So easy!!

"Kiltedpadre" (kiltedpadre)
12/22/2019 at 11:13 • Filed to: None

My wife was going to drive my truck on Friday, but when she got in the HVAC blower wasn’t working. A vehicle with no working defroster in December is completely useless around here.

I knew the most likely cause was the blower motor resistor. I was able to get both a resistor and a blower motor for under $70 so I decided to do both to be sure I didn’t have to mess with it twice.

I had to remove to screws from the cover panel to get it loose enough for access, two more to be able to get the resistor out, and a screwdriver to disconnect one of the set of wires.

Then we come to the blower motor. It requires ZERO tools! It has a little plastic tab you pull down on, and then a simple wrist twist and it’s out.

I’ve never replaced one in a different vehicle so this may be common, but I was happy to see I didn’t need to contort myself under the dash.

DISCUSSION (19)

Urambo Tauro > Kiltedpadre
12/22/2019 at 11:41

Nice! It’s unseasonably warm today in MI, so I’ll be replacing the blower motor in the ol’ ’Murlequin (’95 Sierra) later today. Tools will be involved, but hey at least I won’t have to CUT THE OLD ONE OUT WITH A KNIFE as you would on a Malibu:

lone_liberal > Kiltedpadre
12/22/2019 at 11:49

Well, the easiest way to access the blower on my Camaro is to take the fender off, if that gives you an indication. You could probably get in there by taking off just the inner fender, but that is no bargain either.

Kiltedpadre > Urambo Tauro
12/22/2019 at 11:50

Brilliant!

MiniGTI - now with XJ6 > Kiltedpadre
12/22/2019 at 13:21

50 here in Chicago. Think I’ll finish putting my Jaguar back together after successful heater core swap.

Kinja'd!!!

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > Kiltedpadre
12/22/2019 at 13:27

That’s AWESOME. Usually they are a PITA to reach, even worse to get to the fasteners on. My D2 Audis bury it down in a hard-to-reach coffin behind the engine.

Kiltedpadre > lone_liberal
12/22/2019 at 13:29

Is there anything easy to do on a Camaro? I helped with a plug change on a 4th gen and remember thinking removing the engine might be the easiest way to do it.

Kiltedpadre > MiniGTI - now with XJ6
12/22/2019 at 13:30

I’m no Jag expert, but a few things appear to be missing there.

Kiltedpadre > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
12/22/2019 at 13:31

I was concerned at first because I was convinced I did something wrong because there was no way it could be that easy.

MiniGTI - now with XJ6 > Kiltedpadre
12/22/2019 at 13:40

Ha yes, converting to autonomous.

It turns out the heater core in the old XJ6 Saloons can be removed by taking out the steering column (easy) and cutting its pipes then reinstalling with short bits of hose. So actually not that bad of a job. It didn’t even leak when I tried it!

lone_liberal > Kiltedpadre
12/22/2019 at 13:41

Mine is a second gen (‘71) so a fair number of things are easy but there are exceptions. That would be one.

facw > Kiltedpadre
12/22/2019 at 13:58

Nice, I’ve looked at doing the one in my S60 which has a bad bearing or some thing and starts shaking badly at more than ~ 60% fan. Apparently it’s a big pain if you do it the proper way (IIRC Volvo says take apart the whole dash), but I read a few guides that just say break of the screw tab that’s a pain to get to, as it isn’t that important.

BahamaTodd > Kiltedpadre
12/22/2019 at 14:32

I have to pull mine out several times a year in my 04 GMC Canyon to clean out leaves since there is no screen or filter what-so-ever from the outside. Luckily its also easy to get to.

Kinja'd!!!

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > Kiltedpadre
12/22/2019 at 15:16

The one on thePajero’s almost that easy - one screw in place of the click tab. Plus you don’t need to remove anything to get at it, just reach up into the passenger footwell.

On the downside, they’re handed and the cheapo replacement I got from China was for a wrong hand drive truck. So it cost me 2x $50.

Kiltedpadre > BahamaTodd
12/22/2019 at 20:47

Mine doesn’t have a cabin filter. They apparently stopped putting them in Silverados after 03. The one in the picture was my old one that’s been in the truck since new so I was surprised it wasn’t dirtier than that.

Kiltedpadre > MiniGTI - now with XJ6
12/22/2019 at 20:48

That’s not bad at all really. I certainly would’ve expected it to be much worse.

Kiltedpadre > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
12/22/2019 at 20:50

That stinks that it went that way. I’m surprised they don’t make it so they use them same housing and just have them spin in the opposite direction. It seems like that would be easier and cheaper for the manufacturer and it’s suppliers.

Kiltedpadre > facw
12/22/2019 at 20:52

My big fear at the start was whether I could access everything without dismantling the dash. Most things on the truck are relatively easy. There have been a few headaches I’ve run into on it though.

MiniGTI - now with XJ6 > Kiltedpadre
12/22/2019 at 22:07

Oh yes to do it “properly” you have to take out the dash, probably the seats, disconnect the AC lines and remove the whole heater box. Which I nice because then you can clean it up but I opted for the quick and dirty method. It worked fine.

I went for a drive this evening. It definitely changed the smell of the car, it’s not musty anymore. I also fixed the turn signal cancellor while I had the steering column out.

Kiltedpadre > MiniGTI - now with XJ6
12/22/2019 at 22:11

These two parts were my only shot at fixing this myself. Anything else would’ve required removing the front seats, pulling the center console, and taking apart the dash.

While I have the ability to do that kind of work; I don’t have the space to do it. It’s only made worse by the fact that the truck is too tall to park in my garage.