Please help me spec alternate footwell blower motor

[ianc]

Hi guys,

one of my footwell blowers is constantly blowing fuses and squealing, so I looked at the prices of new ones. Ouch. I thought I might try something along the lines of the Wavey mod, except up front.

I measured the blower motor and went to Grainger's site, but couldn't find anything remotely close. Do any of you electric motor experts know where I could source a 12V motor of this size?



Thanks for the help!

ianc

[dshepp806]

sub'd

[aj88cab]

Ian

You can find the Footwell Blowers on Ebay for $30-$40. Is it a roll of the dice? Probably! But I bought two and they work fine.

Good Luck
Andrew

[ianc]

Hey Andrew,

I probably could, but these Bosch motors are such pieces of crap that I wouldn't give a fig for a used one, and would rather try getting a new motor in there if possible.

I've got no idea where to go looking for motors based on size criteria however, so if someone could give me a leg up, I'd appreciate it...

ianc

[Wavey]

This could be more useful than you know, Ian - I think the fresh air blower and the front A/C blower use the same motor.

[DCinVA]

Dan Cobb posted a thread on how to do this on the rennlist forum.

Do a search in the 911 forum on "footwell" and "grainger" and you will find it.

[RWebb]

surely a nice Honda Accord or similar Japanese car has a blower that would work and cost far less than an aged German unit...

[ianc]

Thanks for the post Dave.

I don't usually hang out at Rennlist, but was able to find the post. I already have this motor in my car to replace the engine room fan and it is pretty big and heavy.

I might go this route if no one can supply any clues on where to find an appropriate-sized motor, but for now I'll hang on and see if anyone has any leads.

Thanks again!

ianc

[LM3929]

If the frt. blower and footwell blowers are the same, I found new fan motors for sale at driving source NW .

lorne M.

[ianc]

Lorne,

Thanks for the post, but know that it is considered extremely bad form to post about Pelican's competitors here. All I found was OEM parts (way more expensive than Pelican at that).

Please don't get my thread locked by Wayne. Thanks,

ianc

[JFairman]

The origonal fan housings are molded to the shape of the motors. I doubt you'll find a drop in substitute.
They are incredibly easy to take apart and clean and then oil the bearings.

As said, you see the motors on ebay or in salvage yards.

[Mysterytrain]

Not only is the size an issue but you need to think about how hot the heated air gets. I once measured the heated air temperature at the defroster vents and it pegged the HVAC thermometer..it was over 240 degrees F.

[Monza_dh]

Can someone recdommend a product for cleanig the brushes and the internals of the fan motor? I have read thru all the posts and lube and cleaning are being recommended but I cannopt find any reference tro what kind of luibe or cleaner. I used some silicon spray to loosen the bottom of the fan unit but what exaclty is needed for the bearings and brushes?

[stevemfr]

I remember trying to find suitable alternatives 15 years ago - no luck back then (and I was installing AC's and had all sorts of access to generic HVAC parts suppliers)...

[gtc]

Originally Posted by Monza_dh

Can someone recdommend a product for cleanig the brushes and the internals of the fan motor?

Any electronics cleaner will do the trick. I was just at Napa and they had three or four different kinds. There are also cleaners specifically for motors and energized electrical equipment (though I didn't see either of those at Napa).
Just don't get something that will eat the insulation off the windings.

[gtc]

McMaster-Carr to the rescue?
Item 6331K13

[JFairman]

I used brake clean to clean the dust and dirt out of the motor armature, brushes, and commutater if thats the right word for it.. just sprayed the crap out of it.

Then blew all the solvent and dirt out with 120psi compressed air till it was dry.

Then put some motor oil on the bearings at each end and the felt oil washer around the bearing at the end with the brushes, blew some compressed air on the fan to spin it and work the oil into the bearings some, wiped off excess, and put it back together.

Now they work something like new and no squeaking.

[ianc]

Well, I've spent quite some hours looking on the web trying to find some means of specifying motors by size, but can't find anything like what I'm looking for.

Maybe I'll just go the Grainger\Dayton route. Sigh...

ianc

[CatSkynr]

Clean the motors first, save your money unless you're going for a 2X air movement upgrade, then keep us posted!

I kind of hit this on another thread about the AC blower a while back. The same will apply to the foot-well blowers.

My blower motor was junk when I bought my car. It only worked on high, and then every once in a while it would squeal. I removed the motor and replaced the shaft bushings (lots of slack was found). I found with the use of a file and some Autozone generic plastic bushings, I made a perfect snug match. Then I soaked the motor in Tri-Lube with Teflon and let it drip dry over night. Tri-Lube is a ‘dry lubrication’ (does not remain wet to attract dirt – it dries). You can also get this at gun stores. Wiped it down and ran the motor outboard with a rag close at hand to fling any remaining wet lube, reinstalled and since then for the last 5 or so years never had an issue.

As for electrical contact cleaning, best is electrical contact cleaner (Trichloroethane). You can usually find this at ACE Hardware or your local true-elelctro-nerd-radio-hobby-shops (not radio shack). You can use alcohol (brake cleaner), but it is not near as effective in removing debris and oxidation. Trichloroethane also will not harm plastic, so just as safe as brake cleaner.

[ianc]

Hmmm... Interesting bit on the bushings. Maybe I'll yank the thing apart (yet again) this eve and see what can be done about them...

Thanks for the tip,

ianc