Change your heater blower motor, a How-to

[rlith]

Blazee posted a general how-to with the shop manual instructions a while ago. I figure I would throw in actual application

This how-to applies to 95 to current trucks only. (blazer/jimmy/bravada/s10/sonoma)


So for the longest time my heater blower has been squeaking like hell, that is when it decided to come on. (The brushes inside the motor had a flat spot). So of course I got sick of it and decided to tackle changing it.

There are 2 ways to go about changing it. One is to cut into the rubber outer shroud over the inner housings.

The other is to replace the rubber outer shroud.

Either way, it requires removal of the fender. #2 requires the inner fender to be removed as well.

Unfortunatly I had to go with #2 because the rubber was so brittle from age that it just crumbled from touching it.

Tools required

15mm socket and box wrenches
2 14 mm box wrenches
7mm socket
13mm socket
10mm socket
Razor Blade

Parts required.

New fan motor (includes hampster cage) Part # 22136118
If you go with option #2- Part number 221-36118 (upper outer shroud)

52478294 (lower outer/inner shroud kit) The lower kit comes with both pieces, not sure why, but I wasn't going to let it go to waste.


So we start the removing the inner/outer fender process. 1st remove the passenger side head light and grille.



Next disconnect all wiring to the ecm, horn, ac thermo , dryer, et-al. Then use your 10mm socket to remove the ECM from coolant recovery bottle, then remove the coolant recovery bottle itself. You should be left with this. Remove any bolts/screws holding anything to the fender.




Next remove the passenger side hood hinge bolt with your 2 14mm box wrenches. Use a thick rag or towel between the hood edge and the windshield for padding so no paint gets damaged.

Then remove all bolts along the inner fender and outer fender (don't forget the 2 in the door jam. All bolts are 13mm. Drop the inner fender 1st and let it rest on the tire. Remove the outer fender. Set in a safe place then simply pickup the inner fender and set it aside.

Here we see a shot of the fender removed and the upper outer shroud removed w/ the blower motor exposed. Again I not that I had to replace mine because the upper and lower were so brittle. Normally you would just use a razor blade to into that area. Either way the fender has to be removed.




Here's a pic of the outer shroud parts (or what was left of em, I had a huge pile of debri under my truck by then)




Here are the new outer shrouds




Now simply use a 7mm socket to remove all 5 screws around the fan plate and pull the motor out. When you pull the motor, there is a rubber hose connected from the fan to the housing. This hose needs to be moved to the new fan. It's for breathing and cooling the motor.




Now as stated in the parts portion, it came with a new left inner shroud casing for the fan. (Again, don't ask me why but I used it. And boy was the evaporator dirty! Looked like a mouse nested in there.

Anyway, remove all the 13mm bolts running around the entire inner shroud. There are 8 of them. Clear away any old pieces left of the outer shroud. Use a 7mm socket to remove the screws holding the inner shouds to each other (there are 6, 2 top, 2 bottom and 2 side). Seperate the the inner housing and throw the fan side away.

Here is a shot of the housing removed...




Here is a shot of the old one and the new one side by side...




There is a plastic plate on the inside (about 8"x8") that you need to move to the new one. It simply snaps on and off.

Install everything in reverse. Start your truck and enjoy your heat.

[sediver]

Very nice description and pictures of this procedure....how much did the new shrouds cost you ? My upper shroud looks just like yours in the second picture.
Thanks for your time,
SEDIVER

[rlith]

Originally Posted by sediver

Very nice description and pictures of this procedure....how much did the new shrouds cost you ? My upper shroud looks just like yours in the second picture.
Thanks for your time,
SEDIVER

18 for the upper, 22 for the lower kit (which includes the inner shroud as well)