petrov Posted November 30, 2004 Report Share Posted November 30, 2004 Anyone tried before to replace the brushes inside the blower motor??? It can be done right? A few months back I needed to replace the Blower Control Module on my 93 STS 4.6L to keep it alive. After the replacement, the blower motor functioned as it should but alas due to older age and higher mileage I can hear a small whine upon start up on a cold morning. Before winter hits I decided to take the opportunity during a warm weekend and take the blower motor apart and see if I could alleviate it's stiffness by applying some myoflex...no wait that was for my elbow, I used lubricating spray for the center shaft away from the electrical parts. This seemed to help it a little but then I had intermittent complete blower failures. So I tackled the removal task again and went a little deeper into and noticed that the brushes on either side of the armature are almost worn away. The leads connected to them are almost touching the armature. I have replaced brushes before on another type of motor and therefore I figured if I could find a local electrical motor repair shop that would sell me replacement brushes it might be the most viable option. Replacement motor is $105CAN($88US) and the brushes which I haven't priced yet shouldn't be more than $20 for both. I know I can open the metal clamps securing the braided wire connection to the brushes but what I am not sure of is being able to remove the center armature assembly/basket to allow clearance to install the new brushes. The plastic basket seems pressed on the end of the shaft and impossible to remove completely because I feared damaging it. (Is this the right way?) It feels like a waste of a functioning motor just because the brushes are worn. Can anyone shed some light on this or have even done it themselves and would like to share the experience?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted December 1, 2004 Report Share Posted December 1, 2004 The motor should come apart to replace the brushes if you are able to locate brushes. If the communtator is all gouged up from the brushes being so worn, it's not worth fixing. Brushes should be less than $5 for the pair at a motor supply shop. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted December 1, 2004 Report Share Posted December 1, 2004 About the only thing I can add is that when I replaced the brushes on a trunk pull down motor I got a pair that was close in size. They are as soft as chalk and can be easily filed to shape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
an01sts Posted December 1, 2004 Report Share Posted December 1, 2004 I don't know what the motor looks like, so I cannot say what's involved at taking it apart. I do know, however, that you must remove the squirrel cage on many motors in order to remove the armature. In the old days, squirrel cages were usually held in place with a dog screw. I doubt very seriously that anything made in the last 25 to 30 years have dog screws holding the cage on. As you have noticed, the squirrel cage is pressed on. Again, I cannot say whether or not you can short-cut it by not removing the squrirrel cage. If not, maybe you can rig up some type of puller, or find a way to pry it off. Also, you may try a heat gun to heat up the plastic, of course using common sense witht the amount of applied heat, and see if it will make it eaiser to remove. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petrov Posted December 17, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2004 UPDATED: Managed to disassemble the plastic fan portion from the motor by tapping the middle shaft through. The motor repair shop had brushes for $5 each but quickly pointed out to me the motor was in need of more than these. One of the bushings was siezed and therefore I scrapped the rebuild attempt and picked up the new blower motor assembly at the dealer. So I'm thinking great my troubles are over but as my luck would have it the darn blower control module was failing (purchased it back in March of this year and it was pricey $216CAN). Thankyou GM waranty (1 year on parts) as the dealer replaced it for me. I guess due to the old blower motor requiring more of an 'effort' from the control module, it created a constant overload which eventually overstrained it to an inoperable state (blower constantly running). I certainly hope this new module lasts longer than 9 months. Needed this as the temperature is now dropping quickly here in the Great White North. Hate trying to play mechanic outside in this season. Gotta get a garage one day! Cheers, Petrov Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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