a couple of pipes going into into it. Have a feel around these pipes and see if it feels damp. Also check the lower part of the heater console. If there are some drips or it feels wet it's almost definitely a heater matrix problem.

It's not too awkward to replace actually, and can be done without removing any of the dashboard. It's a little fiddly, but can be done.

From what I remember from doing it on my mk1 years ago, you just need to disconnect the two coolant pipes and also a couple of screws (or nuts, can't remember!) holding the matrix into place. Bear in mind some coolant will leak out when you do this.

Then you can simply withdraw the matrix out sideways, though it may need a bit of 'jiggling' to get it out.

Replacement is simply a reversal of this process. And you can probably pick up a second hand matrix from a scrapyard for next to nothing.

Oh, and if anyone is thinking of changing a heater matrix on a Peugeot 306, DON'T! It's one hell of a job needing the removal of the ENTIRE dashboard. It took me and a friend two days to do that job. Never again. Makes changing the Uno's matrix seem like childplay in comparison.
 
Steve,

I changed a heater matrix on a Mk1 Uno, so maybe the Mk2's updated dashboard/ console makes changing the matrix more difficult?

Come to think of it, I'm not sure if I had to drop down the heater control console a few inches to get the matrix to clear the steering column and footpedals. That's not too difficult, as the heater console is bolted with four bolts to the bulkhead, and there was just one other screw on the top of the dashboard that needed to be removed.

It was six years ago that I did this, so my memory might be failing me! However, I do remember that changing the matrix was a lot easier than on some other cars I've worked on.
 
Might not be the heater anyway - the obvious question is "does the level in the radiator go down?" To soak the carpet like that, you'd need quite a lot of water, should show up easily.

Recently had same problem on five-door Uno: cause was the front door seals, solution was a rubber hammer to tap out the flange, and a very technical door frame reprofiling. Wind down the window, put a knee against the inside handle, pull really hard on the top of the doorframe. Ignore cracking sounds.

Alternatively try re-sealing the windscreen first. That seemed to cure drips from under the dash. It is possible for an Uno to leak in more than one place at once.

-Alex




'88 Uno Turbo i.e.
'87 Uno 60
'88 Bertone X1/9
'81 X1/9 1500
'92 Alfa Romeo 164 3.0V6
'03 Suzuki SJ50QT (!)
 
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