dear brickboard,

i have experimented this week with lubing a squeaky heater fan motor in my 1989 240 sedan.

thanks to posts on the brickboard for their direction.

i was successful drilling 2 1" holes in the front of the blower casing and applying most every lubrication known to mankind to the 2 ends of the motor shaft. (by the way, i tried like heck to include a picture but was not successful.)

anyway, i was partially successful. the motor is quiet now when the car is warm. when the car is cold, it still squeaks. maybe it will improve with time. i have a feeling that i have not been successful getting enough lube to the right places.

a few observations i have are:

o big holes are no problem. i used about a 1" hole saw with no problem. 2 holes were plenty, one for each side.

o covering up the holes could be optional. i tried the fan without covering the holes and it worked fine. however, i did tape mine shut just for good measure.

o if i would have left the holes uncovered, i could lube the shafts by simply popping out the dash covers next to the cig lighter and air conditioning switch and then using a dowell and q tip.

o you do not need a fancy oiler. i used spray cans with the "straw" attached. i also used long dowells with q tips soaked in lube. both worked fine. the dowells gave more control.

2oldvolvos

I did the same thing on my 1990 at 130k. I used WD-30, then 30 wt oil for good measure. Difficult to positively get the lube on the bearings for sure, think I covered them best as possible w/o removing motor. I am at 160k, still no squeaking, fingers crossed. We'll see how it is at 200k.

I would like to see your photos of the operation. Could you try to e-mail them to mtviewmike@comcast.net

Thanks
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1984-244 GL with 192K and 1984-244 GL with 260K, 67 Mustang and 62 F- 250 4x4

Good to know; it's been my experience that most noisy blower fans are, when removed, readily cleaned and relubed and seem fit for service again (never reused one though, too much work to not just replace it once I'm in there). I've taken several apart, some seized solid, and most aren't even scored on the shaft or bearing, just dry & dirty. Of course some are just utterly beat, impellers hitting the housing, no amount of lube helps that - but catch them early enough and relubing them while in place may be the way to go...
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Chris, Dartmouth NS Canada 70 M-B 280SE, 83 245DL, 84 244 turbo, 90 780 turbo, 92 VW Golf, 90 740 Rex/Regina

Don't laugh, but I was too lazy to drill holes, I sprayed WD down the center vents for minutes. As luck would have it, the terrible noise has subsided and will hopefully get me through another winter... Oh, the smell was bad for a few days, but I would rather be warm and toasty...

Cool idea, to use WD-40, but for those who do NOT always have to learn the hard way -- meaning I DID learn the hard way ;-) -- WD-40 is NOT good for you to breathe. I'd say if it's in your heater system you should drive with the windows open for a while.

I found that after working with WD-40 in a small space I was seeing halos around street lights for a few hours. I had to ask my wife if there was a fog that had appeared. Nope, just me. Can't be good for you.
--
Gregg Shadduck, Mpls, MN -- 2x '87 745; '92 245; '67 Amazon

I ended up with pneumonia three or four times before I realized the correlation... Good stuff to avoid inhaling.
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Chris, Dartmouth NS Canada 70 M-B 280SE, 83 245DL, 84 244 turbo, 90 780 turbo, 92 VW Golf, 90 740 Rex/Regina

swdspd,

good one. what ever works. sometimes i find that the less intrusive i can be the better. i always seem to knock something out of wack when i try to dismantle it and do a proper job of rehabbing.

2OldVolvos