Seeing someone else has had a blower problem, I figured I'd post my blower-related problem...

Again... '99 Bonneville SLE.

So, my blower motor dies. As it turns out, I replace the blower motors more frequently than I replace spark plugs (more on this in upcoming post). My original blower motor started screaming at 45K 3.5 years ago... and now the replacement had a sudden death experience at 165K.

I go to the local pick-a-part for another $6 blower. While I'm there, I start taking apart a '96 Bonne... and the plastic blower cover starts to disintegrate. Oops... I hope mine doesn't do that. I get the blower motor and come home.

I get my motor free... and while turning and twisting it to get it out... my thumb slips right through the plastic cover. %&*^&!!!

I go to remove the little air hose from the firewall/AC box... and the connector it fits on RIPS OFF THE FIREWALL/AC BOX!!! Double $%$&^&$%^%$%!!!!!

So now I have a naked, loose (the plastic cover acts as a shim) blower motor... with a hole in the firewall and a hole in the side of the motor housing.

Questions... older Bonnes (pre '95??) didn't have this cover, at least I've observed. I'm thinking of getting the shorter screws and slightly different tube from the junkyard to leave the motor bare. Is this a good idea?

Also, I figured I would use some kind of caulk/glue to put the connector back on the firewall/AC Box... but further examination of this plastic, removable cover shows more cracks forming.

Are either of these pieces available from the dealer? Is the AC Box cover worth attempting a replacement? I figure anything I get from the junkyard will be turning to clay, anyway.

Thoughts?

Bucky

Running it bare hasn't hurt my wifes Olds; I ran it thru the winter like that too. So far so good.

My 95 did the exact same thing. So far I left it and it is fine. I don't see it being a problem and it seems to be very common.

The plastic cover on the firewall side of my '95 heater box disintegrated too. (Here I am talking about the large air chamber that is attached to the passenger side of the firewall and into which the blower motor is bolted.) Pic below shows nice "new" JY cover in place.



When I had my engine out, I went to the JY and got a good one and replaced it. It was not that easy a job with the engine out! I can't imagine it could be done at all with the engine in place. The motor cover I purchased from the dealer. IIRC I paid about $10 for a new one. That, as well as the motor, can easily be replaced with the engine in the car. You do want to make sure the little tube fits well - it provides cooling for the blower motor. If it leaks or sucks in hot engine air, the blower motor will not last long.

it'* pretty common that the heat from the exhaust will kill the cover. Pick up a decent cover when you find one and slap it on.

Bill,

I just noticed this on bufford during the LIM/UIM repair that was completed this last week. I don't want to beat a dead horse on this, but is it possible to fix this without removing the engine? Has anyone attempted this with the engine in? It'* just breaking up into pieces and falling off the car.

Thanks for any input.

The little cover for the motor can be replaced easily with the motor in the car. And that part can be had from the dealer for less than $20. The bigger cover that envelops the ductwork was difficult to replace with the engine removed. The replacement cover from the junkyard is what you see in the image above. It was particularly difficult to fit on the passenger side behind the AC accumulator. I cannot imagine that you could do it with the engine in place.

You will notice at junkyards that all H-body cars do not come from the factory with covers on the ductwork or on the blower motors. IIRC, for those without covers, a different cooling tube is used for the blower motor - one that snaps into the motor housing instead of the cover.

I suppose the duct cover serves to insulate the ductwork from the heat and sound of the engine compartment, perhaps making the AC a little more efficient and making the whole system quieter, but, as the junkyard observation proves, it is not absolutely necessary.

The parts that ARE necessary are the little rubber hose that provides cooling to the blower motor, and some sort of heat shield between the hot exhaust and the blower motor. That could be any piece of aluminum or even aluminum foil that you can install so the radiant heat from the exhaust does not impinge on the cooling tube and blower motor.