Blower motor squeak

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tcazes

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My 2013 Laramie long horn actually blower motor has started to lightly squeak. Has anyone had to pull their dash apart to service this yet? It drives me insane.
 

smiley

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It is really easy. Remove the glove box door by opening and swinging all the way down it will come off look at hinges. Then just look under there it is held up by 3 screws and a couple wire harnesses plug into it if you have dual zone climate control. Probably less than 10 minute job. I just replaced mine with a salvaged one out of a 13. You can find one at www.car-part.com just make sure you choose the right option DZ climate or not will make a difference. Squeak gone!
 

02blkram47

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I'm going to check this out. My squeak is awful

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Broyd

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We seem to live in a throw away society. The squeak is caused because the motor bushings are dry; it has run out of oil. Other than this small problem, the motor is normally fine. Before I ever replace a motor for dry bushings, (or worn out motor brushes) I'll look for a way to oil them! Although this hasn't happened to my RAM blower motor yet, I've oiled dozens of small brush and brushless motors in the past. Sometimes this requires drilling out rivets and replacing them with screws but no big deal. I cringe :).
 

Hootbro

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Seems to be a somewhat common problem. Mine has started to chirp on the lower speed settings with the recent cold weather off and on but is not enough consistency for me to waste my time trying to get it warrantied out yet.
 
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tcazes

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Wow that's a relief! I'll pull mine out and try to oil it later. I never just chunk them. Always oil em up first lol
 

Ram Man

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Low speed + cold(ish) temps make my blower squeak too... If anyone has success oiling it please post and update.
 

tnmotown

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Mine has a small chirp type of sound also. Maybe I'll look into oiling it up like mentioned. It hasn't been that bad yet where it really annoys me lol!
 

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I kept my original one to see if there was a way to fix. Looking at it it does not look very fixable but it I can revive it I would happy to do so! The throw away society comes from the fact the parts often can't be serviced anymore. I like salvage yards to help defray a little waste when I can.
 

Broyd

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I kept my original one to see if there was a way to fix. Looking at it it does not look very fixable but it I can revive it I would happy to do so! The throw away society comes from the fact the parts often can't be serviced anymore. I like salvage yards to help defray a little waste when I can.

Would it be possible for you to include two photos of your original blower? I would like to see the bottom (outside) of the assembly and also from the top at about a 60 degree angle up from the mounting plate. It might help me suggest a way of getting into it. TIA!
 

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Would it be possible for you to include two photos of your original blower? I would like to see the bottom (outside) of the assembly and also from the top at about a 60 degree angle up from the mounting plate. It might help me suggest a way of getting into it. TIA!



I will asap.
 

00R/T

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Mine is doing it now in the cold too. My 08 Grand Cherokee did it too. Same sound, same conditions. I never bothered fixing that one but I think I'll do something about it in the truck.
 

WilliamS

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now that I know how easy it is, time to pull that hidden squirrel out and lube it up!
 

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Would it be possible for you to include two photos of your original blower? I would like to see the bottom (outside) of the assembly and also from the top at about a 60 degree angle up from the mounting plate. It might help me suggest a way of getting into it. TIA!



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Broyd

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Thanks smiley3303 for those pictures. Great job! Questions: 1. What does that philips screw hold on the bottom picture? If you remove it, does any part of that connector come completely off? If it does come off, do you see motor attachment points under there?
2. The exposed motor shaft in the two photos of the blower cage appear reddish in color. What is causing the red color? Is it rust or some sort of locking cement? It does look like rust to me but it is hard to say 100%.

In order to get at the motor, you will either have to remove the motor from the base OR remove the blower cage from the shaft by pulling the cage off the shaft. It might be possible to make a small puller that could do that, maybe similar to a battery post puller.

I see that the end of the shaft has a 45° taper. This suggests that during assembly, some part(s) of the cage are expanded when being pushed onto the shaft. This might make disassembly more difficult. Something to keep in mind.

The black tabs on the top black piece at the end of the shaft interlock with the white blower cage; perhaps these tabs are the key to getting the cage off the shaft. If these tabs are gently pried up, would that allow the black cap to come off the shaft thus allowing the blower cage to be removed?

These are the things I'd try.

So now we are down to doing some experimenting. What you have there is a squeaky blower motor that you would probably throw out - so if you ruin it trying to get it apart, it is not too much of a loss. What do you think?
 

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Just don't pump grease into a sealed bearing race.

The result would be, how shall I say this? BAD!
 

Broyd

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I doubt that these types of motors use a sealed ball bearing. If they did they probably wouldn't have the squeak problem.
 

smiley

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Thanks smiley3303 for those pictures. Great job! Questions: 1. What does that philips screw hold on the bottom picture? If you remove it, does any part of that connector come completely off? If it does come off, do you see motor attachment points under there?

2. The exposed motor shaft in the two photos of the blower cage appear reddish in color. What is causing the red color? Is it rust or some sort of locking cement? It does look like rust to me but it is hard to say 100%.



In order to get at the motor, you will either have to remove the motor from the base OR remove the blower cage from the shaft by pulling the cage off the shaft. It might be possible to make a small puller that could do that, maybe similar to a battery post puller.



I see that the end of the shaft has a 45° taper. This suggests that during assembly, some part(s) of the cage are expanded when being pushed onto the shaft. This might make disassembly more difficult. Something to keep in mind.



The black tabs on the top black piece at the end of the shaft interlock with the white blower cage; perhaps these tabs are the key to getting the cage off the shaft. If these tabs are gently pried up, would that allow the black cap to come off the shaft thus allowing the blower cage to be removed?



These are the things I'd try.



So now we are down to doing some experimenting. What you have there is a squeaky blower motor that you would probably throw out - so if you ruin it trying to get it apart, it is not too much of a loss. What do you think?



1. Not sure what the screw does but I believe it allows access to the actual motor not sure about access to the shaft.

2. Yes that is rust on the end of the shaft I guess humidity or even just sweat from when ac is cold and the ambient temp is hot. Maybe even the reverse in winter.

I intend to see if repair is possible but have yet to bother. I ordered my replacement from a salvage yard. It was broken ok shipping. I ended up getting my money back but was able to JB weld the tabs that broke off to be able to salvage the salvage. I am out zero dollars either way!
 

Broyd

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If anyone tries to disassemble the blower motor unit, please post what you find. I'm sure that there are a few members here that would really like to know how to go about it. My former truck, a 2011 Laramie was just starting to squeak when it got cold, but I traded up.
 
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