Q: Blower motor replacement?

[David Head]

Actually, it can be done at home with a pry bar and simple hand tools. You
push the black connecting bellows back into the housing (many people cut it
with a steak knife), loosen the clamp for the housing and slowly and
carefully lever it up. The fan can be removed and replaced - don't bother
renewing the bushings. A new fan can be had discounted fer under 100.00.
Here's one post on it:

My preferred approach is to loosen the airbox after removing the wiper
mechanism, remove the lower covers on the driver's and passenger's side, and

slide the duct from the A/C evaporator back into the airbox.  Detach the
hard plastic ducts that go to the driver's and passenger's footwell and the
soft ducts for the dash vents.  Now you should be able to lift up the airbox

(with the requisite grunts and snarls) just enough to be able to extract
that duct that goes to the A/C evaporator (I had to wedge the top part out
by hand far enough to get the duct to slip out the top).  I was then able to

get a small #1 Phillips driver to access the lower screw on the blower motor

access cover by sliding the handle into the evaporator box outlet.  Things
are pretty easy from here out ... remove the access cover, pull the snap
ring that holds the motor in place, slide out the old blower.  The black
cover housing from the old motor will probably remain in the blower box ...
it is pretty easy to reach in and take it out.  When installing the new
blower I use some silicone lubricant (or equiv) on the rubber slides inside
the airbox that serve as a vibration isolator as well as the 3 black
extensions on the black cover housing.  There is a indexing key on the end
of the motor near the electrical connector which is oriented up.  Slide the
blower in place and replace the snap ring.  Reinstall the blower access
cover and the evaporator duct.  Push the airbox back into place and secure
with the strap.  Reinstall the wiper mechanism and reattach the parts taken
off inside the car.

Now, if you do decide to go with a place that removes the entire assembly,
spring the extra 50.00 and have them replace the heater core. You then won't
be going back in there in another year to replace it. The only last about 10
years also...



Barton Oleksy wrote:

> I have a '91 200Q with a 'bum' blower motor (just to clarify - this is
> the one that would blow air into the interior of the car to keep the
> humans there cool or warm as appropriate).  I watched a mechanic
> (Audi/VW specialist) push down a long-handled screwdriver and make it
> run, and it would stop when he remove the pressure.  He said the
> bushings were worn.
>
> Now this is normally considered a 3.5-4 hour job by a couple of places I
> had phoned around to, but one place (Tihol - your Euro-Cana guys in
> Edmonton) said they could replace it in 2 hours.  (I found a used one
> with a 90-day warranty for $70 CAD that I was going to take a chance
> on.)
>
> At least one place (3.5 hrs) questioned how they could do this job in 2
> hours...as they remove the whole housing unit.  If they're leaving the
> housing in the car and just prying out the old motor, they could damage
> the housing and the new one likely won't seal properly & I'll get drafts
> in the car and such.
>
> I haven't been able to confirm yet with the 2-hour place (Euro-Cana) to
> see what they're proposing to do, but I don't want to have to get this
> job redone in a short while because something was damaged or not done
> right.  Any help on this?  Comments?
>
> Bart
> '86 CGT
> '89 200T (for sale)
> '91 200TQ (just got)