Very Squeaky Heater Fan

vdiantonio · 06-28-2002, 10:06 AM

The heater fan on my 80SC squeaks horribly when I turn it on. Can anyone suggest where I might look for info on most likely cause and how to fix it. I did a search but didn't find anything that helped. Thanks in advance. Vince

Rot 911 · 06-28-2002, 10:15 AM

probably dry bearings. you can pull the motor and put some light machine oil on the shaft and let it run down to the bearing. this is only a temporary fix and you will have to re-oil when the noise reappears.

Argo · 06-28-2002, 10:18 AM

They seem to wear out a lot. Some owners have oiled them, some have rebuilt them, some bought new or used. Try a search on "heater blower motor" and you'll get tons of info on all options.

Argo
88 Targa

Targa77 · Targa77's Garage

Mine had failed whenever the PO had it and it actually melted the housing. I would just spend the money and get a new one. Like these guys mentioned before, you can lube it but most likely it will be a temp fix at best. Before you waste the time to lube it, check the fan shaft for play. If you have a lot of it like mine did, it's shot.

Superman · 06-28-2002, 12:22 PM

A search should turn up some details. First, you can do without it. Just unplug it, and the only time you will even be able to notice a difference is at idle. If the squirrel cage is plastic, you probably cannot rebuild or repair the motor. If it is metal, you can disassemble the motor, and replace brushes easy enough. The front bushing (the one that wears out) is a funky ball-shaped swivel thing with a hole drilled for the shaft. You can carefully ream that hole and press in a new bushing. Be sure to use a LONG bushing, as the hole is long. An electric motor repair shop can fit it for bushings and brushes.

I evenutally got rid of my A/C, so this enabled me to backdate to the early (non-blower) system, which I like much better. I can see my engine now, when I lift the rear deck lid.

Kurt B · 06-28-2002, 02:30 PM

In my case, one in the footwells (get at them by removing the covers down there at your feet) blowers had a cracked fan blade. It's plastic. So, the centrifugal force caused it to rub as it flew apart at the crack. I tried gluing it, didn't work. What I did was get thin wire and wire two blades around the crack together. That worked.
Don't let it run that way though. Unplug it or fix it.
I wound up buying two extra footwell blowers but I want to use them for other project I have coming down the pipe..so the wired one seems to work.