F~#%ing Blower Motor!!!
 

Well yesterday I call the dealer and ask what they want for a new blower motor. 280 bucks. I said no thanks and he got all pissed. So I decided to get adventurous and see if I can't lube the fan. So after an hour taking it apart I saw what the problem was immediately. I knew even before I opened it fully. The passenger side bearings are shot. It's been really noisy these past 2 months, and just recently working intermittantly, now as of today not working at all. I sprayed lots of WD40 in the bearings, which helped tremendously in reducing the noise and also the fan running at a faster RPM. This morning it worked, but verrry slowly. Then comming home it didn't work at all. I can push the buttons and the natural airflow forces some warm air out.

But while I was in there, I couldn't see how to remove the fan. There looks to be a clip on the top in the center of the motor... but I didn't want pull on it and have the thing spring apart and not go back together.

How do I take the motor out??? Should I just suck it up and take it in the dealer to have them do it? The heater core or evaporator (not sure which, whichever is right after the blower) is all covered in rusty dust. Any tips, thoughts, or experiences, please post them! GREATLY appreciated!

another view of the fan.

Here's what the housing cover that I took off looks like inside. Let me say that getting that cover off was such a pain in the ass, and it was equally such getting it back on too!!!! I need to take the wiper linkage out next time... I just don't want to ruin it by not being able to get it adjusted correctly.

To R&R you need to pull the wiper. And you can get a new blower from Rusty or FastLane for more like $200, I think. If the bearings are shot you may not be able to repair it. WD-40 is the WRONG thing to lubricate it, the preferred lube is ATF. It's worth a try, but unless you enjoy accessing this thing I'd replace it and forget about it. You can always pick up a used one for $50-$100 too...


HTH,

I see germanstar has one without the fans for 100 bucks. I waiting for his reply (which is damn quick by the way) about if he sells one WITH the fans.

try to get one with fans enless you have changed them before they are VERY TRICKEY do yourself a favor spend the extra money

That's what I expected. I also don't want old, brittle fans in there. Even though what can happen... but it's just an ease of mind.

I just did this on my 2.2D.

On the 84 you do not need to take out the wiper frame (although, if you did it would be easier).

Loosen the second firewall (there are some 8mm screws and you can move it out of the way a little bit. You can then remove the motor without much trouble.

I would also suggest that you spend a little more and get the one with the cages already mounted. I purchased just the motor and had a hard time making sure that the cages are in the right position. Also, the cages are hard to take off from the old motor and install on teh new motor. I finally got it to work, but it was not worth the money that I saved.

Well thanks for the help guys. I am just taking it to the shop and having them do it. Opening it up and closing it once was enough for me.

Is there a chance that I could have fried the switch for the fan? Or will replacing just the motor get me back in business you think. What's the general trend with these things?

Too bad you took it in. You had done 90% of the work the first time.
Anyway, the replacement motor solves the problem.

Does your fan run at max, or do you eventually blow a fuse. I found out that the 84's have a 16 amp fuse for the blower motor, and that the later models use a separate 25 amp fuse for the blower motor. Generally if I let the fan run on max for a while, I pop a fuse.

I replaced the fuse with a brand new glass tube one. 16A of course.