Blower motor and wheel replacement

I have a '96 GA 2.4L that needs the blower motor and wheel replaced. Inside the engine compartment up against the firewall on the passenger side is where the blower motor is located and it has a hard rubber cover over it that also extends towards the center of the firewall underneath the engine wiring harness. To get to the blower motor you're supposed to cut open the cover around where the motor is located. There's a groove cut into the cover to show you where to cut it at.

Here's where I'm having problems. I got about 90% of the necessary cutting done. (This will make more sense if you've seen this exact setup before...) I have it cut from halfway up on the left-side (when viewing it standing in front of the car) up over the top, down the right side, and down to the bottom-right part. You're not supposed to cut the very bottom of the circle, so that's not a problem. But the bottom-left part is supposed to be cut and I can't figure out how to cut it. It's wedged in there in such a way that I can't figure out how to get a knife in there to cut it. There's no straight shot to it because a part of the frame that cannot be removed juts out in front of it.

Has anybody done this before? Do you know how I can get that last little bit cut?

I'm also not sure if and when I get this cut all the way that the blower motor and attached wheel can even be removed from the opening. The opening will be big enough around, but spacewise pulling it out it looks like the engine is too close to the opening and there won't be enough room to wedge it out.

If anybody has done this before and has any ideas or tips for me, I would be forever grateful. I got the part for $30. Every repair shop I've called wants to charge me $150 to $180 and I don't really want to spend that much.

so you're cutting through the blower motor cover eh? That sounds kinda sketch. I've heard of cutting open the boy inside the fender well on older cars but what you describe sounds like it out in the open, more or less. How are supposed to reseal the housing after replacement?

There's 3 places where there is a raised wedge on either side of the cut, and you're suppose to clip those 3 spots together to hold the cover in place when you're all done.

This page has a diagram:
http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?ForwardPage=/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/09/d1/65/0900823d8009d165.jsp

You dont need to cut all the way around the housing.
As shown here.
http://www.autozone.com/images/cds/gif/medium/0900823d8009d167.gif
Leave the bottom connected and fold it down to get to the blower.
This is a real PITA but once you are done,m
seal it up good with silicone sealant before closing to keep out water.

Oh ya, sometimes you need to remove the pump in the way by the firewall.

You dont need to cut all the way around the housing.
As shown here.
http://www.autozone.com/images/cds/gif/medium/0900823d8009d167.gif
Leave the bottom connected and fold it down to get to the blower.
This is a real PITA but once you are done,m
seal it up good with silicone sealant before closing to keep out water.

Oh ya, sometimes you need to remove the pump in the way by the firewall.

I don't mean to be rude, but did you read my whole post? I know you're not supposed to cut the very bottom...I mentioned that in my post. The part I can't figure out how to cut is the bottom-left, which I mentioned, and that part is necessary to cut in order to fold it down.
Here's that same picture with the part I can't get to circled in red.
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-5/1016746/0900823d8009d167.gif

I'm not sure what pump you're talking about, but this particular setup doesn't have a pump in the immediate vicinity. This picture isn't the same engine as mine, but that corner of the engine compartment is roughly the same. I circled in red the part of the frame, or whatever it is, that is in my way. It's not removeable.
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-5/1016746/0900823d800e5752.gif

:uhoh: Ok I know what you're saying.
What was you using to cut the top half ?

If youre using a utility knife you'll probly need a longer knife.
A dremel tool with a flex shaft(thats what I've used in the past) with a 1/16" grout removal bit.

Also pulling the cover out so you can reach the area you are cutting helps, kinda just tears it but what are you to do thiers no room.

Good Luck

I originally tried using a utility knife, but both of my knives' blades are dull and I didn't have any replacements. So...I went to a kitchen knife. Not a table knife, but a sharp knife with a sharp tip. :eek: What can I say...lol...it did work though. It has about a 6-8 inch blade, and that's actually the only way I was able to cut down the left side as far as I did, was by jamming the blade down in there the best I could. I got as far as I could with that blade, but it wasn't quite far enough.

I'd never heard of a dremel tool until I read your post, but I looked them up online and that looks like it might work. I'll have to see if I can find one though. I'll probably do some checking around locally tomorrow.

it is tight in there, more wonderful enginering :lol:

I bet that kitchen knife can cut the rest.
I have also used a long handled pair of tin snips and worked my way down. :thumbsup: