TheSamba.com :: View topic - Fresh Air Fan Electric Motor

Mon Mar 09, 2009 5:46 pm

Awesome, Awesome, Awesome!!! I have three boxes, one that works ok, one that does not, and one that squeals. I am going to dig into the one that is frozen first!! I also loved the music selection, big Forrest Gump fan :D

Wed Nov 11, 2009 9:00 am

Hey Pat,

What would you describe as the output difference pre-refit and post-refit? I know its tough to determine, based on the lovely rat's nest in the passenger side, but a ball park would be nice. I'm ginning up a list of todo items this winter; this sounds like a perfect project to do while catching up on back episodes of serials with my wife. (though she might object to pbBlaster in the living room. :wink:

Wed Nov 11, 2009 10:17 am

webwalker -

100 percent increase on the passenger's side and about 75 percent increase on the driver's side.

Just think what nasty things people are breathing when they turn the fan on without cleaning the fan box and the heater channels once in a while.

I also keep a couple of mouse traps in my garage.

Pat (66foot)

Wed Nov 11, 2009 10:40 am

I tore down my air box about 3 years ago, but didn't go in to the fan assembly. based on your procedure, I think that this is something I might consider for the winter months, since I have behind the dash work that needs to be done, so the box will be out, anyway.

I've never worked to refurb a motor...this might be a very interesting learning experience for me! If the box (flaps, pivots, seals, etc) are in good condition, what would say the average work time would be for a novice motor man to follow your procedure to R&R the motor assembly?

M

Wed Nov 11, 2009 10:49 pm

webwalker -

Assuming that your motor is the type that can be rebuilt, it should not take more than a couple of hours of actual work. The time for soaking the screws and nuts will depend upon the condition of your motor.

Pat (66foot)

Thu Nov 12, 2009 2:20 am

webwalker wrote: Hey Pat,

What would you describe as the output difference pre-refit and post-refit? I know its tough to determine, based on the lovely rat's nest in the passenger side, but a ball park would be nice. I'm ginning up a list of todo items this winter; this sounds like a perfect project to do while catching up on back episodes of serials with my wife. (though she might object to pbBlaster in the living room. :wink:

I never use the high speed. Low is plenty of air and it's so quiet I hooked it up to an unused speedo bulb (ATF) so I wouldn't forget it's on. High is a good blast of air.

Great defrosting in wet weather and some help in winter as it does mix some hot air in the stream, which has a drying effect.

jim

Fri Jan 22, 2010 1:55 pm

Just finished refurbishing my fresh air box, including fan, using these excellent videos. Thanks so much for taking the time to make them. My fan barely moved on high and didn't go at all on low. Now it purrs on both speeds!

Fri Jan 22, 2010 2:31 pm

tailwaggers wrote: Just finished refurbishing my fresh air box, including fan, using these excellent videos. Thanks so much for taking the time to make them. My fan barely moved on high and didn't go at all on low. Now it purrs on both speeds!

I also found this helpful. My defroster box came out great!

Fri Jan 22, 2010 3:09 pm

Jim-
If you're still interested in closing the outside vents to the airbox, why not cut a "kidney shaped" piece of ABS that you can drop onto the inlet grate when the trunk is open. When Spring comes, throw it in the trunk for the coming Winter.
G.

Sat Jan 23, 2010 10:56 am

mondshine wrote: Jim-
If you're still interested in closing the outside vents to the airbox, why not cut a "kidney shaped" piece of ABS that you can drop onto the inlet grate when the trunk is open. When Spring comes, throw it in the trunk for the coming Winter.
G.
THAT is a fantastic idea. The sealing foam on the control flaps has disintegrated and the box in my 70 won't seal completely. This sounds like a good way to stop that nasty, cold draft.

Anyone know what would be a good substitute for the thin foam on those flaps?

Sat Jan 23, 2010 11:01 am

Derek-
Check the links to the two video tutorials by the original poster.
They are very well done and informative.

Sat Jan 23, 2010 11:41 am

Your videos are great!
Using them, I rebuilt an extra box someone had thrown out :D . I couldn't find any vent foam in sheets, but I found cheap wide gray foam paintbrushes, split the foam and glued and trimmed to fit. Seems to work fine.
There must have been several subcontractors for the motors, mine was sealed and wouldn't come apart. I oiled the motor, works!
Is anyone selling the jute felt snap-on side seals?
P.S.- the square plastic "springs" holding the motor assembly to the box were broken. I used short hardware-store metal springs, bolts, nuts and washers to replace them.

Sat Jan 23, 2010 6:18 pm

I've been meaning to update a couple items in those videos.

One is the rubber isolator mounts.

Karman Rubber Company has a square dampner that works fairly well.
While they advertise several square dampners which will work, at the time that I purchased some they only had the S420-52 Square Mount in 50 Durometer Natural Rubber (S420-AA51) in stock (I believe that either the 42 or 52 will work). The minimum order is 8 pieces @ $6.95/each, 25 pieces @ $4.50/each, 50 pieces @ $3.25/each.

Differences:

The replacement is a solid rubber dampner. The form factor is a close match to the original VW size.

The replacement threaded studs are ANSI 1/4-20.

The original threaded studs are metric M6X1.

That equates to the replacement studs being about 1mm larger in height and 5 less threads per inch. Original washers will fit, but you will need some new nuts.

The price is fairly reasonable when you purchase 50 pieces- with shipping it works out to approximately $3.50 each. I picked up 25 and the price worked out to $4.96. I used a couple of sets, and then gave the rest away.

See the attached photos.

Pat (66foot)

So when your dampners look like this:

Replace with these:
S420-52 Square Mount in 50 Durometer Natural Rubber (S420-AA51)