I finally got around to changing my defective blower motor today. In the process, I pulled off the blower motor hose from the wrong (cover) end, and it took a piece of the cover off with it. I put electrical tape over the hole and continued the repair.

(Dan, you didn't mention that in your how-to!)

Now, no matter what setting I have, air only blows out of the windshield vents. Otherwise, it works great.

It looks like I'm picking up a blower motor hose and cover during our junkyard run next month. Would replacing the cover and reattaching the hose make air come out wherever I want, or has something else failed?

Defrost is teh default setting. The actuator is not moving. Check that hose, it'* a vacuum line and controls the actuator. No vacuum, and it stays on defrost.

Well, this is weird.

I went out for a quick run to the store just now, and everything seems to be working just fine without the hose. I'm still going to replace it, but care to take a guess why it'* blowing where I want again?

Is it possible you kinked a hose? The ones used are rather soft. Might have straightened it'* self out.

This is on your 1997?

The vacuum line to the inside connects immediately adjacent to the power brake booster hose on the upper intake manifold. Working on the blower motor, you might have pushed and moved the hose there. But that hose is the stiff plastic material so I don't think you kinked it, and it goes into a bundle fairly early. It might be partly rotted at the connection end due to engine heat. You should check there for splitting that might not have sealed enough to give vacuum inside.

But now it'* working. So it may be one of those 'never know' items as to why it didn't work for a time.

In re the blower motor cooling tube: The tube supplies air to the rotor area of the motor for cooling. I would get it repaired soon. I do not know if the motor has low pressure in the rotor area and sucks air in on its own. In that case it'* sucking in air from the hot engine backside along with dirt. If the purpose of the tube was to supply air under low pressure from the plenum back to the rotor, then the rotor may not be getting cooling air.

I've read several cases of people finding the plastic brittle around the blower motor when doing repairs.

You might say that. As I said, the hose came off the firewall just fine, and off the cover with a large chunk of it. There'* no hose right now, but the cover is sealed very well with electrical tape until I can grab a replacement.

Twelve and a half years and 150,000 miles later, I guess "brittle" is an understatement. Thanks for all the input, guys.