Club 80-90 Forums

Hey all,

Working on a replacement of my blower motor and the old coolant lines up there. Just got the dash out after a lot off hassle with some stuck screws, but apparently the plastic box the blower motor lives in is glued shut. Does anyone know what's up with this? My haynes manual says something about cutting it open and sourcing spring clips?

Thanks!

Some were glued , you’ll need a sharp blade and some heat iirc 
its doable, but will add time to the already long job 
 

Start at one corner and work your way round with a thin chisel type thing, eg old wallpaper scraper. I've come across a few glued ones and they aren't especially hard to separate. Maybe I got lucky but the glue was always quite brittle epoxy type stuff.

No need for magic spring clips, 8 self tapping screws will hold it back together perfectly well.
While you're this far in you might as well take it out of the van and replace all the internal foam that will have disintegrated.

Thanks! That's what I needed to know.

About the foam, how essential is that? It's quite hard to source for me, as the only seller I know is BW, and importing stuff from the UK is quite annoying since brexit iirc.

did mine and it was glued, more hassle than difficult. mine had some clips too.

 

Rik wrote: ↑27 Sep 2025, 16:10 Thanks! That's what I needed to know.

About the foam, how essential is that? It's quite hard to source for me, as the only seller I know is BW, and importing stuff from the UK is quite annoying since brexit iirc.

I've fitted three blowers in various vans. Never used the foam kit in any.
I will be ordering from Brickwerks in the next couple of weeks. I can add kit to order and mail on to you for price of item and postage.

The foam kit is worth doing if you can, but not that important. it stops your heater making whistling noises as you drive at speed and makes the air direction controls work properly again, but if the kit is hard to source and you were happy with the function, it's not a big deal.

The foam kit makes a big difference if you've fitted it right.
A couple of stanley blades or perhaps a very short thin hacksaw blade and about 40 mins of your life to separate the box is easy enough.. if I recall brickwerks did the clips?

cobblers wrote: ↑27 Sep 2025, 21:12  it stops your heater making whistling noises as you drive at speed 

Not a problem fo most of us then 

TwinTurbo wrote: ↑28 Sep 2025, 03:16

cobblers wrote: ↑27 Sep 2025, 21:12  it stops your heater making whistling noises as you drive at speed 

Not a problem fo most of us then 

Turning up the stereo is cheaper... ....

maxstu wrote: ↑27 Sep 2025, 18:54

Rik wrote: ↑27 Sep 2025, 16:10 Thanks! That's what I needed to know.

About the foam, how essential is that? It's quite hard to source for me, as the only seller I know is BW, and importing stuff from the UK is quite annoying since brexit iirc.

I've fitted three blowers in various vans. Never used the foam kit in any.
I will be ordering from Brickwerks in the next couple of weeks. I can add kit to order and mail on to you for price of item and postage.

That's incredibly kind of you! Your offer made me do a thorough search and I managed to find a supplier that delivers directly to me! So it won't be necessary.

I'll try to open it up when I have the time and see what the state of the old stuff is. Judging from the stuff that sometimes comes from the vents, probably very poor

The foam will have long left this world, or whats left of it will turn to dust the second you look at it

By strange coincidence my dash heater has started squeaking! Surely not four out of four!!

When I converted my heater to PWM speed control, I replaced the motor and foam kit too.

Someone had been there 30 years earlier as I did not need to break any welded-seals, I just popped off the clips.

The foam inside was like moth wings.... turned to powder as soon as you looked at it.

The blowers will still work perfectly fine, but probably only 75% of the air will be flowing where you want it.

I am assuming the foam kit just ensures that the air flows in the correct directions, rather than leaking past all the baffle plates (flaps).

Hi! Another question, sorry...

Do you need to take the heater box completely out of the vehicle to open it and replace the motor/foam?