Is there any way to disassemble a blower motor?

[matt burnett]

I have a blower motor/fan in a ’02 Camry which is making a squealing noise. I’m assuming a bearing has ran out of lubrication. There isnt any side to side play when I wiggle the shaft, so i’m assuming the bearings havent worn out yet, but soon will without lube. If I rotate the shaft, it sounds like the noise is coming from the rear bearing.

Has anyone managed to take one these apart? The only part which manages come off the housing, allows you to view the commutator. I cant see any other seams in the plastic housing which makes me think the plastic was welded shut. I tried drilling a hole in the bottom, and putting some gun oil (Hoppes Elite) on the shaft, it look a while for it to seep in, but eventually it did. The squealing went away, but i’m sure it’ll be back soon without some actual grease, since if the oil seeped in, i’m sure itll seep back out.

Is this just a exercise in futility? Yes I know replacements are only $50, but money is tight and if I can get away with putting some grease in it, then why not get a couple more years of use out of it.

Also does anyone have any tips on getting the squirrel cage off the shaft? I took the clip off it, bent the little plastic tab back, and try prying on it, but it doesnt want to move at all. I have a large 3 jaw puller which I use for removing drum brakes which might fit on it, but i’m worried that is a bit overkill and will just break the squirrel cage.

Here are a couple pictures of it I found online because i’m too lazy to take my own. The part which comes off which allows you to view the commutator is on the opposite side of the power recepitcal, where there is a visible seam. Removing the two screws on the bottom doesnt seem to do anything.

Topic

[josh]

I have also been in your position and have tried to repair a blower motor. I cut it apart with a band saw, packed the bearing, glued the thing back together, reinstalled it, and the motor was quiet for about 2 minuets. Then it started squeaking again. My advice, replace it and save the time and effort, this coming from a guy who rebuilds everything from transmissions to wheel cylinders. As for the fan, once you remove the retainer, it will come off with some force. What I do when they fight me is cut a u shape into a piece of plywood so you can slide the plywood around the shaft between the fan and the motor. Then put it in a vice and hammer out the center with a drift pin. This spreads out the force so you don’t break the plastic fins and you can put more force on it. Hope that helps.

[college man]

The blower motor is non serviceable.also I believe the new one
comes with the squirrel cage attached.

[matt burnett]

@americantractors
Thanks for letting me know it isnt worth my trouble, and for the plywood idea.

@collegeman
I assumed so since it appeared to be welded together. It depends, some come with them, some dont. The cheapest one I found thankfully does, which is what will probably end up going in this. I was interested in knowing how due to curiosity.

[college man]

keep us posted on your progress. 😉

[EricTheCarGuy]

I agree. If you try and take it apart you’ll likely damage it beyond repair. You’re better off just replacing it with a new one.

Keep us posted.

[matt burnett]

So I ended up drilling a hole on the bottom of the housing to expose the motor shaft. I then put a copious amount of gun oil (Hoppes Elite) on the shaft and let it seep in to the bearing, which took several hours. This made a huge difference, and it only squealed about 1% of the time for the next month or so, but as expected the oil dried out/seeped out and the problem came back. I finally got around to replacing the blower which resolved the issue.

Out of curiosity I cut open the old blower to see if it could be serviced. It turns out the motor assembly was just pressed in to the plastic housing. The two screws on the back of the housing keep the motor from vibrating out of the housing. The rear backing plate for the motor which contains the bearing was staked on to the body of the motor. I didnt feel like removing the stakes and prying the rear cover off, but in theory you could, then service the bearing, and weld it back together

[Author]

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