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Has Anyone Succeeded in Removing Foam from the DRIVER'S SIDE Blower Motor??
Hello Gentlemen:
I grabbed my handy Torx and removed the panel on the driver's side in order to access the blower motor. I could clearly hear that the noise is from this side, not the passenger-side motor.
In any event, peering with a flashlight and hitting the recirc button, I see the little door slowly open. However, there is no way on this God's Earth that I can see anything past this door. It's several inches away from my face, which is smashed up to the opening under the steering wheel. I certainly can't see (or touch my my hands) anything near this door.
Before I drive myself nuts, has anyone successfully removed loose foam from this driver's side WITHOUT removing the dashboard? If so, did you simply slip a little grabber tool and BLINDLY try to grasp for something loose? The odds seem incalculable that I'd actually fish anything out totally blindly in this manner. It even looks like it would be tough to use a little mirror as the space is SO inaccessible. (And I'm a positive thinker!!!)
You might try an inspection mirror to see inside the blower box or go high tech and get one of those little camera tools - they seem to be reasonable in price, I think I saw harbor freight had one for like $80.
This thread has been a great help
The foam had come adrift on the driver side unit lucky in my tool arsnal I had a boroscope with hook attachment. Very quick simple job. Thanks to this thread I did not go to deep and start pulling fans out. Removed the foam of passanger side as precaution
Just to add to this thread...I had to do both passenger and driver side and managed to vacuum the rubbish out with this handy attachment...piece of cake!
I just wanted to drop in and say what a great help this thread was. My thanks to all the participants, and if I may, add my own experience. So far, this forum just keeps giving and giving. Fantastic resource.
Yesterday evening, out of the blue, my blower fan started making a noise. I started thinking the worst, new motor, etc, but when I got home I came here to check and discovered that it would likely be a piece of foam. Went to listen, and it sounded like it could be, so I read further, and stored up a few ideas.
Listened and felt for the noise, and it was strongest at the left hand side, passenger side for me, so last night I checked how to remove the glovebox, in the manual, as mentioned here as being required. This morning, I got it out, with a little more difficulty than I'd hoped. Not much more, but I ended up undoing the hinge bolts too, which fix the door to the glovebox itself. In my case, at the bottom, I should have only undone the outer two 'silver' ones, and left the inner two 'black' ones in place, but it wouldn't come out with those in place, and I didn't want to force anything. Consequently, I removed those too, and the door itself dropped off, and then, for whatever reason, I could wriggle the glovebox clear, and undo the wires. It just meant I'd screwed up the door to box alignment, but that was easily rectified when I replaced everything.
Anyway, glovebox out, and I looked for the recirculate door opening and closing, but I could see nothing. I looked and looked, and then finally, by also listening, I found it top left, behind a big wiring harness bundle. Peered into the tiny space, and finally saw the cage fan impeller and pondered, how on earth will I see or remove anything from there. Also, what I could see, looked totally clear, so I remembered the screwdriver trick. Moved it, looked, moved it, looked, many times, and then finally, this:
I already ordered a flexible grabber tool, last night, but it won't be here until tomorrow, so I wondered if I could deploy the vacuum method mentioned above. Here is my very heath robinson solution to that, using only what I had available:
First poke of the straight end of my pipe at that piece of foam, and it grabbed on like a good un and I dragged it out.
This is what I got out.
I'm a little bit missing, so hopefully that won't drop off later, and join in the fun, because I poked my hose around for a while after that, and never got that missing piece. Maybe that remains glued in place? Either way, I ran it as soon as I'd given up sucking, and there was no noise, which made my day.
Everything went back very easily. Having had the practice of removing it, helps in that regard.
I'm back and I need help. I now have the issue repeated, but from the drivers side, right hand side for me. I'm working on another issue, so whilst the car is sort of grounded, I thought I would sort this out on the driver's side. Started a couple of weeks back, a few months after having fixed the one behind the glove box. Not surprised that both would happen, relatively close together, but annoying nonetheless.
I have no idea how to get to the fan on the drivers side. The small access panel in the middle, directly under the steering wheel is easy enough to remove and gets me to be able to see the back of the recirc door, but there is no way from there to see any part of the fan. I think if I remove the dash lower trim, on the drivers door side, I will get a direct line of sight in, to get out whatever is in there. Doubting it's the recirc door foam this time, because I can see nearly all of that, as I peer up from the removed middle panel area, but it could well be some of it, or it could be sticking out at one end.
I have looked with a mini endoscope camera, but I can't manoeuvre it successfully enough such that I am convinced I have fully examined the inside of the cage.
How do I remove the trim, at the drivers door side, under the steering column? Would someone be kind enough to link me to some instructions?
When I tried again, just now, I found it, with my endoscope camera, so obviously there is a bit of door foam loose in there. Spinning it, to open the door again, must have brought it into a good spot to find it. I'll take all the rest off the door, because it's sure to come loose, but how in the heck will I get to that? I'll go blindly at it with my vacuum attachment, like I did last time, and see what comes out, but I'm not overly hopeful?
I didn't like the look of what I saw in terms of trim attachment. It looks to be some sort of metal pop rivets that would have to be drilled out?
Well, the whole lot was in there, because I removed the garage door opener slot, I assume that's what it's for, it's where I put mine, and I had a much better view. What I thought I was looking at on the back of the door, now I could see it much better, turned out to be nothing more than remaining debris. Stuck to the glue, on the back of the door I suppose.
Anyway, I just poked about randomly and completely blindly with the bendy grabber I bought, going in through the garage door opener slot, which made for much better access, and I managed to grab hold of it. Didn't know I had it, just kept grabbing, and pulling, and the last time it felt like I had something, and lo and behold. the whole lot came out!
I genuinely cannot believe my luck, I didn't think there was a prayer of me grabbing it, whilst not being able to see. I had bought the grabber for the last one, the passenger one, but never used it because I got that with the vacuum trick, show above by Noud, before it ever arrived. So glad I had it. By the way, vacuuming it did not work. Relatively quickly, maybe 7 or 8 minutes, my cleaner shut down as a result of overheating from trying to pull air through my tiny pipe.
Silence is golden. Now, if only the car was safe to drive, and won't just turn off on me, at some random worst case moment, I'd be able to listen to the silence.
06-25-2011, 12:10 AM
Has Anyone Succeeded in Removing Foam from the DRIVER'S SIDE Blower Motor??
