• NAXJA is having its 18th annual March Membership Drive!!!
    Everyone who joins or renews during March will be entered into a drawing!
    More Information - Join/Renew
  • Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.

Heater Blower Motor

Para32

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Burlington
Blower fan squeals like crazy when cold. Suspect its days are numbered.

Has anyone gone in there to do this repair? Is the fan easy to get to or is it a MoFo like on alot of cars where half the dash has to come out?
 
What year?

I think it makes a difference.

'96 and down (I don't know if all the way down, or if it is just the HO years) is fairly simple. Get the washer bottle out of the way and the fan is right there at the back of the fenderwell/bottom of the firewall.

I seem to recall reading somewhere that '97 and up is more work, but I could be wrong.
 
I replaced the blower motor on my 96 and it was pretty easy, just like Anak said. Good luck finding a replacement though!

My motor still worked, I just needed the squirrel cage wheel. Mine was only working on the #4 setting because the resistor was bad. Turning the fan on at full speed every time caused the plastic squirrel cage to become loose on the motor shaft. The friction between the two eventually melted the plastic and the squirrel cage spun completely off the motor and made a horrible noise.

If you find your motor to still be good, you can switch out the squirrel cage wheel with a junkyard find. You can take the motor with the good squirrel cage and crush the motor in a vice if you don't intend to use the motor. This will prevent it from turning when you are trying to remove the squirrel cage. The motor I found didn't fit anyway so I didn't mind crushing it.
 
It wouldn't hurt to have a look in there to check for debris as well. That is a common place for rodents to build nests. If your's is like mine, all you have to do is look at the air box under the dash on the passenger side. There will be a door/flap you can push open. You should be able to see the squirrel cage wheel with a flashlight from there.
 
the later ones are pretty easy too. Just have to move stuff in the engine compartment, and the fan itself comes out the same as it always did.

They make these fans with non-serviceable bearings, unfortunately, and it can be very hard to get the plastic blade off without breaking it. However, if you are really stubborn you may be able to get it open and lubricate the bearings.

I believe on one long ago I actually just drilled a hole in the end cap, oiled it and then stuck some putty over the hole. It lasted a while at least. You can sometimes work a little oil into the fan end, and may even be able to do this without removing the fan if you can get a piece of wire or a bicycle spoke, etc. down to it, and drip the oil down. This will still not help if the bearings are already toasted or if the brushes are squeaking, though, so a new (aka junkyard) fan is probably more rewarding.
 
Back
Top