Noisy AC blower fan R&R

WilliamJ · 08-15-2005, 10:03 AM

Let me statrt by saying I haven't purchased a Bentley's manual yet.
Nevertheless I have a noisy A/C blower fan motor.

I've located it in the trunk area under the carpet in the compartment with the lid near the cowl. (Is this the ?smuggler's box?)

Question: any do's or don'ts on removing this for repair?

I just don't want to have to unbolt or loosen any more than I have to and sure don't want to force or break anything which seems like I ususally do.

Thanks!!!!

WilliamJ · 08-15-2005, 01:15 PM

Bump***

Thanks

Hugh R · 08-15-2005, 01:23 PM

You can remove the fan and top housing my snapping off the four or five clips and pull the top off. If you drop them, you'll have to pull the evaporator out. To do this, remove the floor mat and the floor board from the passenger side foot well. They're a flapper box you remove, four screws I think, and then three or four more screws behind that which are around the intake opening to the evaporator box. You'd probably have to remove the two refrigerant lines which means a recharge. Watch out or the expansion valve bulb, in the top of the box, and the thermostat probe also on the top of the box. You may have a second inlet into the evaporator box from behind the console where the a/C controls are under your dash.

masraum · 08-15-2005, 01:33 PM

Mine had 2 small metal brackets that bolted to the top as well as the 3 or 4 clips. Remove the 3 or 4 clips and two metal brackets. Then you'll also need to carefully pull out the sensor which is a long copper wire and unplug the cable for the fan. try not to drop the clips. change the motor, and then put the thing back. The bentley says that you have to remove the evaporator, but you don't. It's a real pain to put the clips back in. I actually didn't put the clips back, but I wasn't getting any leakage past the lid without them.

Border911Dude · 08-15-2005, 02:46 PM

See Evap blower and motor removal

I've had the dammmm thing out 4 times in the last month

If I can help, send me a pm.

dg

Border911Dude · 08-15-2005, 02:52 PM

p.s. This may help too!

dg

masraum · 08-15-2005, 02:56 PM

yep, parts number 25 and 26 in the above diagram are the brackets that need to come out and the clips aren't shown, but you can see the tabs for them on the housing, parts 13 and 24.

Border911Dude · 08-15-2005, 03:00 PM

I think the clips are # 6

Long Nose · 08-15-2005, 03:11 PM

So.... you can buy replacement parts for that unit? I was told by my local P-Shop that you have to buy the whole unit ($1,200)!!! Therefore, mine is currently sitting in peices on my work bench untill I have the time to try and source out new parts, all I need is a new bearing. (In Canada, we only need heaters in the winter, and forget about A/C!!!).

Border911Dude · 08-15-2005, 03:22 PM

You can definitely buy a replacement (new) Bosch evaporator fan motor. This link
is for a '79SC. I'm sure other companies sell 'em (didn't find it at Pelican

)
Pelican does sell evap coils and expansion valves; butt you can Google any of these parts.

dg

gost · gost's Garage

I just did this. Read my post and all will be clear! Figure a couple of hours and don't forget to make sure the capillary tube sleeve is inserted in the housing when re-installing the upper housing.
Hope it helps.
Evap blower and motor removal

gost · gost's Garage

Whoops! Just saw that Border Dude posted my thread already. Glad it's getting around.
The blower motor alone can be purchased at Vertex http://www.**********.com/item.wws?sku=91162489900&mfr=Oem&cookieID=1LA15O6LA1LA15PQS9&clientid=**********.com&clientid=**********.com
I believe you can buy it with or without the squirell cage as well.

WilliamJ · 08-15-2005, 04:39 PM

THANKS for all of the input!!!!!!!

I felt like I wasn't the only one fighting with this.

Looks like maybe I can get by w/o all of the clips, I was just imagining

them falling down beneath the box.

Thanks again!!!!, I'll keep you posted.

Border911Dude · 08-15-2005, 05:47 PM

WilliamJ - Tried to send you a pm, but seems you don't accept them.
If you are deciding to service or replace the blower motor, I suggest this. Turn the a/c fan on high for a couple of minutes. If you have heat in the a/c blower switch (3 speed) or in the 4 wires coming out of the back of the console, you probably need to replace the motor and the switch.
If you aren't able to re-install the clips, or if they fall to the bottom, at the very least use some good a/c foil tape to seal the joint of the 2 halves of the a/c evap. box. If you take the box out.... insulate it.

Good luck! You may have to do this only once

WilliamJ · 08-16-2005, 06:50 PM

Thanks!

Seeeu911 · Seeeu911's Garage

Border911Dude that is a great idea ! what material did u use for the insulate ?

jcjblo · 08-17-2005, 06:55 AM

There is a quick & dirty way to fix the blower noise that usually works. Drill a small hole on top of the fanmotor housing directly above the fan motor(located in the smuggler box in trunk) drop a few drops of lubricating oil into the hole, turn on the fan and let the oil lubricate the motor. You might have to repeat this a few times to completely eliminate the noise - but make sure you only put in a few drops at a time. If this remedy fails, its time to replace the motor/bearing.

Border911Dude · 08-17-2005, 06:59 AM

Thanks for the props

I used a kind of foil lined bubble wrap stuff that I found at Home Depot. It comes in various roll widths and lengths. ($16 - $39 per roll depending on the width/length) I also used the foil duct tape. Next time I'd make a "flap" that would extend over the top half of the evap box and close the whole thing to help seal the airflow too.

Regards,

dg

mtbguy · 03-30-2007, 12:02 PM

I also just had the problem. I solved it in 5 minutes as JCBLO recommended. On my 1987 Carrera there was already a screw there built into the housing top (it looked factory, not DIY) I unscrewed it and dropped a few drops of synthetic 10/40 motor oil in the blower.

It was quieter after the first treatment, but still barely there (the noise) I did it two more times that week and the sound is hopefully gone for good now, I spent about 5 minutes on it three times for a total of fifteen minutes, and didn't have to mess with actually removing the box/losing clips, etc. I dropped in about 5-10 drops each time, then ran it on various speeds for a few minutes to circulate the oil.

Its SO NICE to have peace and quiet in the cabin again (at least engine noise is supposed to be there!).
Thanks for the tip!!!!!!!

Ronnie's.930 · 10:23 PM

I want to reserect this old thread to thank jcjblo and mtbguy for their evaporator motor lube tips. For the past month or so, I have heard a quick screech sound from the dash (sudden screech and then quickly stops) - I wasn't sure if it was the evaporator blower motor or the small interior temp pickup fan as the noise seemed too close to the driver's seat be the evap motor. Well, a couple of days ago, the blower motor suddenly stopped, so I turned the fan switch to off and quickly back on and the motor restarted (I didn't run it however). I checked on the tiny fan and it moves freely by finger with no drag or hint of binding. I tested the blower fan again while driving and heard a screech so turned it off.

I've been wanting to change my blower fan motor to either the Renair (hugely expensive since I have a 1987 and would have to pay TX sales tax) or a custom job (no problem doing this except for time), but thought I would try to lubricate the motor bearings and get some more life out of it for now.

I have never removed the blower motor on one of these cars, and though it looks straight foreward, I started looking up threads on tips for this job. Well, I came across this one that made mention of lubricating the motor by drilling an oil hole in the evap cover in the vicinity of the motor shaft, and another poster noted that his cover already had an access hole for oil, and wouldn't you know, so does mine. I've now added oil and the fan motor seems to be working normally (for now) - will see how much more time I can get out of it.