Fixed my heater fan...

[monkeyodeath]

Bought my '86 with a non-working engine heater fan and decided to check it what was wrong.

Found the usual culprits - a disconnected brush and the dreaded oblong bushing hole.

Replaced the brushes with these: .25" x .31" x .47" BRUSH 33M. Fit fine - had to do a little wrap/solder to connect them to the old leads.

After that, the fan fired up just fine, but it rattled badly while it spun and would occasionally catch, freeze, and squeal. No good.

So I decided to try a solution presented by SPRITER years ago on this forum. I bought this bearing: INA RNAO8X15X10TN Needle Roller Bearing, Polyamide Nylon Cage, Open End, Metric, 8mm ID, 15mm OD, 10mm Width, 29000rpm Maximum Rotational Speed: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

Then used a 9/16 drill bit to drill out the old bushing. Had enough slop in my drilling (9/16 is a bit smaller than 15mm) to be able to press the new bearing race into the freshly-drilled hole with a shop press.

Slipped the needle bearing piece over the shaft - fits perfectly - and reassembled.

Motor works great now. There's no slop in the shaft, no catching, just smooth spinning. The shaft rides in the nylon needle bearing piece, and the bearing rides in the bushing that I pressed in.

Assuming your motor doesn't have a trashed winding, this seems like a pretty good way to fix what's otherwise a decent little electric motor. Simpler and cheaper than the Grainger motor route without the complications of the non-working footwell motors. And way, way cheaper than buying a new unit.

I'll keep you updated if something goes wrong with this fix in the future.

[monkeyodeath]

A week later with daily fan use and this solution is still working great for me.