Heater Blower Motor?

[hgray14]

When I turn on the blower in one of my cars it makes a fairly awful noise. I am assuming that the blower motor is shot. I had a pretty serious leak coming in through the cabin filter area which was leaking through into the cabin floor on the passenger side (the previous owner had left the air in the "outside air" mode so the flap letting outside air was open...once I closed it the leaking stopped.) I assume that water leaked onto the blower and after three winters probably caused some damage.

So, here are my questions...

1) How hard is it to swap out the blower motor?

2) Is there any way to test a junk-yard blower motor to make sure it will work?

3) Is there any way to test the heater core to make sure it is okay?

thanks

Houston

[bergmjs]

1. Its very easy to swap it out, remove the glove box liner, unbolt it, unplug it, remove, install.

2. I would love to know if there is a way to test a junker, mine is close to failing and don't want to shell out the ~$200 for a new one.

3. If youre getting coolant smell or your passenger carpet is wet next to the console your heater core is faulty.

How did you get water down to the blower, you have the filter w/ retainer and the shroud installed right?

[hgray14]

1. Its very easy to swap it out, remove the glove box liner, unbolt it, unplug it, remove, install.

2. I would love to know if there is a way to test a junker, mine is close to failing and don't want to shell out the ~$200 for a new one.

3. If youre getting coolant smell or your passenger carpet is wet next to the console your heater core is faulty.

How did you get water down to the blower, you have the filter w/ retainer and the shroud installed right?

I think I smell coolant and the windows are often fogged up when I come out to my car...but the floor is not wet. Hmmm...what is the chance that it is the plugged drain pipes for the trunk and they are allowing moisture to back up into an area I can't see and that is causing the stale smell and fogged up windows?

You just gave me an idea for a product. You take a small batter pack (12 volt motorcycle batter or maybe a battery jumper pack) and connect it to some sort of variable resistor. On the downstream side of the variable resistor you have a universal plug of some sort. Then you make a variety of auxilary plugs to plug into that universal plug; plugs to fit common parts we want to test at a junk yard. You then have a list of the voltage/amps for the various parts you want to test. When you get to the yard, you plug in the proper plug, set the resistor to the proper setting, plug into the part in question and BAM, you know if it runs or not. What do you think?

hmmm...will the part run just by plugging power into it or does it need its command module to tell it to fire up?

I am guessing with the blower, if you can get it spin freely than you have a good chance it will work. Obviously the one on my car isn't spinning okay or else it wouldn't make its aweful noise.

Just to be clear; the leak into the passenger side floor, the one which I assume ruined the blower motor is on a different car than my daily driver, which is smelling stale and has fogged up windows.

I am not sure what the deal is with the leak above the blower motor. I bought the car and the passenger floor was swamped. I dried it out but the next winter it got wet again. I took apart the windshield washer cowel area and found that water was running down the windshield, under the plastic cowel and onto the top of the exposed cabin filter, which sits over the air intake box for the vents. The plastic peice only covers about half of the cabin filter and has no gutter or lip on it so I am not sure how it is suppose to keep water out. I put a bead of caulk on it as a gutter and will have to tear it down again to double check and see if it worked. (I stuffed the cabin filter box with paper towels so it would be obvious if it leaked and wouldn't fill up my floor again.)

[jdlc]

When I turn on the blower in one of my cars it makes a fairly awful noise. I am assuming that the blower motor is shot. I had a pretty serious leak coming in through the cabin filter area which was leaking through into the cabin floor on the passenger side (the previous owner had left the air in the "outside air" mode so the flap letting outside air was open...once I closed it the leaking stopped.) I assume that water leaked onto the blower and after three winters probably caused some damage.

So, here are my questions...

1) How hard is it to swap out the blower motor?

2) Is there any way to test a junk-yard blower motor to make sure it will work?

3) Is there any way to test the heater core to make sure it is okay?

thanks

Houston

Fyi, seized blower motor can fry the blower 'resistor'.

You may not want to install a 100k+ blower, the job is not that hard but nevertheless is not fun to do. I did in my previous 85,5 and after a while, I had to do it again.

[hgray14]

Fyi, seized blower motor can fry the blower 'resistor'.

You may not want to install a 100k+ blower, the job is not that hard but nevertheless is not fun to do. I did in my previous 85,5 and after a while, I had to do it again.

Thanks for the advice. I will be careful to make sure it comes from a low mileage car or else just buy a new one. ...then again, in my area we really use the blower that often; summers are mild as are winters.