Hi there. I'm a veteran of five fan changes, and I've come up with a hybrid chainsaw method I like. There are definitely a few things to do before you begin cutting. First, get a meter on the fuse and the panel and make sure your fuse contacts and the spade terminal contacts on the fuse block are clean. Next stop with your meter is the fan switch. Though they are not problematic, I have had them fail. It is unusual for the fan to simply stop without giving any prior notice in the form of noise. They will always (I use that term with caution) hum, then squeak, then scream and finally knock before failing, if indeed the problem is a physical one with the bearings, which is common. That said, the wiring and resistor can fail, so one needs to check the circuitry first. The resistor is mounted outside the fan box and can be accessed for checking. If the motor has already been changed once, the new resistor pack will be inside the housing, so dissasembly will be required. Cost: out here in CA it seems the project runs $300 to $400, still considerable. Fan can be gotten from fcpgroton or others, and that will at least save you the shop's markup. If you choose to do it yourself, here's what I've been doing: Using a drywall drill (spiral) in a dremel, I cut out a 7" circle from the side of each housing. Use a compass and use the perimeter of the "scroll" of the housing as your guide, not necessarily the little nib which seems to be the center of the housing. The important thing is to leave yourself a consistent border around your hole that is mostly flat, but still to leave enough room to remove the impellers. Once your hole is cut, you can enlarge if necessary. Cutting the hole with a scroll bit gives you a nice even opening and requires minimal dash disassembly--virtually nothing on the right side, very little on the left. I won't go into all the details of the actual fan replacement as that's well documented, other than to say that you may have to enlarge the interior of the housing for the later style motor. To close the openings I create a new cover. I've been buying "TV trays" from 99 Cent Store for this. Black plastic (PVC?). They cut to size easily. Cut a circle that is 1" diameter larger than your hole. I use a quarter to trace three or four "ears" at the perimeter of the circle at points where the ears can be used as screw tabs to attach to the new cover to the blower housing. Drill the ears to CLEAR sheet metal screws. Put silicone glue (not caulk) on the blower housing, position your new cover and use 1/2" screws to mount your new cover to the blower housing. The best part of this is that it allows you to access the motor once a year to lube your new bearings (or in the case of my '91, to lube the old bearings, thus extending the life of my original motor). Modifying just the right side of my '91 took less than an hour. Replacing an entire motor in an '82 Bertone recently took 3 or 4 hours and I did not have to remove the seats to do it (though this may still be a great help for those larger than I).

Definitely do the right side first, which is easier to manage. Once inside you may find that interior wiring is the issue and thus you will not have to do the left side. Failure of the motor itself is usually caused by an overheated motor melting the "cage", which allows the armature to drop down and jam. You'll see the signs as soon as you get inside. In twenty years, I've only had one motor wear out the brushes only and stop because of that. If you are lucky enough to find this, you can replace the brushes, but don't miss the opportunity to check the bearings, clean things out and lube accordingly.

I highly recommend you visit Art at cleanflametrap.com for more info on the traditional method of blower fan extraction and related tips. Also search the board for 200 blower fan resistor for more on that. There is a post someplace about checking and changing the resistor if that is the problem.

DS