"BREADwagon" (BREADwagon)
09/06/2016 at 11:38 • Filed to: None
1
17|
"BREADwagon" (BREADwagon)
09/06/2016 at 11:38 • Filed to: None | 1
| 17 |
This weekend I got to fix the blower motor in my ‘13 Focus ST. My initial reaction was one filled with !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
The first part of the disassembly, which involved removing the glove box and the body control module was easy enough. However, removing the mixing door to access the blower motor......
Sweat fancy moses, how I despise whoever thought having to blindly thread a Torx 20 on a 18" extension was a bright idea. Not only that, you have clear access to the motor on the driver’s side, but it can only be removed from the passenger side!
LOOK AT THIS
Ahh, looks fine an dandy in that clean rendering, right?
This is what it really looks like:
After I pretty much rage-quit, I had to enlist my two buddies who are BMW techs to do the fenagaling. After a solid hour of swearing at Ford, the little T20 bolts were removed.
We were then greeted with a mixing door actuator and blower motor fan filled with a very soft white fluff. There wasn’t any droppings, and no Deadmau5, but it was obviously deliberately moved there.
“Ah” so I think to myself. “I can’t fault the car for some annoying woodland creatures!”
But then I looked up.
There’s no mesh in between the blower motor and the outside world! That intake is right under the wiper cowl, but there’s nothing preventing leaves or little animals getting in there since the cowl doesn’t make a nice seal with the sheet metal at the cowl. A simple mesh that’s tacked to the body right there would prevent any animal from getting in there and causing a mess.
The cabin filter is after the blower motor, so it does nothing to prevent the fan from chopping up chip and dale and the rescue rangers.
I couldn’t get over what an oversight this is. It’s so simple, and I’m sure there was a conscious decision NOT to integrate a mesh there to save on a couple of cents in materials and saving those 4 welding tacks on each car.
Anyway, it was actually pretty easy to take the seats out which helped tremendously. I also learned the immense value of those little mirrors on a bendy handle that lets you see in stupid places like this.
It’s the little things.
SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
> BREADwagon
09/06/2016 at 11:44 |
|
Did you install mesh over it so you won’t have this problem again?
bobbe17
> BREADwagon
09/06/2016 at 11:45 |
|
Is it normal for the cabin filter to be after the motor these days? My cars all have the filter before the motor but these are 10+ year old cars.
MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s
> BREADwagon
09/06/2016 at 11:47 |
|
Until the mesh is covered in leaves/dirt/dust/fluff and you aren’t getting any circulation and have to remove the blower once again to clean the mesh instead of just letting the blower blow whatever into the filter that can be easily replaced.
Unfortunate that a rodent took up residence in your blower, but i imagine that is less common than a clogged mesh would be if they had incorporated that
|
SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
> bobbe17
09/06/2016 at 11:48 |
|
I figured they were pretty much always after since the access point is usually in the glove box.
CalzoneGolem
> SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
09/06/2016 at 11:49 |
|
Not a chance.
AMGtech - now with more recalls!
> BREADwagon
09/06/2016 at 12:03 |
|
That mesh would become a pain of a maintenance item. The best design option would have been to put the cabin filter before the blower. Benz and Bimmer both do it that way, not sure about others though. And their cabin filters still usually only take a few moments to replace. Actually, Benz blower motors only take a few moments too.
Takuro Spirit
> bobbe17
09/06/2016 at 12:06 |
|
The ones that are before and above are fun because when THEY get covered in leaves and nests and droppings, pulling the filter out means all that crap then falls into the blower motor.
Batman the Horse
> BREADwagon
09/06/2016 at 12:19 |
|
Hmm I wonder if this is corrected on MY14/15+.
Echo51
> MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s
09/06/2016 at 12:29 |
|
Put the blower out under the cowl/wiper area and have it fine bladed enough to make rodents and such unable to get into it. All you get without a mesh is some tree fluff and a few small leaves...
|
bobbe17
> Takuro Spirit
09/06/2016 at 12:36 |
|
I had the one in my Passat get saturated with water and couldn't figure out why I could only get airflow with it on recirculating.
|
MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s
> Echo51
09/06/2016 at 12:37 |
|
More blades=more cost. There’s a cost to everything and engineers generally (not always) have a reason for doing something a certain way. Even if it doesn’t make sense for one reason it may make sense for 3 other reasons. Engineering is more about balancing efficiency, cost, and usability than anything else.
Though sometimes I think they are told to make it user-unfriendly so people bring there cars in to be serviced instead of doing it themselves
|
bobbe17
> SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
09/06/2016 at 12:37 |
|
Funny how you get used to certain cars and just assume that's always the way it is. My 01.5 Passat and 02 M3 both have the filter in the engine bay so I assumed that'd be the way in most cars.
|
BREADwagon
> SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
09/06/2016 at 12:53 |
|
Not yet, but I will. It’s easier to get access to it from above. I’ll RTV a mesh in from above (just have to take off the wipers and the plastic cowl) so it could be easily removed in the future without damaging the car. It’ll probably have to be stainless steel, painted or powdercoated so it wont rust and cause the sheetmetal around it to rust too...
|
BREADwagon
> Takuro Spirit
09/06/2016 at 12:54 |
|
Good point. I guess having a removable mesh on top and then a filter right after it would be the best of all worlds...except that adds cost and is probably hard to package.
Illegitimus Prime
> BREADwagon
09/06/2016 at 12:58 |
|
I feel your pain. I recently had the blower motor replaced in my ‘95 Polo and it’s dead again. Haven’t looked up how it works but it doesn’t seem to be designed very well, the last one actually ate into the cabin air filter.
|
BREADwagon
> Batman the Horse
09/06/2016 at 13:02 |
|
Me too. This should be very similar if not identical to the Escape, since it’s almost the same car as the focus.
|
SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
> BREADwagon
09/06/2016 at 13:11 |
|
Might be easy to make a wooden frame to attach it to so that it can be easily removed and emptied. The frame can sit inside the square opening since the wood will give a little.