Ranger Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 Last night as I left work and fired my baby up I heard the most horendous bang from under the dash area. Scared the bejezus out of me. Suddenly the vents where silent. I suspected the worst and the picture below confirmes my suspisions after some exploratory surgery. This thing is only 6 months old. Before I go through all the trouble and shipping of trying to get it warrantied, I will pay a visit to my local Caddy dealer tomorrow morning and see if they have any R & R'ed blower motors lying around that I can beg, borrow, steal or buy a squirel cage from. It will certainly be quicker and I have to get it back together by the end of the month as I have a 4 hour trip to Michigan planned for a reunion with the company I fought with in Viet Nam. This one will not be "shoe horned" in. I will use the motor rocking method to install it. I wasn't looking forward to doing this job again. I'll let you guys know how it turns out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gc_caddy Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 Sorry to hear about the blower malfunction. Any idea what happened? When I bought my Delco motor off the net (from a GM dealer) they said that the 1 year warranty would be honoured by any dealer. It's worth a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted July 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 I suspect I fatigued it or fractured it when I "shoe horned" it in place, although a Caddilac mechanic assured me that could not happen. I got it from gmpartsdirect and if I can't locate a squirel cage I'll have to go the warranty route and hope my local dealer will honor it. The problem is I don't have the receipt. I'll have to call Visa to get a copy and that will take time. That's why I am going to try to get a squirel cage tomorrow to save time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDK Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 Larry, Too bad about the failure. I agree with your conclusions, cracked plastic at that point of rotational speed - just can't take it. Maybe you should take the new one to the boys at the other end of the airfield, where they probably don't shoehorn those big GE-turbofans into the housings (at least I hope not... ). For that matter, ask them if they can install a set of radial and axial sensors to it - to hook up to a Bently-Nevada... <_< Come to think of it, I'm a bit surprised that Caddy does not already have this analysis sensor. Just kidding... I know its a tough job and I hope you can get it done well before your trip. Good Luck Add power to leave problems behind. Most braking is just - poor planning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acklac7 Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 I've still got the squirel cage from my old blower motor...Your welcome to have it..I believe the design is different but you may be able to fabricate it w/ JB weld...If all other options fail. You've got me scared now....I had to sort of manhandle my squirel cage in order to get it installed....Didn't have to rock the motor...However I did lose most of the heating shield that covers the face of the housing...Coverd it up w/ some AC tape...Much better than rocking the engine forward IMO. After looking at the pics I would bet something foriegn got lodged in the cage and caused it to break up...Even if you did damage it on install I can't imagine a small fracture could lead to such a sudden catastrophic event...Maybe if you heard a "crunch" but just a little bending of the frame....Jeeze I hope not...If so I may be in for some trouble.... A.J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjayzway Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 I too have a squirel cage from my 94 Deville. I don't know if it will fit, but let me know if you want it? Life is too short to grow up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted July 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 Well, I am not having any luck with getting the cage from the dealer. They just don't keep them lying around. I would be greatfull for one of your cages if you think it will fit. Maybe you can tell from the picture if the mount looks the same. The cage is 3 3/8" long and about 5" in diameter. Let me know what you think. I'll be happy to pay the shipping. I haven't contacted gmpartsdirect yet but I suspect this is going to be a hassle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 Last night as I left work and fired my baby up I heard the most horendous bang from under the dash area. Scared the bejezus out of me. Suddenly the vents where silent. I suspected the worst and the picture below confirmes my suspisions after some exploratory surgery. This thing is only 6 months old. Before I go through all the trouble and shipping of trying to get it warrantied, I will pay a visit to my local Caddy dealer tomorrow morning and see if they have any R & R'ed blower motors lying around that I can beg, borrow, steal or buy a squirel cage from. It will certainly be quicker and I have to get it back together by the end of the month as I have a 4 hour trip to Michigan planned for a reunion with the company I fought with in Viet Nam. This one will not be "shoe horned" in. I will use the motor rocking method to install it. I wasn't looking forward to doing this job again. I'll let you guys know how it turns out. Had the same exact thing happen to me on my '99. Happened last summer - just started it up and drove a few miles from the house and BANG! It sounded like a shotgun went off under the hood. Scared the snot out of me! And just like you, once I got my senses back and looked at the gauges I noticed no more airflow. Luckily I was still under warranty and had everything replaced by the dealer. Biggest thing I have seen with these blower motors is keeping the spark plug wires away from it - they can and will wreak havoc if they are too close to the blower. Good luck and I hope it all works out. Brad ---------------------------- 1999 Deville Concours [sOLD] Blk/Blk w/gold package Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted July 6, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2005 Well, I emailed gmpartsdirect this morning to see if they can get me a copy of the invoice. Local dealer will warranty it for me if I can get it. He was not sure if he can just use a Visa bill. He's gonna get back to me on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95SLS Posted July 6, 2005 Report Share Posted July 6, 2005 I tapped the top part of the fire wall (Where the motor bolts in) back a little and then used a strap to hold the cage while I pushed down on the motor and pulled up on the cage, It slipped right in like a gem. Then I pulled out what I tapped in with a tap of a ratchet sliding it into the hole and tapping out withthe lip. Did it more than once. I used rockauto for the part. They sent wrong one first time. Winter no less. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted July 7, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2005 Well, I took the blower motor into my local dealer (Gary Lang Cadillac, Mc Henery Ill.) with the paperwork this morning and they replaced it for me. When he saw the invoice, he said "Boy, did they give you a good price"! (gmpartsdirect). I played dumb and ask what his price was. $362 he said (I paid $178 + $28 shipping). I said "Boy, I guess I did". At which point he mentioned something about them "undercutting their fellow dealers". I didn't touch that one. Anyway, the blower is back in (with a bit more finesse this time) and I am now licking my wounds. This time I put a turnbuckle in place of one of the torque struts and pulled the engine forward. I could only get maybe an inch out of it but with a little "gentle" persuasion it went in. Had me worried for a minute. In hindsite I would no longer recommend the "shoe horn" method. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JIMDTS Posted July 7, 2005 Report Share Posted July 7, 2005 Glad it all worked out..The hot weather is here and you really need that blower.. Cheers Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted July 7, 2005 Report Share Posted July 7, 2005 Larry, Glad you got it fixed. The GMpartsdirect price is the dealer cost on the parts - GMpartsdirect makes their profit in the shipping and handling. I don't have a problem with a dealer parts department making a profit but sometimes, the retail price is TWICE the dealer cost...... Did you need to loosen the cradel bolts to rock the engine?? Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted July 7, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2005 Larry, Glad you got it fixed. The GMpartsdirect price is the dealer cost on the parts - GMpartsdirect makes their profit in the shipping and handling. I don't have a problem with a dealer parts department making a profit but sometimes, the retail price is TWICE the dealer cost...... Did you need to loosen the cradel bolts to rock the engine?? No I didn't. That may be why I didn't get much movement out of it. I probably should have but have never done that before and didn't want to get that involved if at all avoidable. As I said, the little movement I got was just barely enough room along with some pushing, wiggling, and squeezing. About the same as last tinme except tis time I didn't brake out the pry bar. I think that was my down fall last time. I'm just amazed that it lasted 7 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted July 8, 2005 Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 Larry, Glad you got it fixed. The GMpartsdirect price is the dealer cost on the parts - GMpartsdirect makes their profit in the shipping and handling. I don't have a problem with a dealer parts department making a profit but sometimes, the retail price is TWICE the dealer cost...... Did you need to loosen the cradel bolts to rock the engine?? No I didn't. That may be why I didn't get much movement out of it. I probably should have but have never done that before and didn't want to get that involved if at all avoidable. As I said, the little movement I got was just barely enough room along with some pushing, wiggling, and squeezing. About the same as last tinme except tis time I didn't brake out the pry bar. I think that was my down fall last time. I'm just amazed that it lasted 7 months. When I replaqced the blower motor in my '96 Seville about four years ago, the old one came out without a problem but the new one was a royal SOB to install... I was able to pursuade it without the use of prybars, etc. but what a PITA... If I were doing the job again, I'd loosen the cradel bolts and tip the engine forward. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.