repairing blower motor

[BennyM]

Is it possible to take my vent blower motor to a local shop and have it repaired or should I just buy another one (probably off ebay)? New ones are like $200. Before taking it out of the car, my blower would work occasionally, but sounded like crap when it did. Turning it on full did not generate much wind tho. Thanks.

BennyM

[ryan roopnarine]

i think the bearing is sealed, buuuut i believe that don gale has refurb information on his website. if the price is right, i don't think it would be foolish to get it refurbed. mine has started to make noise, as well, and if i rebuild it myself ill take pics, however, i don't know when that will happen.

[mikemaster]

I think there's one on fleabay right now.

[BennyM]

I think there's one on fleabay right now.

[gale]

I don't think a local shop would want to mess with it unless you can find a small mom & pop machine shop, but may end up costing more than a new one. I put new bushings in my old e28 blower motor, 3 times. It was somewhat of a pain & didn't last long so finally bought a new blower for it.

e32/e34 blowers are a different design & have sealed bearings. I suppose if one were to find a suitable replacement bearing, it could be modified to fit but it looks like a proprietary design with a weird bearing rivited in place. I was able to replace the brushes & polish the commutator on my e32 blower motor but left the bearings alone & just dribbled some oil onto them but don't know if any made it past the seals & actually got into the bearing.

You could try doing a search on http://www.car-part.com
I've been told to stay away from Stockton's. Alot of blower motors come up by them if doing a national search.

[BennyM]

it would cost more to have a mom&pop shop refurb mine than to buy one...plus I would have to hassle with finding such a shop. So I just bought another motor from ebay for $65.

Thanks for your help guys.

[bimmerd00d]

it would cost more to have a mom&pop shop refurb mine than to buy one...plus I would have to hassle with finding such a shop. So I just bought another motor from ebay for $65.

Thanks for your help guys.

How'd you get to your motor? Did you have to remove the intake manifold?

[BennyM]

I removed all of the panels and wires that covered/hid the motor. that wasn't so tough once I found a 7mm socket. The tough part was actually removing the motor. Because of the funky hamster wheels on either end, it was a pain to pull. I had to remove the plastic trim below the windshield and remove the fuel rail cover on the engine. Then I ever so gently squeezed the hamster wheel on one side and slid that out. then I was able to rotate the motor with the other wheel still inside and pull that end out with the wheel almost horizontal. Does that make any sense. Man, I wish I had a digital cam.

Now the real question is how am I going to get the new motor back in?


How'd you get to your motor? Did you have to remove the intake manifold?