240 General: Fan heater replacement

[morsing]

Hi,

I've bought a new fan heater motor as the old one is making noises when I turn. I put the current one in exactly 10 years ago.

I noticed it comes with three rubber feet and was wondering if the actual problem is the feet perishing rather than the motor being the problem. The motor bearings seem quite sturdy.

So, as I would rather not have to do this again, is there something that can be done to keep the feet "fresh"?

Thanks

[honestjoe]

Hi Henrik..I think the rubber feet only serve to isolate the motor noise from being an annoyance..ie..hum or rumble..if the old one was making a noise when turning its the armature shifting in the bushings/bearings and binding with the coil..the right course of action was to change it as mine went down hill very quick from this point onwards. i"m sure the rubber grommets get stiff over time due to changes in temperature but dont have a bearing on the normal operation of the motor function to the best of my knowledge..Good job done Henrik...hj.

[morsing]

Originally Posted by honestjoe

Hi Henrik..I think the rubber feet only serve to isolate the motor noise from being an annoyance..ie..hum or rumble..if the old one was making a noise when turning its the armature shifting in the bushings/bearings and binding with the coil..the right course of action was to change it as mine went down hill very quick from this point onwards. i"m sure the rubber grommets get stiff over time due to changes in temperature but dont have a bearing on the normal operation of the motor function to the best of my knowledge..Good job done Henrik...hj.

Hi,

Well, my interpretation of the noise I hear, just as when I replaced this 10 years ago, is that it is the impeller hitting the casing. I'm not sure worn bearings could give you that much movement.

I'm still in the month long process of getting the old one out of the car, but will inspect it closer when I do.

Thanks

[Clifford Pope]

I think I agree. Obviously worn bushes and a wobbly armature can hit the outer windings, but wouldn't produce the kind of noise I think is being described?
My previous 240 made a clearly "plasticy" kind of noise. I might be mistaken, but it sounded to me very like the noise a plastic fan makes if it is brushing on a plastic shroud. Furthermore, it could be stopped by turning up the speed and then suddenly reducing it again, or sometimes going over a bump induced it, or stopped it for a while.

I'm wondering whether this couldn't be explored by drilling a small hole in the shroud in the right place and pushing the motor with a thin rod? If this varied or stopped the noise temporarily then surely the fault must be the support rubbers rather then the bearings?
That might not help to fix it, but I'm wondering about wedging/gluing something in position as a temporary measure?

[morsing]

I'm not doing anything temporary, the whole unit is coming out and I have a new motor to go in.

I was just hoping there was something I could do to to prolong the life of these feet or maybe prevent the problem even when the feet perish.

Thanks

[honestjoe]

Hi people..from experience..when issues arise with the heater/blower motor the only course of action is replacement..and to be fair my first one was just shy of thirty years so no complaints other than having to the job..word of warning dont buy used as i found out to my cost two winters later..a repeat performance..its hard to see when you put the casing back together just how tight the fan is to the outer casing..i did not recall how it looked with one half of the casing..i bet its pretty tight..but i would love to know when you do the job..and apologies i thought you already had..regards hj.

[Bugjam1999]

The motor is supported on three little rubber feet to dampen noise and vibration- as these degrade and become weaker they can allow enough movement that the fan blades touch the inside of the casing - for mine, with the fan on at a constant speed it doesn’t touch, but as soon as I brake the weight of the motor overcomes the strength of the rubber feet and the fan touches the inside of the casing, making quite a racket.

I’ve heard of others using small bolts and rubber washers to mount the fan more securely but still maintain some noise and vibration damping- I’ll do something along those lines when I take it apart to fix in on the next month or so.

Cheers

[morsing]

So here is the problem, how do you guard yourself against that? And why have they made it out of plastic?

[Clifford Pope]

Leaf? Parmesan cheese?
What am I looking at?

[Bugjam1999]

Originally Posted by morsing

So here is the problem, how do you guard yourself against that? And why have they made it out of plastic?

Interesting - in your case the rubber feet aren’t the issue, the metal bracket has fractured...

Think you have a replacement fan to go in, but I wonder if that could be taken off and very carefully welded.

Cheers