Heater Blower fan cage

[SgtPreston]

I received my new blower motor and fan from Summit for my OBS GMT 430 (94 Yukon) and proceeded with the replacement as per youtube video on a 92 vintage vehicle. Removed glove box, PCM, PCM tray, blower motor cover and old blower motor. It wasn't easy but the video was a big help and finally ready to install the new motor and fan cage - the old one came out so the new one should go back in, right? Wrong, apparently there must be a "slight" difference in the molded plastic fan cage and in my effort to force it into the housing, a hairline crack was noticed in the ring. I didn't want to try a Gorilla Glue repair and possibly cause an unbalance in the wheel so I contacted Summit to get a replacement wheel - not possible, you must reorder the complete assembly.
Before I damage the replacement I'm asking for some help - has anyone gone through this repair/replacement on a similar vintage vehicle? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[drakon543]

did the blower setup on a 94 suburban. through my digging i found 2 or 3 different blower fans and 2 or 3 blower resistors that are meant for the vehicle. so its possible you got sent the wrong one. i like summit for performance parts not for replacement parts. if they just dont stock the one you need then it won't be shown at all and you can end up with the wrong part assuming theres only one version. also you would be correct with the unbalanced concern. those squirrel cages are so light and flimsy it wouldn't take much to break it. one thing you can try if you old one was only a bad motor with some effort you can remove the old squirrel cage and put it on the new motor. also if your only missing the cage fitting by a tiny bit a razor blade and and LIGHT trimming around the hole is fine. just as long as the motor flange can still seal and mount correctly your fine.

 

[SgtPreston]

did the blower setup on a 94 suburban. through my digging i found 2 or 3 different blower fans and 2 or 3 blower resistors that are meant for the vehicle. so its possible you got sent the wrong one. i like summit for performance parts not for replacement parts. if they just dont stock the one you need then it won't be shown at all and you can end up with the wrong part assuming theres only one version. also you would be correct with the unbalanced concern. those squirrel cages are so light and flimsy it wouldn't take much to break it. one thing you can try if you old one was only a bad motor with some effort you can remove the old squirrel cage and put it on the new motor. also if your only missing the cage fitting by a tiny bit a razor blade and and LIGHT trimming around the hole is fine. just as long as the motor flange can still seal and mount correctly your fine.

Thanks for the response James - when I compared the Summit motor to the old one, they look the same and the only problem I had was trying to get the squirrel cage inside the housing. It seemed like the outer ring of the squirrel cage was slightly different - it wasn't much but just enough. I did re-install the old motor and marked the area to still get a seal and then used a dremel tool to trim the opening slightly. By then I had already caused the hairline crack so I'm waiting on the new motor from 1A Auto. Unfortunately I couldn't swap the old squirrel cage on the new motor - the old one was a press fit and the new cage has a double D shaft with a nut and lock washer.
I did go back and check the procedure by "Sparky" and he mentioned removing a 13mm bolt holding the dash and then prying the dash up to get a little more clearance - did you have to do this?
My new motor is due by Friday so we'll see what the week-end brings. Thanks again.

 

[drakon543]

no when i replaced mine it fit right in without a problem. probably just a slight difference with the specific manufacturer molding

 

[SgtPreston]

no when i replaced mine it fit right in without a problem. probably just a slight difference with the specific manufacturer molding

Okay, I found the 13mm bolt referred to in the youtube procedure and it makes life much simpler - got the old motor out and still waiting on the new one, hopefully tomorrow.

 

[SgtPreston]

Okay, I found the 13mm bolt referred to in the youtube procedure and it makes life much simpler - got the old motor out and still waiting on the new one, hopefully tomorrow.

New motor installed and running noiselessly - life is good.