• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

BJ7 heater blower vibration

Share this page

R

RestoreThemAll

Jedi Warrior
Country flag
Offline
My heater blower does seem to cause some vibration. The one thing different about mine is that I changed out the motor for an AC Delco which runs nicely. Does anyone notice a vibration with the engine off and the blower on? I can feel in on the fender. I can see the squirrel cage and it seems to run true. Spinning too fast maybe?

Dl
 
The blower unit is mounted with rubber grommets as vibration isolators. If they're shot, that could be the problem. (Note use of 1/4-20 u-nuts on feet for ease of removal/replacement of unit.)

screenshot.1963.jpg
 
I'll take a close look at the mounts tonight. Thanks Steve.
 
The blower wheel may have lost its balance weight clip . Look for a clean spot on one of the blades where it was . If it had one it would be a small piece of spring steel similar to the fender screw clips but much smaller .
 
Steve, the mounts are in good shape. couple years old.
Dale
 
Healey Nut, how are things in the north? I think we have some of your weather this week.

No balance weights at all.
Dale
 
Hi Dale,

I also changed the motor of in my heater blower, quite a while ago, with one out of an wrecked late 1960s Oldsmobile Starfire Convertible. With the original motor, I could breath heavier then the air coming through the defroster vent. Since the Olds installation, my defrosters move so much air that they whistle, even with the heater vents open.

When you changed the motor, did you install the squirrel cage on its shaft? If so, how? Depending on how you positioned the motor and squirrel cage, you may be rubbing the inside of the surround. When I installed the Olds electric motor, I could not just replace the motor but needed to create an adapter out of a piece of metal to allow movement for correct placement of the squirrel cage within the surround.

One installed and after validating its operation, I trimmed and painted the full unit and now you can't tell there is a optical difference.

Hope this helps,
Ray(64BJ8P1)
 
Yes Ray, I installed the original squirrel cage. I had to turn down the motor shaft slightly but it fit. It's not hitting anyplace.

I'll observe it running with these things in mind.
Dale
 
I googled how to balance a fan cage. Not much for cars but HVAC had some good stuff. My fan motor is tight so the cage doesn't move easily enough to balance on the bench. I did test it by turning it off and on and watching it just before it stops to see if there is any wobble. It's hard to see but there is some slight movement showing its not 100% true. That's probably causing the vibration. Now I have to decide if I can live with it or take it apart.
Dale
 
Hi Dale,

You might as well start taking the unit appart as you will keep thinking about the imbalance every time you turn the bolwer on and it will agrivate you. However, if you use the blower as often a I do (almost never), then living with the issue will not be as much as a problem.

I am in the same situation with my having something lose banging when I have a low rough idle. Disassembling carburetors, intake and exhaust manifolds to install new engine mount rubber is not something I will consider as long as the banging keeps disapearing at higher RPMs or when running (even at slow speeds on rough roads). In my opinion, the issue is not that improtant or agrivating to equal the effort and risk of creating new issues when taking everything apart.

So, can you live with the vibration the few times you will activate the blower?

Ray(64BJ8P1)
 
Last edited:
Ray, you convinced me. It's coming apart this weekend. It's better to do now than later when the motor bearing wears out prematurely. I'm not exactly getting more physically flexible as time passes either.
Dale
 
(not exactly getting more physically flexible as time passes either.)

Join the club :excitement:

It comes with old age don't you know. I am contemplating a rear end (trunk floor on my BJ7) re build before I seize up completely.

:cheers:

Bob
 
Back
Top