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Is this a common problem on 94 Caddys?


taiorlvb

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Hello Everyone!

The blower motor housing on my 94 SLS is breaking apart on the firewall. The entire housing unit is actually crumbling. And, the bits that break off are falling on the exhaust, and melting. Could this be a defect in materials? I only have 53K on this car, and I baby it.

I was wondering if anyone else has had this kind of problem, and if so, what is the best way (most affordable) to fix it.

Thanks for all your help! Vincent

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Never heard of this happening before, ever. Maybe it was damaged somehow. You do need to get it fixed as it will draw fumes in from the engine. You could get a new housing from a junk yard, but I don't know how difficult it would be to install it. I do know that replacing the blower motor on some of these cars is difficult, so replacing the entire housing would not be a picnic. Should be easy to find one however. Mike

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I second the thing about getting it fixed. I had fumes in the cockpit until today, when I changed my spark plug and wires - and noticed a small crack in my blower duct.

I duct taped it and lo and behold, no more fumes in the car!

Adam

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I have heard others mention this problem though I have not expirienced it (thank God). Replacing it I believe requires engine removal as there is no room to R & R it.

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Isn't it ABS based? Sounds like a chemical reaction, with perhaps cleaning solvents? I've seen some of these chemicals wreak havoc with certain plastics, resulting in similar failure modes.

'93 STS.. opened, dropped, wide...fast.

user posted image

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I have heard others mention this problem though I have not expirienced it (thank God). Replacing it I believe requires engine removal as there is no room to R & R it.

OMG! :o

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Scotty,

I'm surprised you don't recall these discussions. I know I have read about it on this forum. Probably in regards to a blower motor change.

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Not at all, I have not paid too much attention to blower motor problems, all I know is that its difficult to get them out and that its necessary to cut the housing..

Is there no way to tilt the engine forward to gain access?

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taiorlvb,

When I pulled the engine from my 94 SLS, I just barely touched the plastic covering on the blower motor housing and duct work. It litterally disintegrated! I bought a new one & installed it before replacing the engine. The new one was a lot more pliable. I don't think that it can be changed with the engine in the car. However, it probably could be changed by dropping the front of the cradle a few inches. NOT a job for the timid! :o

All of the ones in junk yards are probably going to be brittle also.

Wish I had better news,

Good Luck,

Britt

Britt
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Hello Everyone!

The blower motor housing on my 94 SLS is breaking apart on the firewall. The entire housing unit is actually crumbling. And, the bits that break off are falling on the exhaust, and melting. Could this be a defect in materials? I only have 53K on this car, and I baby it.

I was wondering if anyone else has had this kind of problem, and if so, what is the best way (most affordable) to fix it.

Thanks for all your help! Vincent

Hi Vincent,

My 94 is doing the exact samething. The plastic housing is very fragile and brittle. So far I've been able to patch the many cracks and splits with black GE silicone RTV and it's been holding up. I'm very careful not to poke or touch any part of the housing. The RTV and a paint can stir stick make applications in tight spots fairly easy. Use the stir stick like a long narrow putty knife. For the larger holes you may want to use a piece of duct tape or beer can like someone suggested. Some black duct tape would be the easiest fix I would think. If you want to get fancy, like I've been thinking about, you might want to consider getting a sheet of acrylic or plastic and cut an appropriate piece with a jig saw and then apply a bead of RTV around the edge and press it onto the hole. Let us know what you come up with.

-kg

"Burns" rubber

" I've never considered myself to be all that conservative, but it seems the more liberal some people get the more conservative I become. "

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When I installed the new housing in my 94 SLS, I cut it with a razor knife where it went around the heater hoses & behind the inner fender. I used black hi-temp RTV to seal the cut. You will hardly notice it unless you look for it.

Scotty, I aggree with you. This is a very poor choice of material for this application.

If I hadn't already had the engine out, I would have tried to repair it with aluminum body tape. Not my normal way fo fixing things, but in this instance, I can't see a reasonable alternative. I think that use of the aluminum body tape would adequately seal against fumes, bit it will probably take two people (with extreme patience) to tape the whole duct. :(

I can't remember the duct covers price, but it seems that it was in the $100.00 neighborhood.

Britt

Britt
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MY , 96 sls , IS doing the same thing it just disintergrates, so far i am using the BLACK RTV sealant , and it seems to work, I AM looking for a large square rubber patch material . where you peal off the back and then put in place. MY idea is to cut it to fit various areas and cover the whole cover. IF anyone has a better idea let me know. I understand that to remove the cover the engine has to come out. I have studied this a length and i can not see any other way, rocking the motor foreward i do not think would allow you to get the new one over everthing, the old one is not a problem it would tear apart with your hands. For years GM BUILT A BULLET PROF HOUSING , WHY WOULD THEY EVER GO TO THIS PIECE OF CRAP I WILL NEVER KNOW. ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU HAVE TO RAND R THE ENGINE.

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Weight Savings! This is the type of thing that this board is good for, GM can see that this material is a failure, and they need to discontinue it going forward! There are inert materials that would work better than this, better yet a heat shield would stop the radiant heat from drying the plastic out. Franey, your 96 is having problems? I was thinking this was a 93, 94 issue! :angry:

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The Heater Barrier on my blue 93 STS was also extremely fragile. I found a couple of holes in it, at least one was from the engine rocking a little too far (front mount was bad), and another was from someone bumping it with a ratchet or wrench (possibly even me).

The engine must come out, to completely replace the Heater Barrier. Even then it is a bit of a chore to get it past the tight body clearance, on the left side of the firewall.

Mine cost about $80 from http://www.partszoneonline.com/index.php

When new it is like a stiff rubbery material, over the years it just fails.

If possible look it over carefully and tape over any openings to avoid drawing fumes into the cabin.

It does indeed suck, to have to replace one of these Heater Barriers.

The one on my white 93 STS seems to be OK, but I have learned to be very careful when near it.

Blue STS had 125k miles when I noticed it was cracking in various places.

White STS had 85k miles and it was not as flexible as new, but seemed safe.

-George

Drive'em like you own 'em. - ....................04 DTS............................

DTS_Signature.jpg

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Actually the plastic is just a cover over a metal HVAC duct that holds the blower motor. However, the metal duct has several holes in it, so it is not air tight. I believe that the primary function of the cover is to attenuate the noise from the engine compartment.

The blower fan will not fall out when it breaks up totally. But it still will admit fumes & leak cooled or heated air outside if it is not fixed. It is a Royal Pain to get to. I would hate to see a dealers bill for replacing this part! :blink:

Britt

Britt
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Perhaps overcoating the housing with a thin layer of fiberglass/resin body repair fabric would work? It is draped on wet and can be molded easily around corners etc.

When it hardens, the plastic housing would be held together by the outer shell. Paint it flat black later on?

This is not a high strength-waterproof fix - but then again - those attributes are not required - only ease of installation and a casting of sorts.

Is this problem only prevalent with Seville's? :(

Add power to leave problems behind. Most braking is just - poor planning.
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Ok, this has started to bug me, so I just went out and popped the hood on my '93 STS. Granted, it doesn't have 100,000 miles on it yet, but it's 12 years old and that's 12 years of cold foothill winters and HOT 100++ degree Sacto valley summers. As I looked and tapped it over thoroughly,the housing is in one clean piece ,and solid as one would hope.

So....

'93 STS.. opened, dropped, wide...fast.

user posted image

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I just found the bill for the "barrier". I bought it on 5/7/03 from Brasington. At that time the list was 97.04, cost was 66.37 & $9.00 freight.

P/N is 52491785

Britt

PS

Scotty, you have hit on something there. We should add barrier replacement to the TimeSert process! :P

Britt
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Perhaps overcoating the housing with a thin layer of fiberglass/resin body repair fabric would work? It is draped on wet and can be molded easily around corners etc.

When it hardens, the plastic housing would be held together by the outer shell. Paint it flat black later on?

This is not a high strength-waterproof fix - but then again - those attributes are not required - only ease of installation and a casting of sorts.

Is this problem only prevalent with Seville's? :(

I think that's a pretty good preventive/prophylactic measure, especially if you suspect yours maybe borderline...Maybe they all are after time, just depending on uncertain variables...or ball peen hammers.. ;)

'93 STS.. opened, dropped, wide...fast.

user posted image

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:lol: I am going to look closely at mine, I occasionally smell oil burning on high G moves (stopping, turning, etc). I was thinking that it was coming from the air intake vents.... I like the idea of the fiberglass cloth and resin (is it fireproof)! Ahh, its always something! Cadillac's, its a good thing we love them :rolleyes:

I remember taking the blower housing out of a 64 Caddy Coupe to get at the heater core, it was an all day back breaking job and the housing was metal if I recall.

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