[alfa] Re: 1991 164 heater blower motor

[John.Wiltshire@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Hi Richard and Digesti,

The blower motor was one of the first jobs that I had to tackle on my 164
when I first bought it.  I posted some info about it at the time on the 164
site, and was so swamped with requests for more info that I wrote up a
guide that now resides on Stuart Heather's AlfaPro site.  See:

http://www.alfapro.com/html/aircon_blower.html

I think that the SAAB and Alfa blowers are the same (it's a Bosch part
anyway), and there is a SAAB logo moulded into the squirrel cage fan
impeller.

There is a further chapter to the blower saga that I haven't had time to
write up.  At the end of the article, I raised some discussion points about
the possibility of splitting the blower case in situ and removing the motor
rather than the full R&R Procedure.  Last summer I pulled the blower motor
out for a clean and oil.  I investigated the possibility of splitting the
case, and I couldn't see any way that it would be possible.

I did manage to get the blower out without disconnecting the A/C, but it
was a hard slog!  Remove the oil breather pipes and the false firewall and
the wiper motor assembly.  Unbolt the A/C evaporator assembly.  Disconnect
and move as much wiring as you can.  Disconnect the flap controller cable.
Reach down and undo the two clips that hold the blower housing.  Now coax,
wriggle and gently wrestle the blower out.  I managed without using
excessive force, but go gently, and as you do it, be careful to move any
wiring out of the way.

Once out, I pulled the blower assembly apart, cleaned the motor etc.
Before re-assembling, I obtained some fine soft copper tubing (like the
stuff that you would use to connect an oil pressure gauge).  Carefully
bending this to shape around the motor, and holding it in place using a few
cable ties, I installed an "oil pipe" that has one end outside the blower
housing, and the other end right next to the bearing under the impeller.  I
can now squirt a few drops of oil as regular maintenance that will get
right into that hidden bearing.

Some more wrestling and coaxing will get the blower back in place.  replace
everything and you're done, but this still a job that will take a few
hours.  I think that I have a few digital pics if anybody is interested -
e-mail me off line.

Good luck!

John Wiltshire
Sydney Australia
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