Blower Motor

The hvac fan motor is in the engine bay behind the false firewall on the driver's side. First of all I would suggest trying to lube the exposed motor shaft bushing on the driver's side of the motor. That exposed bushing gets dirt in it, runs dry, and eventually either lets the shaft scream or starts to seize up, causing the motor to get hot, thus the smells. That exposed bushing is the biggest problem with this el cheapo Bosch motor. It must be lubed with 3 in 1 oil or engine oil now and then. I do it whenever I lube the hood and door hinges. That might save it for quite a while.

But yes, to answer your question, that motor has been replaced in quite a few 164s. Use the identical motor from the Saab 9000 for half the price, about $60 or so.

(http://www.eeuroparts.com/Cars/SAAB/68842012/1997-9000-CSE-3-0L-6-Cyl-24-Valve/14/HVAC/#acheating/1/).

One note: when I replaced the motor in my 91S with the Saab motor, for some reason the plug wiring polarity was reversed, and took a while to figure that out.

Almost all remove the entire fan/motor housing to replace the motor, while I have seen where someone used a Dremel to cut open the black plastic housing to lift out the fan/motor assy, gluing the housing back together again with silicone. Having removed the assy either way, you then have to change the fan itself to the new motor. This requires being careful, as it can be broken.

I think Steve shows a fan/motor replacement procedure in his "tips". Otherwise, take a look at the Fiat parts eper

(http://eper.fiatforum.com/)

on line for a display of where these things are located, and the workshop manual for some instructions.

Thanks, it is not clear to me what the "exposed" shaft is. is it the nub on the driver side of the plastic housing that looks like it has a plastic cross-hair over it? I assume that I need to squirt some oil in there...

also, just to service the fan, so I need to drain the coolant?

I didn't drain coolant when I did Kevins fan, but it's probably easier if you do. It also depends if someone has been in there before you and which way they put the hose clamps on the heater hoses at the heater core. Yes, clearance is that tight. If those hose clamps were put on facing the passenger side, your in for a struggle and possibly doing damage to the blower box. They should be installed facing the drivers side.

I'm fortunate, no A/C so easier access. In my experience no need to remove wiper arm assy or false fire wall, just loosen it all. No need - again in my case - to drain coolant. I used a motor from Summit by Bosch and changed the skwirrel cage. Think it was 70 bucks or so. Do a search and there's some pics of the process. Only thing I didn't that in hindsight I would have? Change the heater core as well since I was right there. No problems but I should have. ciao jc

206Alfaholic said:

Thanks, it is not clear to me what the "exposed" shaft is. is it the nub on the driver side of the plastic housing that looks like it has a plastic cross-hair over it? I assume that I need to squirt some oil in there...

also, just to service the fan, so I need to drain the coolant?

Click to expand...

Correct but oiling the end of the shaft only works sometimes and not for long. I think the failure mode is rust from the retaining spring nut gets into the sleeve bearing holding up the end of the motor shaft and wears it so it squeaks.

I used the equivalent motor part from SAAB and the squirrel cage fan can be transferred if it hasn't seized to the shaft. It can take a while to free up the fan cage so be patient as these are NLA as I understand things.