KHE Posted December 8, 2007 Report Share Posted December 8, 2007 The blower motor in my '97 STS decided to puke last Friday, filling the interior with the putrid stench of a burned capacitor or transistor... I ordered a replacement from rockauto.com and it arrived yesterday. The heat shield was not in the box.... When I replaced the blower motor in my '96 5 years ago, the replacement blower included the heat shield. After calls to Rockauto, AC Delco, and my local dealer, I discovered that GM no longer includes the heat shield with the replacement blower motor. The parts catalogs state to use the existing heat shield or if none is present, the heat shield must be ordered separately. Apparently, GM figured that there were not any first generation blower motors out there... Just because the heat shield is not included with the replacement blower motor doesn't mean it is not required. It must be used. I ordered a shield from my local dealer for $9.00..... pricey for a cheesy foil/fiberglass part - it should be in Saturday morning. After driving the car all week without heat (other than the heated seats), my patience are running thin... Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted December 8, 2007 Report Share Posted December 8, 2007 I think I would have fabricated one just to save time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted December 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2007 I think I would have fabricated one just to save time. I thought about fabricating one just to get by for a couple of days but it is very tight in there and I didn't want to repeat the task. I am just about ready to start the job - I have the 7" turnbuckle, blower motor, and heat shield. The heat is on in the garage and the beer is on ice. The part no. for the shield is 52491784. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted December 8, 2007 Report Share Posted December 8, 2007 Let me know how the turnbuckle trick works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted December 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2007 I bought a 7-1/4" turnbuckle and it had 1/4" threads on the bolts. When I tightened the turnbuckle, the eyes just opened up. I should have bought the 10" turnbuckle with the 3/8" bolts. At that point, I decided to lower the engine cradle from the front - it took only 10 minutes to disconnect the suspension sensors and remove the front cradle bolts. Once the cradle was lowered, it really opened up the area at the rear of the engine - the new blower slipped right in and the job was completed a half hour after dropping the cradle. Lowering the cradle sounds like a hideous job but it is very easy. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted December 9, 2007 Report Share Posted December 9, 2007 Yeah I think mine was beefier than 1/4" and it finally started to open. That's why I suggested welding the eye. Never did the cradle thing and have always been a little apprehensive. Glad it turned out to be easy. Heat is a wonderful thing at this time of year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted December 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2007 I used my floor jack under the cradle to raise the front of the car enough to slide ramps under the front wheels. Then disconnected the suspension sensors and the tar-paper air deflector on the driver's side. I supported the cradle with the floor jack and used the air impact wrench to remove the front cradle mounting bolt on each side. I then lowered the cradle with the floor jack enough to gain access to the blower motor area. I took apart the old blower motor and one of the FET's was fried along with the power resistors. I thought about attempting to repair it but my attempt on the other Seville blower five years ago was not successful so I pitched it. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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