Hi all.

I have a 97 Buick P.A. The blower motor quit the other day and I am concerned I may need a new one. While looking for the location I found several diagrams and even a helpful video on Youtube. All locations pointed to it being mounted under the hood on the firewall. It was easily accessed. For some reason I do not have this. Mine is located behind and under the glove box. If I were to order a replacement I am worried that they are not compatable. Rock auto and other sites like that all show the same type of motor that is mounted under the hood. Not the square box like mechanism under the dash.

My condenser hose does not seem to be draining properly and the motor is collecting water. Last night I cleaned out the hose and sprayed WD into the hose hole in the motor and smacked it with a wrench and it started up again. It worked fine today but it eventually started making the same noises it was making before. I am pretty sure it is seizing up albeit slowly. Anticipating a total failure I want a replacement.

I dont want to order the wrong one. Am I looking for something different other than a blower motor? I am looking for someone to shed some light on this for me and confirm that I am not crazy and am actually looking for/at a blower motor and not something else.

Thanks

Welcome to the forum Robert. Is your PA a base model or Ultra?
I would start by inspecting/changing the cabin air filter as it can get pretty plugged up with dirt and I am wondering if dirt around the cage of blower may be making contact somehow w/filters.
Have a vacuum handy if it has never been out..expect it to be bad.
The filters are located inside under the dash between the drivers foot-well & hump.
Once the filter is out you could try turning on the blower & see if the noise is still there.
Cabin Filter Replacement: 1997-2005 Buick Park Avenue - 1998 Buick Park Avenue 3.8L V6
If you do need to replace the blower motor, the dealer could confirm the correct part # and hopefully it can be cross referenced by rock auto. (delco)
There are also diagrams available at gmpartsdirect on their site.
Hope this helps.

The 97' PA NA and SC versions both use the same blower motor, and I am pretty sure it is under the hood, at the firewall, a bit above the rear valve cover.
If it is like mine the bracket that holds the fuel lines in place will be in the way when you go to remove it, pretty sure the strut bar will also need to be removed, I'll see if I can find any instructions on how to do this.

Even though it sounds like the motor itself is going bad, if you have a multimeter, when the motor is not working, I'd suggest unhooking the electrical connector, make sure the fan is set to on where it should be blowing, and use the multimeter to test to see if the connector has 12v, there should be a black, and an orange wire, black is ground, and the orange is the 12v power wire.
If you verify the connector is getting 12v, then you are going to need to replace the blower motor.
Normally I'd suggest an AC Delco replacement, but the AC Delco blower motor is 107.00 to 127.00 depending on where you look, the FOUR SEASONS Part # 35059 would work just as well, and is only 44.79 on rockauto.

I'll attach pics of where mine is, and of the bracket I am talking about.
Where I have x'* is where the 2 main bolts holding the bracket mount on the block, the ?'* are where I think you may be able to remove it without having to remove the harder to get to bolts marked x, I'll have to look at my car in the morning and see if the ? marked bolts can be removed to avoid having to remove the x'*.
Of course you'd also have to remove the alternator support bracket which comes off of that bar in the pic.
Maybe Art has some good info in his 97'* FSM.

In the second pic attached the single x is where the blower motor is on my 96' PA, I am pretty sure it is in the same place on yours, I am sure Art can verify this on his PA.

Better hope that William is correct about the location.......just 13mm nuts to remove to get that bracket out of the way......then 5 screws.....

If it'* the one under the dash, it'* a nightmare to get out and back in......

But before replacing, disconnect the harness....check for power AND ground....I always use a test light when checking for power to motors/relays/solenoids....

Thanks everyone for the replies.

The blower was located under the dash. I have confirmed it is the same one that rock auto sells. They must be interchangeable. I pulled the motor housing off and cleaned the brushes off and greased up the bottom post. It seems to be running a little better. I only need it to last 1 week as I am traveling out of province and have no time to replace it before I go. I did manage to get to the cabin filter. There was no filter in there. I inherited the car last year, so I dont know how long it has been missing. I will also replace that next week when I do the motor. Is there only one filter or is there 3? All the pictures show 3 of the same looking filter. Do they stack or something? I have no reference as I have nothing to pull out of there.

Thanks again.

If I remember right, access is just to the right of the accel pedal.....3 filters, they are notched so that they stack and interlock with each one....you put one in all the way, then lift it up, and slide the next one underneath, then lift both and slide the 3rd one in, then install access cover....

The blower motor that goes on the firewall is not interchangeable with the one that goes underneath the dash though.......

I am pretty sure the cabin air filter was optional, so a lot of cars do not have a filter installed, I am not sure about if it is actually 3 filters, I believe it is just one filter, and each part that looks like a separate filter is probably just there to let the filter bend to fit just right, only guessing though.
I do recommend getting the carbon filter to go in there, it may be a little more expensive, but it will do a better job.

So where do they get the correct blower motor then?
All rock auto has listed are the same ones that go on at the firewall.

I checked on the Nalley Buick Parts site, and the same AC Delco blower motor I was referring to is listed there.
Which is the following.

The Four Seasons one looks the same, however I did notice another part listed also, it says "MOTOR,BLO(W/IMPLR)(08.855)(WHEN USED TO REPLACE OEM MOTOR ON 2003 & PRIOR THAT DOESN'T HAVE A NIPPLE CONNECTION FOR COOLING TUBE"

Is that the correct blower motor?

They all look basically the same, so I am hoping they are interchangeable. I am going to go with this one and hope for the best.

More Information for FOUR SEASONS 35059

Thanks

They do look pretty much the same, except for the housing on the back of the ACDelco 15-80533 looks like it may be made to fit in a smaller space, as it does not have the big plastic shroud on it, which kind of makes sense that it would not be needed if it goes in under the dash.
Were you able to see the back of the one installed in there?
Does it look like it has the plastic shroud on it?
And does it look like it has a nipple connection for a cooling tube on it?

I ask because I am not familiar with the ones that install behind the glove box, but it would kind of make sense that one without a "cooling tube" would go in there, as I am pretty sure that tube is to help pull any water away that may develop inside if the blower motor, on mine that installs in the engine bay at the firewall is there for that purpose, from what I have read.

Hope the four seasons one works, let us know how it goes, good luck!