how to replace A/C blower fan in smugglers box

[gatmontana]

Hi Guys,

the blower fan in the smugglers box makes alarming noise like a screw would be in or something else. Now I would like to dismantle it to see what happens. Unfortunately I cant find any kind of description in our technical forums. Do you know if there is some kind of "how to do" somewhere? Just heard about horrible placed clips what you never can re-install...what scares me a little bit to be honest

Thanks in advance,
Andy

[ManniB]

The evaporator housing in the smugglers box consists of the upper part that houses the fan and the radiator core in the lower part. Both parts of the housing are attached to each other by four steel spring clips.
You can quite easily remove the clips with the housing still in the smugglers box and separate the fan for inspection/maintenance, but I doubt you can re-install them after-wards. Actually it was not that easy for me to install the clips with the housing on the workbench. On the other end, others have successfully installed the clips in-situ (in the smugglers box that is).
Problem is that to get the evaporator housing on your bench you would have do disconnect the two hoses which will empty your R12/R134a.

If you decide to open the hosing in the smugglers box, make sure the clips don't drop down. You might want to tie them with a length of dental floss.

Regards, Manfred

[Sunroof]

While you have the whole works out of the box take some disenfectant like diluted clorox and clean out the bottom of the smugglers box which can retain condensation and creat a nasty odor from the mold and algal build up.

[gatmontana]

Ok, I see. My A/C is dismanteled allready, just the blower is there, so no problem with the R12. But I like the A/C blower because works much stronger than the normal blower. So what to do to get the whole thing out of the box? disconnect hoses, ok, and than?

[steve911T]

There is one for sale (past 24 hours) in the parts for sale out of an mid 80's for $75, might be a good deal if it fits and could be useful to disassemble before you take yours apart. Good luck. Steve

[gatmontana]

Thanks Steve! I still hope its just something loose in it and not broken.

[MConn]

I just removed the fan while leaving the evaporator in the smuggler's box, and oiled up the motor. There is a felt pad under the bearings to store oil. The motor is very quiet now. I was able to lift up the evaporator coil to clean up under it with disinfectant without disconnecting the freon lines. Putting the 4 steel clips back on while in the car is a PITA ! I won't do it again. ManniB has good advise - use some string to run through one of the holes on the clip to keep from losing it. I was able to slide the clips on from the side of the tabs. If the assembly is on the bench, it was easy to expand the steel clips with snap ring pliers.

Mike

[m110]

Toss the clips and drill 4 small holes and put screws in for easy access and sealing.

[JAR0023]

I was able to remove and replace the clips with the evap box in place without much trouble. To remove the clips slide them sideways with a regular screwdriver. To install them catch the bottom and snap them over the top. The biggest obstacle here is fear of losing the clip into the bottom of the smuggler's box.

Here's my tip to keep you from losing the clips into the bottom of the smuggler's box. There is a hole in each of the clips. Take a piece of monofilament line (fishin' line for us down south). Doesn't really matter what weight. Small enough to fit through the hole in the clip and stiff enough to feed it through the hole and tie a knot. Leave yourself a foot or so of length. Now you can use two hands to slide the clips loose and not worry about dropping the clip. Similarly when you get ready to re-install the clips you can dangle the clip in place by the line with one hand and use the full force of your other to snap the clips in place. -J

[wgirardot]

Originally Posted by m110

Toss the clips and drill 4 small holes and put screws in for easy access and sealing.

+1 totally agree with securing with screws. I did this, and now am not afraid to go back in there if I need to in the future.

[kuehl]

If you don't plan on removing the entire evap box, you can prevent loss of the clips
by using a thin metal wire, alike the procedure JAR0023 mentioned, however before
doing the procedure simply stuff old rags around the sides of the box to prevent the clips
from falling down into the bottom of the well.

If you decide to remove the evap coil we'd suggest cleaning the cooling fins, simply spray a good quantity of or Fantastic through the fins (don't spray cleaner or water into the evaporator tubing if open or the expansion valve), let it sit for 4-5 minutes and then run very hot water through the fins. This helps to remove debris that has collected on the fins over the years and helps to improve original cooling performance.

Inspect the evaporator coil for signs of corrosion, such as where the manifold connects with the cooling tubes, especially on vehicle years 1986-1989 as they changed the design to a copper manifold bonded to aluminum tubes and the joints fail quite often.

Re-seal the round inlet between the box and upright stanchion on the Driver's side inlet.

Gently push back the cooling fins where the thermostat's aluminum capillary tube was inserted to insure when you re-insert the aluminum capillary tube it is making good contact with the cooling fins; the cooling fins don't have 'memory' so once they are pushed aside by the tube they stay in that position. Failure to have good contact between the evap cooling fins and the aluminum capillary tube will result in the evaporator coil icing up (the thermostat will never see the true temperature of the coil, the compressor will continue to pump and the coil will ice up; symptom is a vent temperature suddenly rising, air flow reduced; you park the car for 20 minutes, restart the system, it works fine and then gets warm again). Be careful handling the aluminum capillary tube: it contains refrigerant and is sealed, if you put a sharp bend in the tube or break it, it will fail and the system will not work.

[LucaScali]

Originally Posted by ManniB

The evaporator housing in the smugglers box consists of the upper part that houses the fan and the radiator core in the lower part. Both parts of the housing are attached to each other by four steel spring clips.
You can quite easily remove the clips with the housing still in the smugglers box and separate the fan for inspection/maintenance, but I doubt you can re-install them after-wards. Actually it was not that easy for me to install the clips with the housing on the workbench. On the other end, others have successfully installed the clips in-situ (in the smugglers box that is).
Problem is that to get the evaporator housing on your bench you would have do disconnect the two hoses which will empty your R12/R134a.

If you decide to open the hosing in the smugglers box, make sure the clips don't drop down. You might want to tie them with a length of dental floss.

Regards, Manfred

Thanks, Manfred. Already dropped one of the clips. Will try to fish it out with a magnet tomorrow. Other three seemed frozen in place and wouldn't budge, so gave up until I can get a bigger screwdriver or come up with a better method. What else needs to come off before the top can be removed?

[GH85Carrera]

I found using a pair of bent nose vice grips will get them off and back on. Hit them with a blast of WD-40 to help them slide. You can indeed put them back on, but it is difficult. I did it once.

Oiling the old motor will help for a short time, but worn bearings will be squealing soon. You will need to replace the fan motor. Kuehl sells the upgraded blower that is the best option. The factory motor is still available as well.

I use my AC blower even at the autocross or on track with the compressor turned off. No refrigerated air, but lots of air blowing right on me, and my face help a lot. As soon as I can, the AC temp switch gets turned back to the cold position and I love my cold air.

[LucaScali]

Thanks, Glen. I have a new fan assembly. It's a URO, but it looks ok; we'll see. I'll definitely try the vice grips. What else has to come out once the four clips are off to remove the top?

Also, does it matter if I can't fish out the lost clip?

[grb008]

hose from the box to the output/vents. Its kind of like fabric so replace it if you can. Drill the holes and replace with 4 screws there is a picture where to do it on the forum someplace. I would remove the whole box, clean everything up. Put 1/4 inch weather stripping for house around the opening to both intakes on the lower half of the box.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by LucaScali

Thanks, Glen. I have a new fan assembly. It's a URO, but it looks ok; we'll see. I'll definitely try the vice grips. What else has to come out once the four clips are off to remove the top?

Also, does it matter if I can't fish out the lost clip?

Of course you have to remove the electrical connection, but that is really obvious and easy. There is a funny looking "wire" that is actually a fragile tube for the temp control. Very carefully pull it straight up, and DO NOT bend that part in a sharp bend. Just pull it out, and lay it to the side. As I remember from 18 years ago, once the clips and the electrical and the temp tube is out of the way, the clips are off, just lift the top straight up. Sometimes getting the squirrel cage off of the motor can be a real fight.

I did mine long ago. It worked fine until I did the Griffith's 4 condenser, new evaporator and hoses upgrade.



My old evaporator was toast.

Be careful sliding the temperature bulb back into the little brass tube that is in the evaporator. If you ever go back to using the AC, it is very important, and a real pain to replace if damaged.

[LucaScali]

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys. So I was able to get the four clips off only dropping 2/4 in the process, and removed the screw, the two brackets, and the hose. I was about to ask about that wire when I saw Glen's post. Thank you, Glen.

Once the top is off, is it just a matter of pulling the old fan assembly out?

[GH85Carrera]

Yep, the fan is right there. The evaporator can just stay in place. I would suggest you flush out any accumulated crud on the bottom of the box that you can see. Make sure the drain hose is properly seated. Maybe pour some water through the evaporator to flush dirt and crud out.

[LucaScali]

So I was able to get the top off and removed the old fan, but ran into some trouble trying to replace it.

First of all, the hose that looked ok last night began to disintegrate when I tried to move it. It'll need to be replaced. What is the correct size and best option for that?

The evaporator is very clean, but either it was slightly damaged or I damaged it myself getting the top off. Also a bit of debris from the decomposing hose fell into it. Not sure how much this will affect performance.

Another issue is attaching the spade connectors to the new fan. The wires have no slack, so how are you supposed to reattach them with the cage in the way? I struggled with it for a pretty long time before I gave up. It seems almost impossible. What am I doing wrong?

[LucaScali]

Would i hurt anything by disconnecting the back end and pulling it out through the top of the housing? Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question, but I've made more than one mistake assuming things are obvious w/ this car.