Hey guys... This weekend I had my A/C Blower go out on me during a 2 hour drive up to my parents place in northern AZ. My pathy is a '95 with 154k miles on it.
I found a quick fix that anyone can do with simple tools. This fix rejuvinated my blower motor.. it now moves so much air that I have to turn it down to setting 2 or 2 because it gets too cold. The blower motor now moves more air than it did when I bought the truck with 100k miles on it.
So, if your truck has 100k on it, or is getting close, this is a good quick fix that will be pretty noticeable.
This fix should work on all Pathfinders and Hardbodies.
The Problem: A/C blower fan slows down, loss of volume of air moved through HVAC system. When mine failed, the blower motor would not start on its own. I had to whack the bottom of the dash to get it going. it would also change speeds and slow down on its own until it finally just wouldnt even move any air anymore. My truck has 154k miles on it..
The Fix: Removal, cleaning, and reassembly of blower motor bearing and brush assembly.
Difficulty: EASY! It took me 15 minutes to do!
Tools Required:
1. Standard Phillips Screwdriver
2. Small flathead screwdriver
3. A Vacuum Cleaner or shopvac
4. A paper towel
The Procedure:
1. Locate the blower motor assembly under the dash. On my truck, it was on the far passenger side under the dash. THere are no panels or anything to remove. This is what you shoudl see:
2. On the right, you see a plug with blue and white wires. Unplug this. On the left, you see a rubber ventilation line, pull it downwards to seperate it from the upper housing.
3. Now, using the phillips screwdriver, remove the three screws holding the blower in place. The screw next to the kickpanel was a little tough to get to, but was doable with a normal screwdriver. You can use an 8mm socket if needed.
4. Pull the blower assembly downwards and then tilt it like this to get the blower cage out. The blower cage may have to bend a little to get it out of the hole, but it came out pretty easily for me.
5. Now, move the blower motor over to your shop bench and start the disassembly.
6. Remove the rubber ventilation boot by pulling it out and then over the plug on the side as shown below:
7. Once you get that off, this is what you see. This is the bearing housing for the motor itself. Remove the two philips screws on the top of the housing:
8. Remove the housing cover and this is what you'll see (but yours will be really dirty!). This is after I cleaned mine up. What you see here is the replaceable brush assembly for the motor. Slide the white plug upwards and then work the rubber brush mounts upwards. The brushes have springs in them. When you pull the brush assembly off, be careful not to lose the springs.. they arent strong at all, but could pop out. The brush assembly is one peice and will come out of the motor easily.
9. Here is the motor with the brush assembly removed. Get the vacuum cleaner out now and go to town on the motor. Clean out all the dust and then grab your paper towel. Use the paper towel to clean the armature (where the brushes touch) This will help remove any loose dust that may be causing problems with the electrical connection.
10. Here is the brush assembly. The brushes are the small metal pieces being pushed out by the springs. You can see that mine is worn pretty badly. You should be able to order this part from the dealer if yours is too far gone. As you can see, mine is just about gone.. but it still had enough metal left on the brushes for a few more years of service. Clean up your brush assembly carefully. Be sure not to disturb the wires connecting the brushes. You can see that I didnt get ALL the dust off mine, as a once over with the vacuum cleaner was enough to get the worst of it.
11. Here is the underside of the bearing housing. Mine was absolutely caked with crud from the worn brushes. Vacuum it all out.
12. And now you have clean motor parts! Time to put it back together.. Heres what yours should look like:
13. Install the brush assembly (brushes face the motor). Orient the brush assembly so that the brushes face the motor and the white plug faces the big notch in the motor casing. I found it was easiest to push one brush in to clear the armature and then fit that side of the rubber isolator into the housing. Then use a small screwdriver to help push the other brush inside its spring housing and work the other isolator onto the housing. Then just push the white plug down into place in the notch.
14. Replace the bearing housing. It only screws on one way, so its pretty easy. Put the screws back in and tighten down.
15. Pull the rubber ventilation cap back down over the plug.
16. Back under the dash, installation is reverse of removal. Orient the motor so that the white plug is on your right and work the blower cage back into the opening. Reinstall the three bolts.
17. Plug in the blue and white wire. Reinstall rubber ventilation hose.
Congratulations, you are done! Now go try it out... If yours was as dirty as mine, you'll be pretty impressed with the improvement.