Heater Matrix Problem

Thanks Chilton!

Roger, it's very much coolant coloured!

Right. It's been into the garage and the good news is that they can stop the overheating; it was just a hole in the radiator pipe.

The bad news is that in their opinion, the heater matrix has been deliberately bypassed because it leaks, and bypassing is a cheap alternative to the dash-out replacement option. It's pretty much what I feared but they then quoted 13hrs to do the job 

Martin, once I've got over the shock and found someone who can do it a little quicker, I'll be in touch to buy the part.

On the SJ (Jimny gen 2) when they get old, the heater matrix often is full of debris, leaves and such. I once just cut a hole in the heater casing to access it for cleaning, and glued a piece of plastic over the hole afterwords. (the lid of an ice cream box)

Maybe such a repair is possible on the jimny gen 3?
Cut it off/open, swap the matrix and glue it back together?

Or find the actual leak, and solder or glue the leak in the matrix in place if possible?

This guy replaced his heater matrix, it took 6 hours, most of that time was removing the dashboard. Scroll down he gives a list of what needs to be undone.

auszookers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=54362

There are other Youtube videos where people say cut the heater matrix pipes and it will come out without removing the dash, but then you have to have flexible pipes to connect the matrix and I wouldn't fancy that.

A garage should be able to get the dash out, heater changed and back in in 6 hours or less, so shop around.