JS2004

Right - thats one set of matrix pipes blocked off. The bungs that I got were difficult to fit over the pipes, so for anyone else doing this I used a mug of hot water and dropped them in there so that they would heat up a little. I also used a bit of washing up liquid on the outside of the pipes to help. On my N/A there was a plug sticking out that is held on by a bracket connected to the bulkhead. I unscrewed this to give more room to work. On each pipe that go into the bulkhead are little metal fastners that use a pin to tighten them. If you turn the pin (anti clockwise I think) it will release more metal strip and allow them to come off. One of mine had corroded so was tricky to release. With pipes disconnected the bungs were fitted and metal fasters reused. I topped up the expansion tank with some additional coolant. Then turned on and let engine get up to temp, before using a rag to unscrew the rad cap. Some air was escaping, and I squeezed the large pipe a little which gave some more air bubbles. Let it idle for a while before revving it a bit. Replaced rad cap, its now cooling off and ill re-check later. Could not detect any leaks of any sort, so hopefully ive fixed it. Turning the heater on doesnt result in smoke (and obviously no heat) so thats a bonus. Terminator - thanks for the additional help in PM`s - appreciate it buddy. Pics : The first one is of the weird unplugged pipe thing.. not sure what that is!! The rest show the result. Hope its of help!

In the first picture, I have only just noticed whilst looking at the engine now. Next to the little purple plug, there is a pipe that comes off the top of the manifold, and doesnt connect to anything. There is also a little black plastic nib type of thing that looks as if that pipe should connect to it, but the pipe isnt long enough. Does anyone know what that bit is? Ill try to take a few more pics.

I welcome the discussion mate, its all stuff I want to learn and always better to have someone elses point of view. I am re-reading the post, it was focusing on the whole bypassed matrix issue, which is worse than blocking the pipes with bungs. My original plan was to block the pipes going into and out of the matrix so that no coolant reaches the matrix at all, and is forced through the radiator (no bypassing). It would increase flow rate, which could be a bad thing. The air bubbles were something I was aware of but didnt think about them pooling at the bunged location - I do not know how to get rid of those yet - hopefully it will be in there somewhere

Ah, Yes I see the issues now youve pointed them out. This now leaves me confused as I had read a long thread about the benefits / problems with bypassing the matrix with a pipe compared to blocking it off completely. I think the conclusion of the thread was that bypassing the matrix would remove the resistance that the matrix offered to the circuit, potentially leading to blown HGs - wheras blocking it off kept the resistance in the circuit I may have misunderstood the thread that gave me this idea in the first place. The plan was to block off the matrix pipes completely, until I have changed it out - which wont be for a while yet. Going back to the drawing board - Mods please could this thread be merged with my other post, as it shouldnt be treat as a guide anymore. (http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?233323-smoke-from-vents&highlight=heater+matrix) Edit - yes thats the post I was looking for - you beat me to it whilst I was replying

To block it off so that no coolant is routed to the heater matrix.. yes.. why?

Right, once I get rid of this hangover ill have a go at this. As I am just blocking off the heater matrix completely do I need to worry about bleeding the system? The pipes look as if theyre in a high-point of the coolant system so unclipping them shouldnt dump coolant everywhere right? Ive bought some new toyota 4life red concentrated coolant as I am not sure what is in there at the moment, so aim to replace that at some point too.

Excellent - I did suspect it was those. I have the bungs for the pipes so now its a case of unclipping and getting in there with the bungs. Those clips are re-usable I hope!!

Hi chaps, I realise there are some posts about this - some with the manual diagrams etc however I have taken some pictures under the bonnet and was hoping some people could have a look and circle the right pipes. I am about 95% certain I have figured out which ones it is, but want to check before I do anything as theres a weird little metal "linking" pipe that I am not too sure about. One pic shows the pipes that I think are the heater ones, going into the bulkhead. Another shows the small metal pipe linking two pipes.. not sure what that is. The other pic is just a general zoomed out one.

Yeah query about logos please mate. I have to sort out my heater matrix so dash will be coming off, just need weather to get better.

Where is he based? I have been wanting my dash doing (assuming this is the leaterette covered part with glove boxes etc) but it looks like a tricky thing to post. Also would the TRD Detail shown in Dudes pics be something on offer? http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/attachment.php?attachmentid=123903&d=1291799214

Have you checked to see if you can claim on your home insurance for that? Really sucks dude

Hate - your steering wheel.. does it have an airbag? I need to drop my steering rack to do this job also, but don't want to set off the airbag by accident..

Got one of these matrixes through from demisterman. Very good customer service from him I must admit. I made a post showing the pipes to cut and bung for an N/A. This is for anyone blocking the matrix off instead of bypassing it as, a thread identified bypassing as potentially harmful to the engine. Gonna have fun(!) trying to do this early Feb!

Ah so the demister ones a smaller unit, should be okay then. Will have to find something on how to get the steering wheel off without setting the airbag off then!

How did you sort out the steering wheels airbag? I dont wanna set mine off by accident. Also we got any more feedback on the demister matrix and fitment?

Yeah I wasnt too sure on the rad fluid but assuming it needs to be drained. Im going to block mine off before I replace the matrix though, so at most I should only loose a bit from within the heater matrix itself. What a pain in the rear this is gonna be though! Im going to use sandwich plastic bags and number them, so as I take part 1 off it goes in bag labelled 1, and so on - that way I can work backwards through the numbers. Who said Lego would never come in handy!

The demister one should fit yeah - and cheaper than OEM from what ive gathered. If you dont want to replace it and dont mind driving with no heating you could alsways just block the pipes leading to the matrix with a bung. Ill be blocking mine off until the weather gets warmer to mess around with it as I dont have the luxury of a garage. Do you get smoke from behind the dash when the heating is on also Kalel? I turned my heating on after engine was warmed up and was greeted by a load of black smoke from the vents!

Quick update here. Thanks to both Nic and Wez - I am going to obtain the right bits required to block off the heater matrix and remove it from the coolant circuit completely until I get around to replacing the matrix next year. Ive sent Paul W a message to ask if he has the right bits in stock and hopefully can take it from there and enjoy smoke-free driving once again. Thanks chaps

Right so im going to be loosing coolant through that then. Ive just been back to it. Lifted up passenger carpet, its not wet, but I can see a liquid leaking and there is a small pool of it gathering in the well of the floor. This liquid is oily, light brown in colour but couldnt figure out what it smelt of. Heater is actually blowing hot and cold air and all controls appear to be working. Ill do what you suggested and have a go at blocking the matrix off and removing it from the coolant system. I am thinking I should do this when the car is cold also. Long term view will be to replace the matrix and reconnect it back up. Its not a good scenario but I suppose it could be a lot worse! Cheers Nic

Cheers Nic, Im looking at this post http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?231798-Heater-blowing-cold-air!-Help-(search-google-didn-t-help)/page3&highlight=heater+matrix at the moment. Going to go have a look under the bonnet. Thing that im confused about is why there is smoke as I would have thought symptoms would just be no heat from the matrix when its buggered. Next step may be searching for a supra-friendly garage in Yorkshire.

I was suspecting the same - It has also stopped heating too now, at 30 the temp of the air coming out of the vents was not warm at all, especially considering its a cold day. Any idea what the liquid sound is? would it be safe to drive without fixing the heater matrix as long as I dont use it or is it pretty much a *do not drive* type of thing now? The car drove perfectly fine its just that the smoke was a bit annoying. Ive seen plenty of threads here about replacing heater matrix - its not going to cost me much I dont think, just a lot of time and messing around dragging the dash apart!

Hi chaps, Ive just has the supra out and ended up pulling over as I was greeted with smoke (greyish, not particularly thick, chemical(ish) smell) [sHOCK][/sHOCK] when I turned the heater on Pulled up and popped the bonnet - no smoke or anything out of the ordinary under there. Got back in, engine on, turned heating controls on (30 temp) and steady stream of smoke from the vents. Turned the heating down to 20 and the smoke seems to reduce a bit. One thing I have noticed lately is when I turn the ignition on I hear what sounds like running water / liquid from the front left of the dash towards the passenger side wind screen. I didnt think much of this until now. Got it home now, but was testing outside. I put it in park and touched the throttle - with no heating on, and no smoke was present. When I turn heating on with no revs there is only a small amount of smoke (hardly visible) However when I turn heating on, and rev the engine the water sound seems to get louder almost as if liquid is being forced through a pipe (it sounds like a radiator in the home that is filling) and at this point I get a rather decent amount of smoke from the vents. Anyone got an idea of what it is and how to fix it? Im guessing its heater matrix but I have none of the damp passenger footwell etc.. Cheers guys *edit Additional info - No Warning lights Air con was regassed 4 month ago It hasnt been used much last month (maybe 30 miles at the most)

Someone hasnt pulled a joke with you and logging you into http://www.yahoo.it instead are they? You can type that in the browser, it shows up as yahoo.com but it is in Italian.

The cables on N/As get disturbed when replacing the plugs anyways and the rubber gets brittle. I had the same problem - Try contacting Keron on here, he did me a set of leads of a 77k N/A for £20, and toyota had quoted me either £96 or £196.. cant remember.. But either way give Keron a call he might be able to sort you out with some 2nd hand ones off a low milage car. And off topic but im really liking them lights in the profile pic - that aint yours though is it?

As above - plenty of options and it doesnt have to be a 37". You quickly adapt to the size anyways so even a 46" upwards wouldnt be "too big" after a few weeks.