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Old 05-11-2016, 12:36 AM   #1
Foolzrushn
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HVAC fan vibration

I have a reoccurring problem with my HVAC fan vibrating. Each Spring it seems that some Maple seeds somehow get through the air intake screen at the base of the windshield and into the squirrel cage fan for the HVAC.

I have looked at the screen that is over the air plenum, and it seems to be intact. It is a hassle to remove all the under dash plastic shrouds and the glove box liner and finally the fan, so that I can dump out some debris that has fallen into the fan.

The fan still runs, but I don't want to have the extra wear on the bearings and it sound like an airplane on the high speed.

So.....am I the only one that has this problem, or hasn't anyone else noticed the vibration? And does anyone have a better fix or know how things seem to bypass the screen on the plenum?

Perhaps if I sharpen the blades on the fan, it will act as a garbage disposal and just spit out the pieces from the air vents!
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Old 05-11-2016, 11:48 AM   #2
Tech II
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Re: HVAC fan vibration

You don't give the year.....

On some years, taking the blower motor out is a nightmare, to get out, and to get back in.....might even break it....

more often than not, when you have debris like that it is because of rodents/field mice......

Not sure, if you remove the plastic cowl, under your wiper arms(have to remove wiper arms), if you can look down through the fresh air opening, and see if there is debris in the squirrel cage....
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Old 10-20-2016, 10:25 PM   #3
Foolzrushn
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Re: HVAC fan vibration

As I posted several months ago, I had a vibration in my HVAC (heater / AC) fan in the dash on my 98 PA Ultra. I will post my findings for posterity, in case it may help someone else with their 1998-2005 PA fan removal for any other reason.

First I removed the air ducts under the glove box, on the passenger side of the dash. I may have removed the glove box to make seeing the fan easier.



The fan assembly is mounted to the heater housing with 3 combination screw / washers. I believe they were 10mm, but don't remember for sure. The fan assembly is mounted with the fan up and the motor down. Besides the screws, an electrical connector for the motor which must be disconnected. There is a safety catch on the connector that needs pried up with a small screwdriver, while pulling the connectors apart.



Additionally there is a rubber cooling hose that supplies air flow to cool the fan motor. The hose is shown disconnected in the picture. You can see that the cooling hose has a groove that snaps into the hole in the side of the fan motor. One of the screw / washers is a very close clearance to the motor cooling hose. It's the one almost under the hose in the picture. I was worried that the washer might rub the hose enough to put a hole in the hose. It was also hard to finger start the screw back in the hole due to the washer being pushed by the hose.



I ground some of that washer away so I could turn the washer to clear the hose better upon installation. It is a little awkward to catch the fan when you remove it, and even more so to hold it in place with one hand and start the screws with the other to replace it.



You can see the leaves and tree trash that was causing the fan to vibrate. I was tempted to fix a screen over the open end of the squirrel cage fan, but decided it might come loose later on and jam the fan. I suppose the cabin air filter is full of tree trash, but I replaced it once and it's not something I look forward to doing again. I am still getting good air flow to the ducts.



It turns out that the tree trash was caused by two problems. First the screen under the cowl air intake grille was missing on the driver's side (which was unfortunately the tree side). And also, the maple seeds that hit the windshield would slide down and then between the plastic air intake grille and the windshield getting into the air plenum for the heater fan. I will show the fix for that in another post.
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1998 Park Avenue Ultra

Last edited by Foolzrushn; 10-21-2016 at 10:07 PM. Reason: learning how to place photos and added text
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