Removing Blower Motor

[Jeemy]

I am really struggling with this!

The fixing to the scuttle beam is easy as is the right hand fixing (looking at the motor from inside the car) through the bulkhead.

The opposite fixing closest to the door has so little mention within the manuals its like its easy to get to - I can't see it at all!

Do I need to take the wheel arch liner off? If so can this be done while on ramps and what is a good way of loosening those thin head bolts 10mm holding it on?? Help please!

[Brit-Car-Nut]

Are you removing the motor and fan or the entire housing? You can remove just the motor and fan by removing the 3 screws inside the metal flange:

The complete housing studs are:

Maybe the pictures will give you an idea where to look?

[Jeemy]

I need to get the whole housing out.

On the bottom picture you posted, those bolts go through into the bulkhead and are met by nuts.

The left one as you look at your pic, one in the body of the cockpit, more in the centre of the passenger footwell , the plastic surround is broken. So I need to repair it.

The right one as you look at your pic, the one against the passenger A-pillar, I can't find where it goes through to. Well, I think it goes to the other side of the vacuum reservoir surround. Perhaps there is some kind of access when you pull the motor & fan, I'll remove that now.

[Jeemy]

I've pulled the motor. I can see the flat end (inside the cockpit) of the bolt I need to get to from the other side….but even reaching round into the vent there isn't enough purchase to remove the foam that must be covering it…..I can't even feel the end of it through the foam but thats not to say I am not a few mm off.

So frustrating. I cannot get the wheel arch liner off, the bolts I can move just turn a little and then lock up again, the rawlplugs behind (I think) must be turning too. That is going to have to wait until the wheel can be lifted off to get better access and perhaps drill/break them out.

I am at a bit of an impasse here……aargh…...

[Brit-Car-Nut]

I can't answer you today but I will be geting the RHS tub from the container early next week and it still has the blower assembly installed. I will try to get your answer ASAP. Go work on something else for a little while.

To remove the bolts you mention, you might be better to drill off the heads. Turn your wheels so you can gain access with a drill. I would use a small (1/8") bit first and use a center punch to try to stay in the center. Then go to a drill that is just larger than the bolt diameter. Once the head pops off, you can remove the liners. You can also probably remove the rawl nuts by pushing the remaining threaded shank into the nut to relax the bulge holding it in place. Just try to pull on the rawl nut flange and not the threaded shank. If you can find one, a 90degree/angle drill or small air drill would probably be best.

[Jeemy]

I've had to give up for now. File this under major delay……..

Basically the way my vacuum pipes are wired, something has been changed as a bodge job. I need to trace the pipe back that disappears in the passenger / nearside front wing. Its number 2, and leads to the vacuum reservoir. Its suspiciously floppy and I suspect its not connected. The pipes are old and perishing and there's no sense in not changing them. In fact, I suspect there is a problem with the vacuum supply take off coming from the plenum too. Not a major problem, just a connection needing made. From looking, I replaced this with a red silicon hose a couple of days back. To trace what I disconnected it from is not as easy, but looking at P7 of my thread, and this link in particular, it appears it was not connected. I thought I'd made a mistake documenting things:

viewtopic.php?f=79&t=20848&start=120#p272859

The red pipe I attached was 4mm diameter; so I will change this over for a 3mm one I would guess.

It is possible there is no vacuum reservoir in place or it leaks. To be honest I can't remember what the heater problem was. What I posted when I bought the car was:

the heater seems to work fine but air does not get through to the cockpit side and centre vents. Its not very strong from the demister vents either. Air from the footwells is good and strong.

To both remove and fix the blower unit, and check the reservoir, I need the arch liner off. To get the liner off, I will need to do as you say and drill the bolts off (I have the new fixing kit from BFG. But to do that I either need to turn the wheels as you say, or remove them entirely. Neither is possible on the hydraulic lifts.

I think I am going to have to lower the lift and wheel assembly onto 3 axle stands - one placed as per the manual and two as additional safety nets at the jacking point (hard to access with the lift in place), and under the wishbone with a pad as a safety-net/non-supporting stand just to stop the wishbone dropping too far.

If I loosen the wheel bolts before I do this, I can then pull the wheel, drill out the liner and then put the lift back up under the wheel.

I have a week's wait before my gaskets & new manifold nuts arrive - and I need a special tool to free the electrical connections from their terminals and check each one - so I can't work on much else, but there will surely be bits and pieces. This is a good days' work though, and will put me back considerably.

Thanks for your help, I'll sleep on it….I think I know how to deal with it.

[Brit-Car-Nut]

You might want to look at this topic as Pete removed his heater asembly and worked out all of the hoses. viewtopic.php?f=37&t=21418&p=270102#p269513

Decent pictures too.

[Jeemy]

Wow. That looks confusing. Once the arches are off, I'll work through that and mine. I am sure it will become clear once I can see it all. At the moment I have 100+ connections to remake. As I make the definite ones, the others will become more obvious (I hope). God, I am glad I took all those pictures.