I am about to have my blower motor replaced for the 3rd time within a year and a half. It has been under warranty except I have had to pay for labor everytime. This time when I called the guys they were like it shouldnt' be going bad like this again, there must be something else going on. It still blows the air out just fine but I can see the signs I have had before with the noise and squeakyness of it. Its just not quiet any more and its making those strange sounds again. Why does this keep going bad and how much is it going to cost me to keep it from happening again? Thanks.

Brian

Most of the GM aftermarket motors are junk. They are built as cheaply as possible to maximize profits, and the other problem is thay are designed to be installed with the motor up or horizontal, so the thrust bushings are all in the wrong place.

Bite the bullet, buy the oem Volvo changeup kit to use the new style motor and enjoy the silence. We won't install anything else anymore.

The changeover kit does not include the cover you need to hold the motor in the car for some reason, and if you are a concours kind of guy you need the under sheild too, but a bit of work with the snips lets the old one fit.

Try spraying some WD40 through holes at the bottom of the motor using the little red tube attachment that comes with every can of WD40. You do not have to dismount the motor to do this. You have to put your head upside down in the passenger footwell and use a flashlight to find the appropiate hole at the bottom of the motor to put the red tube in and spray. Do it with the engine off so the motor will no be turning. Put in plenty of oil. If you put the red tube in with the engine running, be careful not to put it too far in because the fan motor will be turning. If this works for you, do it twice a year. The motor in my 760 turbo (1986) is original (15 years of continuous use of the air conditioner and occasional use of the heater)and it works fine despite heavy tropical rain and humidity in the mountains of Puerto Rico. If this does not work for you, carefully follow instructions posted by Warren Bain, then spray WD40 as per above instructions.

The only problem with that method is the light oil in WD40 would get on the commutator and the brushes and smoke at best, catch fire at worst. Might I suggest removing the motor and doing the oiling. Perhaps a synthetic oil as well.

This fan motor is a GM motor, used in various mid 80's GM cars. the fans are available anywhere car parts are sold. It is also very easy to replace. It is held in by 5 or 6 screws, the one behind the motor the most difficult to replace (I left it out).

Make sure the existing motor has drain holes in the bottom of the motor. If not, water accumluates and rists the lower bearing. I know this, it happened to me. Take a jaunt to your local NAPA dealer and get a replacement. The FAQ has the number.

Make sure the rubber hose is still there, it goes from the ventilation plenum to the bottom of the motor for cooling. Make sure the A/C drain is clear, it is in the engine compartment just above the frame rail on the passenger side. Poke something through it. Also make sure the black plastic rain deflector mounted in the air intake. This keeps water from directly entering the fan area from above. You could also take out the fan motor and oil the bearings.

Read the FAQ via the link below.

This stuff is easy.

Brian, I want to second this line of thinking. Can you go to a Volvo dealer or go online or find the Popular Mechanics CD that has technical service bulletins (TSBs) for YOUR car? Volvo did have several issues in the mid-to-late 1980s 700s:

1. A plastic cowl or shield could come adrift in the air intake above the fan (under the windshield cowl and its vent) and allow water to enter. I propped and screwed mine in place.

2. There are a series of TSBs for the fan motor's simple venting (self-cooling) and drainage system. I forget the details, but they matter, eh?!

Yeah, they are cheap motors, but something is probably helping kill them, as you suspect. Moisture? Let us know what you find?

Gregg

Could be a batch of bad blower motors, or perhaps an unbalance in the fans, maybe a bad resistor/switch, could be any number of things. I've had the same problem with my 164, which I believe uses a similar motor. Are all of these motors the same brand? You could have a chat with that guy in Canada (bill chebb I think) who advertises rebuilt motors with proper ball bearings, that might help...

And for a permanent solution, how much for a brand new S80 these days?

Bram