P38 Heater matrix o ring

The heater matrix o ring is leaking, Can i get at it to undo the screw for the pipes if i remove the radio and the hevac panel? I have seen the guide on rangerovers.net and it says u have to break or drill a hole to get at the screw.

what you see on rr.net is atried and trusted cheat

that really is the easiest method.. get a long screwdriver aswell and some wd40 as the screw can get really tight and you might strip the head.
it took me 6 hours but i was taking my time and had to go to the local hardware store a couple of times.

If any help, pictures of my o-ring change are here....

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f10/heater-matrix-o-rings-eeek-111606.html

Wow stufer, I've seen and read lots of advice/guides on this job and with just the pics that you posted in that link it all becomes clear....... like the saying goes, a picture paints a thousand words, and those must be the clearest words ever posted on the subject!!!

I don't have the problem with mine and hope I never do..... but guess one day I will!....I will definatly save the link to your pics, just in case.

Thanks for the effort!

I tried to avoid cutting a hole to get at the screw, but there's no way round it. The hole is completely hidden by the finishing panel when reassembled though so it's really not a problem.

Mt biggest headache of the whole job was getting the ducting completely reconnected behind the dash!

Guy

Hi just started taking it apart, Looks like its been done before as the hole is already there, How do you get the plastic pipe out as i dont want to cut it?

rich201283 said:

Hi just started taking it apart, Looks like its been done before as the hole is already there, How do you get the plastic pipe out as i dont want to cut it?

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You mean the duct?

I also didn't want to cut it but I really couldn't see any alternative. Some people claim to have got it out intact, but I werestled with it for ages before giving up.

If yours has been done before then it's probably already been cut!

Guy

Looks like it has the holes but the pipe aint been cut

Finally completed the o ring change without cutting the pipe with a bit of a struggle, The only problem i have now is an airlock, i thort all the air was out and drove it up the road and the vaporiser froze,the gauge sat at the normal running temp and never went up, I felt the bottom hose and the pipes to the matrix and they where cooler. I guess the only way is to drain the coolent right off and fill up again as i never drained the coolant when doing the o rings

Hi Rich, question for you - how did you get the pipe out without cutting it? just a bunch of bending and twisting?

When I did mine I had to drill the head off. When I got the pipes out I had to put the remainder of the head in my vice to turn the bracket to get it out. Unbelievable how stuck it was. Replaced with a socket head screw and plenty of never seize. Fill hoses with ordinary water from inside the engine compartment to check for leaks before final hookup. Mine leaked first time due to misalignment of pipes.

A lot of people change the matrix to an Audi one where the pipes connect different and don’t leak so once the jobs done it doesn’t need doing again

pete12345 said:

A lot of people change the matrix to an Audi one where the pipes connect different and don’t leak so once the jobs done it doesn’t need doing again

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I think he's just doing the o-rings where it comes through the bulkhead. I think they tend to get disturbed by people fitting LPG and the like.