jody stowitts

Is the driver's side same, easier, or harder to access, etc?

crg53

If your car is equipped with a/c, the drivers (left) side is definitely harder to do than the right side. On mine I had to evacuate the a/c system and move the 2 lines out of the way to get enough space to take the fan/motor out.

jody stowitts

Crg53: that's what I've got, and that's about what I thought. Going to keep on praying that neither of my fans start making noise!

sail2fast

I removed the driver side without evacuating the AC, and I didn't even break anything. There are some instructions kicking around about how to do this. I used a hacksaw blade as my "special tool" to depress the tabs, which worked well.

Unfortunately my lube effort only quieted it down temporarily--I shall have to try again... New fans are approaching $1000US!

falcor

Imagine what a business opportunity this could be for an entreprenurial Posche indie. Find a place that services electric motors. Supply them with a fan or two to learn how to dissassemble it and what bearings to replace and other things and then start servicing fans at the bargain price of $399 each.

swftiii

Guidance requested and some experiences:

First - thanks to all that have posted and to Falcor for the great DIY write ups (part 1 and 2).

1. What is the best lubricant to use. I tried some anti-seize libricant in an aerosol and it wasn't what I was expecting. I expected it to be more like an oil and it sprays out more like a paste. I know others have suggested this, but it just doesn't seem right, so I was considering a top quality teflon libricant, but am also thinking about using the 30 weight oil idea. What is the best approach for longevity?

If I go with the 30 weight oil, how do you know when the bearings are saturated?

2. I created my version of the Porsche tool for pulling the fan from the housing and thought I would post a picture to help others. it was really very easy with a dremel and some cut off wheels - just took some time to get it right. The tool isn't pretty, but it does work quite well.





To make it I started with 1/2" and 1/4" thin pieces of aluminum from home depot and bent and cut them to fit the application.

Thanks for your thoughts on the lubricant for the fan motors.

-Skip

crg53

You know it is saturated when the oil no longer disappears into the bearing. I put the motor in the wise with the shaft pointing straight up, put a few drops of oil where the shaft and bearing meet and left it until the oil was gone, then repeat until the oil no longer disappear, then do the other end. The back side bearing is covered by a washer, felt and a clip, these have to be removed first.
I did mine when the car was stored over winter, so no rush, I added oil every 24 hours until saturated.

P.S. One of our local parts stores have a NEW left side blower motor on sale for $ 263.09, if interested, please let me know and I will hook you up. No affiliation ..............

DWS964

How many do they have at that price???

crg53

I just phoned them, they have 3 in stock for that price, the catch is, you can only buy them in Canada. If you would like, I can buy them for you and ship to you. Shipping to me is free, but there is 12% taxes in top of the $263.09 and then of cause the shipping cost to you.

Otto Bonn

"I tried some anti-seize libricant in an aerosol and it wasn't what I was expecting. I expected it to be more like an oil and it sprays out more like a paste."

Yes, that sounds weird. How do you get a paste to sink in to the bearings? What oils are standard for electric fan bearings in other applications?

swftiii

crg53 - that is a very generous offer - I'll let you know if I screw up this DIY stuff...

c didy - that is exactly my question. I'm going to use an oil and follow the recommendations from crg53 on how to re-saturate the 2 bearings per motor. I'm lucky to have a second set of them, so can clean and saturate one set and then do the swap and prep the others for the future.

-Skip

Otto Bonn

Aerosol anti seize is a paste? How is a paste an aerosol? I can't see spraying a paste into a bearing race.

What are the alternative lubricant options here?

crg53

Just bought one fan for a RL in Australia, I think another one was bought by a RL in Toronto, so only one left at the discounted price.
C Diddy, just use W30 motor oil.