As said in earlier posts it seems to be a bearing failure in the motor assembly that causes the noises in the blower motor. It will get quieter if you step the fan speed up to 3 and 4.. and sometimes it may appear/disappear with a sharp turn. Well I wasn't about to pay $150 for a new one and decided to check and see if the 4th gen blower motor I had would fit.. it did!

It looks very similar and has the same bolt pattern, and same fan. The hose will need to be swapped out but it just pulls off/on. And the plug for the wiring harness is in a different location, but still plugs in just fine.

Thought this would help you guys out, that need a new one, as the 4th gen ones are plentiful and can be had cheaper.. (Also it looks like the 3rd gen one is similar from pictures, but will need confirmation on that)

The only thing I need to check on is if it flows the same CFM.



2002 5.5gen on the left, 1996 4gen on the right


Hose that needs to be reused from 5th gen


Picture of different harness locations


4th gen blower motor installed into 5.5gen

 

nice find....I may have to look into this. I wonder if the 4th genners have the weedeater problem too....

 

Thanks for the heads-up...I'm looking to do this in the spring/summer.

 

I've not had a problem in my 140k 95 max, 160k 96 max (which is where this one was from) and a friends 120k 97 and my moms 130k 98.

There is a name stamped on the 5.5gen.. could be a different company made it.

OR.. as far as I know air does not enter the 5th gen the same as the 4th gen. ALOT of trash gets sucked into the 5th gen.. the cabin filter is AFTER the motor so that could be a reason it gets worn out quicker. There was a ton of sand and dirt that came out of my cabin filter..

 

Actually I have seen many 4th Gens with this problem.

There is even a TSB out on it, the number escapes me.

 

I've browsed the TSB's on the 00/01 blower, and need to reread them again! My damn fan just died (hopefully that's the problem...). I'll be taking it apart today to find out exactly what the problem is.

 

Has anyone came to the conclusion about out which Blower Motor is more reliable? 4th gen or 5th gen?

 

Please, translate weedeater.

 

good info

 

I believe this would be the same thing as a weedwhacker. AKA: something that makes a very loud annoying noise.

 

I had this problem in my 95 maxima and now experiencing the same thing in my 03.

 

Thanks, sublime258. The mine doesn't sound loud, it's a high pitched "chirp", like a little bird living in the dashboard (pretty annoying though). Could it be the same problem (replacement required) or something that could be easily repaired (tightening, lubrication, etc.)?

 

Would it be a good idea to clean the blower periodically (removing and blowing out debris with an air gun) in order to prevent early failure that seems to be inevitable later anyway?

 

don't lube the blowermotor, it'll get mad.

 

Ok...what about just blowing the %$&# out of it?

 

you can try, but if the bearing's gone, there's nothing you can do with it.

 

I need to remove and inspect my AC/Heater blower. How do I remove it? Is it in the engine compartment or do I have to remove the dashboard?
Thanks

 

thanks for the thread bump and highjack...instead of posting in the newbie stickie
its behind the glovebox

 

as soonerfan already said, its behind the glove box. You will have to remove the glove box door by taking out the two plastic "*****" under the door and then take out the "frame" of the glove box via a couple of philips screw to get to the in cabin filter and the fab blower motor. Good luck.

 

Does anyoen know if the blue wire with the white stripe is + and trhe whote wire with blue stripw is the -.

Thanks

 

and i shall call him bumpy

 

Never understood why it goes away on a turn.. We have the same problem. More of an annoyance really. Thanks, Definitely will look into this.

 

I guess we were lucky. Our blower never gave us any problems throughout its life (no chirping or speed-dependent noise) until it just decided to simply die of old age back in February.

Did you use the 4th gen resistor too?

 

mine only does this when it's extremely cold outside. it's annoying as hell.. once the car is warmed up after a few minutes then it's back to normal.