just looking at me friends impreza and the 2 pipes that come from the bulkhead (from heater matrix) are joined together so its just a loop straight back to the matrix, and on the right hand side at the back of the engine where what looks like it should go to matrix and back are also looped together, am i correct in assuming the matrix has been disconnected do to a leak problem ? please could someone confirm that the pipework in the pic is meant to go to the matrix. (purple samco) thanks in advance.

 

he has linked the heater pipes together so that the thermostat opens (thus disconnecting the heater) if they were just blanked off ,bye bye head gaskets.hope this helps

 

yes it helps, thanks very much, i think me mate has bought a new matrix now so i guess the dash is coming out next weekend.

 

Might be worth a quick go of connecting it back up to see if the current matrix works OK (or see if it leaks), dont forget to bleed the air out though if you do.

It will save you a lot of hassle removing the dash etc if all works OK and the previous owner might not have known what they were doing and connected the wrong pipes up by accident ... well ... you never know!