Vanagon EuroVan
Previous messageNext messagePrevious in topicNext in topicPrevious by same authorNext by same authorPrevious page (April 2013, week 2)Back to main VANAGON pageJoin or leave VANAGON (or change settings)ReplyPost a new messageSearchProportional fontNon-proportional font
Date:         Mon, 8 Apr 2013 14:31:17 -0400
Reply-To:     David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Subject:      Re: Heater fan CHIRP!
Comments: To: Stuart MacMillan <stuartmacm@GMAIL.COM>
In-Reply-To:  <001401ce3481$cb7d11c0$62773540$@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

At 01:52 PM 4/8/2013, Stuart MacMillan wrote: >It's so loud and high pitched that it's painful to use the blower, even with >my reduced hearing. But, as I continue to, it's becoming less frequent. Do >these things ever fix themselves? It's probably dry bearing or worn >commutator/brushes, but with only 140k on it (an '85) it doesn't seem like >it should be worn out since my '84 worked fine for 20 years and 225k.

It's screaming in pain, man! Yes, it's a dry bearing, and it can only get worse as you run it (but maybe better as the weather warms up). The only proper fix is to pull it and either properly lubricate or replace the blower, but you may be able to stretch it out for a long time using Karl Mullendore's trick of drilling a hole (or as I did, two holes together, one to sight through) in the front sheet metal so you can squirt TriFlow or some other high quality lube onto the rear motor bearing which is the one that takes the brunt of it. Search theSamba for the Mullendore Port, look in our archives for my posts on how to disassemble and lube the blower (assuming you haven't wrecked the bearing by running it too long), and look in picasaweb.google.com/dbeierl/ for photos of the blower motor internals showing what needs lubing.

If you're going to replace the blower, which is certainly the conventional wisdom, be advised that Meyle blowers have been reported to be very noisy on speeds one, two, or both. I used one to replace the toasted motor shown in my photos and certainly would never again, although the user said she didn't care.

Dennis Haynes is a strong advocate of always replace. The several seized motors I've rejuvenated, however, have had very little commutator and brush wear, and simply needed freeing up and re-lubing, and all worked fine for years after. This is not a painless process however as you'll see if you read my description of it. Disassembly and reassembly of the blower must be done correctly or you'll wreck it.

Yours, David


Back to: Top of message | Previous page | Main VANAGON page

Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!


Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com


The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.

Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.