Doing the dreaded blower motor replacement. That guy at cleanflametrap.com really put a good tutorial together!

So, I got the dash, etc. all tore out and was pretty excited by how well things were going, until.....

I got the clips off, and the impellers will pull off the shaft until about 1/8 of shaft is exposed, and then they seize.


The blower motor was way worn out. Only ran on high, and started smoking! It probably has about 1/2 inch of play left-to-right and up and down.

Either the shaft overheated and mis-shaped the impeller core, or (more likely) it's just got corrosion and gunk on that exposed tip. I've tried to clean it up with a screwdriver tip... no luck


My current plan is the put blocks between the back of the impeller and the housing and try to drive the shaft out with a punch.

Anybody know a better way?

So, they came off with an "all of the above" approach.

1) Working the rust off the exposed part of the shaft was a big help. Moved easier, but it was still tight and jammed a little further down. I probably should have worked on it a little longer with the sandpaper.

2) I was working in the driveway and it was 20 degrees out, so no way I was putting hot water on there. But I did find that a heat gun loosened things up.

3) Coupla drops of penetrating oil also helped.

4) After each impeller was part way off, I could get behind it with a flat pry-bar, which let me push out on the impeller at the collar on the base that the shaft goes through (rather than yank on the outer edge, which, while surprisingly durable (!), still looked like it could break.

5) I did not do as good a job of cleaning the exposed shaft on the passenger's side. But by then I had the passenger side off and the motor unscrewed from the heater box. I was able to place a flat bar behind the flutes on the impeller, and drive the shaft out the last fraction of an inch with a punch.

So far, this has been the hardest part of the job. The rest has just been complex and time-consuming.

Sounds like you are almost there!

I replaced the blower motor in my 1990 245, and helped a friend with his 1992 245, both times I had one impeller clip fly away, luckily, I had spares.

Here is a link to the PN. just in case. Good Luck.

Blower Motor Information

Heh. Funny you should say that. It dropped down behind the carpet, and I "rescued" it with a magnetic part grabber. Thought to myself "I really ought put a rag in there in case it happens again." But, no... charged ahead.

2nd time looks like it's gone for good!

S'okay. Can't reassemble the driver's side 'til my heater resistor comes in anyway.

So... while I'm wating.....

Definitely try pushing the impellers back on and using some crocus cloth or sandpaper on the exposed bit of shaft. Takes some patience to get the rust off.


--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

What engineers say and what they mean by it:
"We predict..."
We hope to God!

boil some water and warm the impellers slowly. have had luck with that in the past. good luck, chuck.

Some penetrating oil. If it only ran on high, that's usually a sign the blower motor resistor is bad. Before I would put it all together, Stick a voltmeter on the connector and check voltage at each setting.
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Post Back. That's whats makes this forum work.

Yep. Gotta new one on order. Thanks!