1999 Blower Motor-Loud and Weak

Hey Everyone,
I bought this Jeep about a month ago, and ever since I've had it, the blower motor has been noisy on all speeds except #1. When I put it on #4 it's noisy and rough enough that it shakes the whole dash. That's one problem. The other thing is, the #4 setting feels almost identical to the #1 setting. My A/C blows out cold enough, I know it's charged, but the air just sits right by the vents. When I turn it to recirculate, it gets quite a bit louder too. It doesn't sound like the typical squealing when the bearing is going out, it's just a loud humming noise. Can anyone point me in the right direction here? If it was a pre 97 XJ I'd just replace the blower motor without a second guess, but since I have to discharge my A/C to do it on this one, I'd rather know what was going on before ripping into things. Is it just the blower motor? Thanks in advance for any help.
-Collin

It may have leaves or debris in the blower causing it to be off balance. I'm not sure of a good way to clean it without removal. Maybe someone else will have a good suggestion?atriot: Kevin

You can remove the blower from the engine compartment. Sounds like you have some stuff in there like 440 says. Or, the "fan" could be broken and throwing the whole thing off balance. Either way, it may not allow the fan to turn a full speed giving you the poor airflow.

Saudade said:

You can remove the blower from the engine compartment. Sounds like you have some stuff in there like 440 says. Or, the "fan" could be broken and throwing the whole thing off balance. Either way, it may not allow the fan to turn a full speed giving you the poor airflow.

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I actually couldn't get it past the accumulator because on 97+ XJs it is situated right in front of the blower motor. I was however able to pull it out far enough to see the squirrel cage and found that it was completely clogged with the insulation that is under the carpet. I would really like to know how that got in there and if it's going to again, but for right now I just put it back in and it sounds like a perfectly normal motor. Thanks for pointing me in that direction you two, that really helped.

RenixPower said:

...found that it was completely clogged with the insulation that is under the carpet. I would really like to know how that got in there and if it's going to again,

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Mouse.

Either you have one now, or you did have one in the past...

Jim www.yuccaman.com

It's blowing faster now on the higher speeds?

Good.