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Thu Jul 18, 2019 6:15 am

Abscate wrote:

I picked up another 4 locally which took 6 hours, and I charged 2k each. Great summer.

Okay, I'm almost envious!
Heading out now to redo my seam seals under a tree 30 miles outside of town!

Fri Jul 19, 2019 8:58 am

TheMonk wrote: I came upon the Mullendore Port retro-fix idea. Would his fix work on an aircooled Vanagon like my 1982 model, would anyone know? Is the dash fan located in the same position as the water cooled models?

The aircooled has a lot more places for mice to build nests and is subject to the previous owner having left many pieces off will cause the system to work poorly unless they are found and replaced.

Sat Jul 20, 2019 3:54 am

Wildthings wrote: TheMonk wrote: I came upon the Mullendore Port retro-fix idea. Would his fix work on an aircooled Vanagon like my 1982 model, would anyone know? Is the dash fan located in the same position as the water cooled models?

The aircooled has a lot more places for mice to build nests and is subject to the previous owner having left many pieces off will cause the system to work poorly unless they are found and replaced. Quote:

Fortunatly we don't experience those rodent issues here in Australia, not in this region anyway, so mice aren't a problem. Any Aircooled Vanagon owners done this fix? Mine had the melted 3 speed switch scenario.

Wed Aug 21, 2019 8:54 am

Ok...I'm getting ready to try this. I drilled 2 1/2 inch holes and I'm going to try some PB Blaster to see if it unfreezes the motor! Yikes, I'm a little nervous...any tips?
jill
87 2.3ltr automatic

Wed Aug 21, 2019 9:26 am

jkmusik wrote: Ok...I'm getting ready to try this. I drilled 2 1/2 inch holes and I'm going to try some PB Blaster to see if it unfreezes the motor! Yikes, I'm a little nervous...any tips?
jill
87 2.3ltr automatic

No need to be nervous. Git er done. :D

Wed Aug 21, 2019 9:27 am

I did this by linking up a couple of the red straws that come with cans like that to reach the shaft end.... maybe I used shrink tubing(?). You'll need a flashlight to see where to land in there...

Thu Aug 22, 2019 8:46 am

jkmusik wrote: Ok...I'm getting ready to try this. I drilled 2 1/2 inch holes and I'm going to try some PB Blaster to see if it unfreezes the motor! Yikes, I'm a little nervous...any tips?
jill
87 2.3ltr automatic If possible, follow the PB blaster with a regular light lubricating oil. I'm not sure how much 'lubing' you get out of the penetrating oils once you've freed something up. 3 in 1 oil, or a Zoom Spout oiler will give you some good results.
A lot of the penetrating oils are heavy in Stoddard Solvent or Kerosene, Naptha or other thin solvent to seep into things that a light oil would be slow at doing, BUT, they aren't lubing oils

Thu Aug 22, 2019 8:49 am

I did what LGEO says - link up a few red straws. I used a short piece of wire where I'd pulled the copper out of a half inch piece, leaving a flexy tube to join the straws. Pretty quick to find the right size wire if you have a few sizes around.

Thu Aug 22, 2019 11:36 am

Ok...no luck. I let it sit all day yesterday then gave it a few blasts of tri lube. Decided to crank it and see, and it still popped the fuse. Am I spraying it the right place? I can see the motor and it looks like I'm hitting where I need to. could it be something else?

jill
87 westy 2.3 ltr.

Thu Aug 22, 2019 12:19 pm

jkmusik wrote: Ok...no luck. I let it sit all day yesterday then gave it a few blasts of tri lube. Decided to crank it and see, and it still popped the fuse. Am I spraying it the right place? I can see the motor and it looks like I'm hitting where I need to. could it be something else?

jill
87 westy 2.3 ltr. Well, there are TWO bearings, and getting to the inner one that's hidden by the cage would be a feat in itself with the Blower Installed. Also, you may need to take a stiff wire or thin screwdriver to manually move the blower motor squirrel cage a bit to coax the seizure out of the motor bearing once you've lubed it.
If you can spin or move the cage once you figure out how to reach it, and you're still popping fuses, then the motor probably has an internal issue..... :cry: :cry: :cry:

Fri Dec 17, 2021 9:25 pm

Following member Jalan's recommendation I drilled two 3/4" holes farther to the right.
I think it's a better location.
And I put a snake-light over the top into the next cavity.

It has been 8 or 10 years since I last lubed it with WD40 :lol: :lol:
You laugh. But WD40 can reconstitute existing lube.
But anyway, it was still spinning nice and free after many years.
This time I lubed the bearing with motorcycle chain lube.

Here are some pics.

I covered the holes with some super-thick clear tape that I have.

Fri Dec 17, 2021 10:02 pm

If the fan is still frozen I'm guessing you could drill a 1" hole farther to the left by about 2" in line with the ones you have and with a flat blade screwdriver be able to pry on the squirrel cage blower itself. Rock it back and fort without too much force and it should break free. Anyone with an unmounted fan could measure what is needed and can advise. The fan is about 5" long and hitting it anywhere along this length will work, so location as precision as the initial Mullendore holes. The squirrel cage is inside a plastic shroud, so once through the tin, go through the plastic with a 1/4" drill which can be resealed with hot melt glue when you are done.

I have done this on a couple of fans, but I come in from the top and then put an oil tube in. It gets a couple of drops of used motor oil once a year.

But be prepared that you may have a corroded shaft which can eat some of the bearing and wind up with a wobble and a really loud noise. But it will be free and give you defrost and or foot heat when necessary.

Duncan

Fri Dec 17, 2021 11:56 pm

DuncanS wrote: If the fan is still frozen I'm guessing you could drill a 1" hole farther to the left by about 2" in line with the ones you have and with a flat blade screwdriver,,,,,

From the holes drilled in the pics above I could see the squirrel cage in clear view (below the bearing that I squirted).
I think the location shown is a good place to drill the holes.
But drilling more doesn't matter, do what you need to do.
There's a 2" x 18" wide open air slot just above your new holes.

With a stiff hooked wire I could turn the cage easily thru the holes I drilled.

Sat Dec 18, 2021 11:33 am

My experience was that the shaft was too frozen/rusted to turn after I oiled it. I was concerned that I hadn't gotten enough oil (or the right type) to the right spot. After pulling the dash and removing out the entire heater assembly, I still could not turn the fan by hand. Rusted solid and it wouldn't matter how much or what type of oil I got in there. Fans that have recently stopped working should fare much better.

My advice is to implement the port and oil when you hear it start to squeak.

Jim Davis

Sun Dec 19, 2021 7:01 am

No, That's too late. If your fan is still running do it now and pull the tape and do it again every fall, or better yet add a Steve M oiler cap and tube.

Duncan

Sun Dec 19, 2021 5:26 pm

DuncanS wrote: No, That's too late. If your fan is still running do it now and pull the tape and do it again every fall

I suppose it could freeze up due to “severe non-use”.
Like in a desert vehicle.
With salty dUst a blowin’ etc.

But with PNW use it’s looking like “every 10th fall” might be sufficient.
Maybe every 5th fall for the prudent, or the retired, etc.

Sun Dec 19, 2021 9:04 pm

Doesn't the PNW get tons of moisture and misty rain? The problem is rain or moisture entering and lodging in the bearing and rusting the shaft. With the blower not been used during the summer, moisture will accumulate in this poorly designed spot. The worst is following someone too closely and their wheels throw up water plus road schmutz.

Duncan

Sun Dec 19, 2021 9:12 pm

I only have one van's experience (my own PNW van).

Mine squeaked 10 years ago.
I lubed it with WD-40. Instant quiet. I thought I had drilled a Mullendore® port (but found no hole). I may have shot it from the ashtray? I don't remember.
I do remember it bugging me that I needed to re-lube someday with "actual oil".

Recently the fan quit working. I thought it had froze up - so drilled StereoMullendore® ports to lube the bearing.
But found that the medium and high speeds had quit.
But found that on low speed the fan was spinning (silently). Good!

So I lubed the bearing properly with motorcycle chain lube.
Still gotta fix my medium and high speeds.

Gonna add a PWM speed controller)

That's all I know.

Wed Jan 11, 2023 6:53 pm

Just reread much of this thread, have to say I miss TK in a way, as he certainly saw the world differently.

13 years and still a spinning for my Mullendore relube job at this point, though I admit it has needed a touch up for a long time at this point.

Wed Jan 11, 2023 8:32 pm

Hit it now or you will soon be dropping the dash. Once the bearing has worn oversized, instead of the motor shaft rotating smoothly in the bearing it will bounce from side to side in a polygonal way eating the bearing even faster and make road noise seem like an after thought.

Ask a man who has had this condition in several different T3s without oiling capability.

Duncan