Hi all,

I have the dreaded squeaky blower motor in my brick. It's okay. I'm not ready to replace it, and instead want to try the stop-gap method of lubricating the bushings in the blower motor shaft.

I've read helpful instructions how to do it on this board and elsewhere. I imagine it will take me 2 hours, since I'm a bit slow.

What sort of oil/lubricant should I use? I've seen recommendations ranging from spray lubricant to oil-can drip, and I'm unsure which to use beyond recognizing that it needs to penetrate the bushings.

I have WD-40 and Triflow (a lubricant with light viscosity http://www.lubricant.com/Superior_Drip/superior_drip.html ). I would lean toward the Triflow, but I thought I'd ask the gurus if I should buy something else. Thanks for your time.

SQUEAK!

PS "brick" means "bridge" in Yiddish.

Descriptions of this job:

http://swedishbricks.com/faq/fanmotor.html
http://www.sonic.net/~zipzippy/volvo/blower%20motor.html

e.g.
<<
From: mike@oracorp.com (Mike Meador)
To: swedishbricks@me.rochester.edu
Subject: 240 Blower Motor Fix

I pulled the center console-radio-heater-etc plastic panel off and pulled the underlying metal frame back enough to provide minimal access to the blower motor case. I then used a Dremel tool and knife to cut two 1" sq holes in the plastic motor case:

see this link for drawing: http://swedishbricks.com/faq/fanmotor.html

The holes provided a reasonable view and access to the motor shaft and bushings. I first applied some penetrating oil followed up with spray-on foaming white grease. (Any oil that would eventually flow back into bushing-shaft junction would probably work.) I alternated applying lubricant with running the fan on low speed for 6-8 times.

I then cleaned up the housing surface, applied a couple layers of duct tape to cover the holes, and put everything back together. No more loud squealing!
>>

I see, very nice. Wish I had known about that method before... O well I already did the job, so no use in crying about it now. I did oil the temp slider cable/housing while I was in there and it slides MUCH better now as well. On to the next project, the rear main seal, then A/C! Loving the new swaybars though!
Charles

good attitude.

Haha! my temp slider is about as cooperative as a goat. I'll take a look around for anything else to oil while I'm in there.

I just finished replaced my blower motor a few days ago. Took me three days in afternoon free time after work. I don't see how anyone could lube the motor without using the "chainsaw method" to get to the two fan blades and then beyond that to the bearings (really just bushings). Mine was squeaking just a bit and thought I should replace it before doing all the A/C work I plan on getting to soon. If I had it to do over again, I would have left it alone, because when I got it out, the bushings felt fine and the motor still ran smoothly, so all I did was get rid of a noise really, and just not worth all the effort. I went through all the proper removal steps, not the "chainsaw method" so I probably had about 10 hours in it. I'm curious what others have done to just try and oil the motor in-situ. Seems like one could drill with a long bit through the outer shell of the blower housing, through the plastic fan blade, insert a long thin tube, and drip some oil onto the shaft of the motor. You would have to be very straight and know exactly the depth the tube would need to go in to hit it just right. I suppose it could be done? I don't think a small hole in the fan would throw it too much out of balance, you would of course have to be dead center over the shaft or the oil wouldn't hit it.
Charles

From what I've read, 10 hours is a fast time for the proper job on the blower. Nice work. I've posted above two descriptions of lubricating the bushings.