BLEEDIN FFRRREEEZZZIIIINNNGGG

[iced ink]

:P Hello All I,m trying to get my heat working my beautiful beautiful mini but all i,m getting is cold air ,, its bloody fffrrrreeeezzzziiiinnnnn . tell ya what I,ve done so far I,ve taken out the heater cleaned it out making sure the flow was good , checked all the wiring , am replacing the heater control valve and thermostat at the weekend , have checked and blown out all the pipes , if I get no heat after thermo and valve is fitted , could my lack of heat be the heater matrix rad is just knackered ? can I replace that rad ? or would it be cheaper and easier to get a whole new heater ???? Thank you

[The Marcos Graveyard]

Better to get a new matrix than a new old heater.

Have you tried something like rad flush in just the matrix, that should get rid of some of the crud, check that the air intake hoses from the drivers wing are free from debris and that the elephant trunking is propperly connected at the front intake.

Mini heaters ,even in tip-top condition are at best, ok.

[city998]

My heater puts out plenty of heat. The blower makes a lot of noise but only moves a very small amount of air to the windscreen! Still the heater warms the whole car so windscreen stays clear anyway.

[iced ink]

Ok I,ve just noticed I have some heat but as soon as I turn ON the blower the heat disappears !!! also have practically no air going to the window ducts yet there is plenty of air comming out of the of pipe connections on the heater !!!

[The Marcos Graveyard]

That is a very common problem, check that the ducting is clamped tightly at the side of the heater and at the vent, use a jubalee clip if needed, you might get away with a tie-wrap either. Check that the flap in the heater that blocks off the air to the car is closing fully, it may need to be adjusted somewhat, some draught excluder tape arounf the apature may also help.

On my car a present, the heater will demist the drivers side of the window in a few mins from start up, but the passengers side takes ages.

[woody]

I had this problem before, turned out to be water pump.
The car ran fine and didn't overheat but the impeller in the pump was so worn it couldn't produce enough pressure to supply the heater, like you said it just got warm until you put the fan on and it actually cooled the water. Disconnect the top heater hose when the engin is warm (stat open), start engine and you should get a rush of water not just a trickel.
Good luck