AC condenser fan motor noisey – cause?

[aaronac8]

My AC condenser fan motor is making a lot of noise when running. I will be changing it, especially since I recently had my radiator fan motor fail completely about a week ago. What causes the motor to develop a noise? Is it a bad bearing or bushing? What is the difference between a bearing and a bushing? Thanks for any responses.

Topic

[Richard Kirshy]

Most likely a failing bearing.

Typical fan bearing:

Bushing:

Attachments:

• bearing.jpg
• Bushing.jpeg
• p-bearing.gif

[aaronac8]

So eventually when the bearing fails the fan will seize? Is that the natural progression of a failing bearing?

[Richard Kirshy]

Sometimes…
The other way is that the bearing begins to break apart internally and the shaft the bearing supports begins to wobble.
Either case is not pretty.

[aaronac8]

The AC condenser fan finally stopped working. I have another motor being sent to my house in the next few days. Can I drive the car without a problem if I don’t run my ac?

[Richard Kirshy]

As long as the weather isn’t too hot and / or you don’t have much stop and go traffic.
In many vehicles the second fan is used when the coolant temp reaches a high set point along with running when the AC is operating.

[Author]

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