Hi Redpath.I connected the garden hose to the heater hoses at the engine not the firewall so hoses are good.(All hoses and radiator were replaced 14 months ago.Have the receipt from previous owner.I have had the vehicle about 4 months and other than the heater issue I love it.I replaced the auto hubs with manual locking hubs,now no more nasty engage disengage bangs Previous owner Also had Ironman shocks fitted just before I bought it I also had fitted a pair of 2 inch lift heavy duty King springs on the rear for when the trailer is loaded full of firewood,no more sagging!!Anyway back to the heater.I triede reversing the hoses at the firewall just as an experiment.A waste of 10 mins,made no difference.
Here is a youtube video of a yerrano heater matrix.Not sure if it's a WD21 or not though.If it is all I can see is the heater valve on mine is closed(at least partially anyway) which is why the garden hose still pushed the water through.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o82tm9Ungmg
Cheers Mate.