Blower Motor is Sick - Little Help??

The 100,000-mile curse has started...that was fast.

Driving to the lake this afternoon it felt like the a/c was not blowing that hard. It was cold, just not much force. Sitting at a light I could actually feel and hear the blower motor slow down and speed up.

When we got out of the lake this evening I had no blower at all....it was 104 degrees. Ouch. I slapped the bottom of the dash under the glove box, and the fan came on! It worked all the way home but still didn't feel like it was on full blast. I unhooked the boat, unloaded the car, started it up and again, no blower motor.

I kinda like having a/c, it being the hottest summer on record here... Any ideas? Should I go get a blower motor, or is it a resistor, or ??????

Really appreciate any advice. As always the Roady towed like a champ!

-Mike

blower motor is worn out,.

Nick

I agree with Nick, especially since the "smack it" method worked. They aren't hard to replace really, just three bolts. But the one against the firewall is a major pain to get to.

Resistor pack will do different (and weird) things when it goes.

Thanks folks. I'm about to head to Wrench A Part. Hope I can get it out!

Mike, idk how cheap a PaP blower motor is, but I think you'd be better off just buying new. Chances are one in the junkyard will have just as many miles as yours (if not more) and might just be on its last legs too. Rock auto has new ones for $45. Just my $0.02 of course.

Agree with Justin and if the fan has fewer blades just switch the old fan cage onto the new
motor.
Jim

I'm being awfully agreeable today.... not good....

But I agree with them. Those fans run almost constantly when the car is on. May cost a bit more but get a new one and swap cages if needed.

Also, I've heard that removing the front passenger seat makes fan replacement easier. Or at least you don't have to be (as much of) a contortionist to get under there. I haven't tried it myself yet though.

I did mine with the seat in place and wasn't bad. It actually only took about 30 mins to replace the blower. Make sure it's sealed good when you put it back together, mine wasn't at first and I had to re-do it.

Jon

Mike,why not move the passenger seat all the way forward and then recline the seatback.Would
think that would be more comfortable to lay on the reclined seat to do the work.
IMHO
Jim

That might work Jim. I usually just put the seat all the way back and squeeze myself in there. It works.

Been a long time since I was able to squeeze myself into anywhere tight.Let the comments
begin!
Jim

Probly too late, but I'll echo what the other guys have said. Get a new one from the parts store. Less than 50 bucks and money well spent on a new part.

Unless you have a parts car handy and the used blower motor is free go buy a new one

The new ones have a shorter cage, and the OEM ones are near impossible to remove. Get a used one. They are really cheap, and I would rather have the noticably higher airflow. I keep a couple stocked just in case.

Just read all your new "go buy a new blower motor" replies now. Too Late.

I ran down to the South Austin Wrench-a-Part just after typing my reply this morning.

There is a very good reason I don't go salvage yarding in July-August here. GOOD LORD IT WAS HOT. It was like Satan's Underpants hot. And considering I'm a 300lb fat guy and was STUPID ENOUGH to wear a black Harley t-shirt, I thought I was gonna die. It was 94 when I went in at 10:30am...and the gauge on the car said 117 degrees when I came out around 12:30. Ahahahahaha......shoot me!

BUT I found a really good doner car. 1994 maroon Roady sedan with the dark red Limited interior and only 91K miles. Light accident, air bags not blown, dash perfect, engine still in it, sad to see it in there. I got off some good red door panel handle trim, some sill panel trim, and then layed in the floorboard and got to work on the blower and resistor.

I hope whoever at GM moved the blower from under the hood to under the dash gets VD very soon. What a joke! On the 77-90 B-bodies the blower motor and resistor mount just under the rear edge of the hood, on the evaporator case. Replacing a blower motor is cake. NOT ON THE NEWER CARS. Now it was not "mission impossible" either, but still not much fun, especially in a field of metal ovens sitting on blinding white rocks in 100+ heat with sweat pouring in your eyes...ahh summertime in Texas!

The lower hush panel below the glove box is easy to remove. It's held in with three clips, just squeeze the clips, pull it down and toss it in the back seat. Then I wedged myself into the floorboard and took a look. Lot's of wires and relays and such, and the blower itself mounts way back near the firewall. I ended up pulling the sill panel trim so I could see everything better.

The resistor is cake, it's right there, and held in with three 5.5 mm bolts and has two plugs. I nabbed it, as I've read online these are common failure items, and are not really cheap new. It's actually pretty large once you pull it down. A lot bigger than the old spring-loaded resistors I'd replaced in the past.

Now to the blower motor itself. These are also 5.5 mm bolts, three of them, and two are fairly easy to get at with socket and an extersion. The 3rd...is not. It mounts between the motor and the firewall and can not be seen, only felt. It's a royal pain to get at, mainly do to lack of space for my large hands and not being able to see it at all. I finally got it, and once the blower was loose it's another minor ordeal to snake it around all the wiring and such to get it out. I about did a dance next to the car when it finally came out. The blower looked great, very clean, as did the resistor. Woo-Hoo! Got the blower, resistor, door and sill trim for $18, oh and the $2 entry free. $20 total.....you gotta love Wrench-A-Part.

You folks can kick me now, that car had a perfect red front passenger door panel, the upper dash pad was not cracked and looked new, and it even had three of the factory floor mats with the snaps in them up front, and also a good red leather center arm rest-flip cupholder console....and I left all that stuff....it was just too hot once I got the blower out, all I wanted was to get out of the sun....

I went home and put the my wagon in the garage, got a big glass of ice water, turned on the celing fan and pointed my floor shop fan right at me too. Still hot as blazes but shade and fast moving air helped a lot.

Knowing how it came apart now, the job went faster. I replaced the blower resistor first. No change, no air. Boo! So I went on and did the blower. Was a little shocked to see leaves and such fall out when I removed it. Used my air and blew out the duct really well.

Both my existing resistor and blower were dirtier than the salvage parts. Guess the previous owner parked under a tree. I cleaned my "new" fan really well anyway, got all the dust off the squirrelcage. I did use a little crazy glue to keep the rubber and foam gaskets in place for re-mounting, and then put the fan in. Getting the motor around all the wiring and installing that one screw at the back of the motor was again a pain, but finally cussed it in. Plugged in the wiring and turned the key.

Car vents blow strong! Ice-cubes out the vents again! Works perfect and is really quiet too!

Such fun!

No yard pics, was too freaking hot to mess with cameras, but there were a total of three Roadys there, the 94 maroon sedan, a white 93 sedan, and the blue 93 wagon. There was also a clean 95 9C1 Caprice that looked like a detective's car. No holes in the body, cloth seats front and rear, and still has the LT1 in it. Was hit right rear. Sad.

Nothing else big to report from the yard. Didn't even look for a GS steering wheel, just wanted to get done and out of the broiler.

Thanks all for the replies and hope everyone had a good weekend!

-Mike

Glad you got it done!

toomanytoyz wrote:

Glad you got it done!

So am I, such fun.

-Mike

Congrats Mike on fixing your wagon in this heat.I still would have bought a new motor instead
of going to the JY.Glad everything worked out.
Jim

I'd read online that the new motors have much smaller fans, and that the factory fan is hard to remove from the motor. That big wagon needs as much airflow as possible, so I knew I wanted an original fan, but was not about to buy a new GM one, as I'm sure the dealer would want a mint for one, and I did not want to wait to order one....it's too hot!

That being said, when I took my original motor out I decided to play with it...and guess what...the fan came right off of the motor. Ha! Oh well. I saved the original fan, so next time I'll buy a new aftermarket blower and try to install the stock fan on it.

Never a dull moment!

-Mike

10-day Austin Forecast:

High of 105 expected again as heat wave continues

Monday July 25

Today Sunshine and a few afternoon clouds. Near record high temperatures. High near 105F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.

Tuesday July 26

Day Intervals of clouds and sunshine. Very hot. High around 105F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday July 27

Mix of sun and clouds. Highs 102 to 106F and lows in the upper 70s.
Details
Thursday July 28

Mostly sunny. Highs 102 to 106F and lows in the upper 70s.

Details
Friday July 29

Partly cloudy. Highs 100 to 104F and lows in the upper 70s.

Details
Saturday July 30

Mix of sun and clouds. Highs 100 to 104F and lows in the upper 70s.

Details
Sunday July 31

Sunshine. Highs 101 to 105F and lows in the upper 70s. Drought conditions should continue.

Details
Monday August 1

Sunny. Highs 102 to 106F and lows in the upper 70s.

Details
Tuesday August 2

Sunshine. Highs 103 to 107F and lows in the upper 70s.

Details
Wednesday August 3

Abundant sunshine. Highs 103 to 107F and lows in the upper 70s.


AAARRGGHH!

Mike you could have said hot as hell all week and be done with it!
Jim

Flasheroo wrote:

Mike you could have said hot as hell all week and be done with it!
Jim

Naw it's more gut-wrenching when you see the daily numbers. I've lived back in Texas since 1992, and have NEVER seen it this hot, for this long. It's rained twice since May 1, and both were just short sprinkles. Hottest April on record, hottest spring on record, and may turn into the hottest summer on record. Lake Travis, our main water supply, is losing a foot of water a week, and is now almost 60% below normal depth. Today is day 41 of over 100-degrees.

I have in-ground sprinklers at my house, but I gave up, could not afford the water bill, and now we have rationing going on. I'm scared I'm going to have to re-sod my entire yard this fall. $$$$$ ouch. It's SO dead. The entire town is starting to look like Arizona, and Austin normally stays pretty green year-around.

-Mike

81X11 wrote:

ut was not about to buy a new GM one, as I'm sure the dealer would want a mint for one, and I did not want to wait to order one....it's too hot!

AC Delco is $79 at RA.

On another note, if this blower makes it in your car to 109,001 it lasted longer than your original one.

Cadet57 wrote:

81X11 wrote:

ut was not about to buy a new GM one, as I'm sure the dealer would want a mint for one, and I did not want to wait to order one....it's too hot!

AC Delco is $79 at RA.

On another note, if this blower makes it in your car to 109,001 it lasted longer than your original one.

This is true!

I put over 250 miles on the wagon this weekend, 40 of them with the boat on the back. You can't say it does not get used.. I still love it!

-Mike

Ok enough of the blower,.
it is in,. it is fixed,.
move along ,. nothing more to see here.
back to your ocd prolific craiglist meanderings.