By Joan Whetzel
Well,
my A/C started acting up a few weeks ago. Right in the middle of the October
end of our Texas summer (highs 95 degrees +/-).
First it developed a clatter. Then it decided it wasn’t going to blow as
hard nor as cold as was customary. I even checked out the heater a few times. I
was getting some heat, but not at its usual level. Then it quit altogether. And
it started again for about 10 minutes. And it stopped. And….
So I
had the guys at O’Reilly Auto Parts check it out. It was the blower motor –
that part that blows the hot or cold air through the vents. They didn’t have
the part but could order it, for 180 dollars!
After
watching a YouTube video that made it
look like a quick and easy fix, I decided I was going to attempt this repair
myself. It was simply a matter of removing 3 screws, unplugging the wires
supplying power and the air flow tube, and letting the old blower motor drop
out. Then doing the reverse with the new blower motor. Total time?
Approximately 5 minutes.
The
hardest part, it appeared, was that the motor could only be accessed inside the
car, underneath the glove compartment, which meant spending a few minutes on my
knees, on the concrete, and twisting my torso so I could use my left hand to
unscrew the screws. This was my first hint of trouble – it was a job for
lefties – and people who can stand kneeling for long periods of time on a hard
surface – trying to remove screws that hadn’t been removed in 14 years and had
no plans for coming out now.
Two
hours later, I couldn’t get up off the ground, my knees were screaming, my back
muscles cramped up so that I couldn’t straighten myself, and, yes, the screws
were still in place. I couldn’t get hold of my son or daughter to come help me
because one’s phone was dead ant the other had turned his phone off. Well, my
daughter finally came home. 2 ½ hours after I’d started. Of course by this
time, I was cussing like a sailor at three stupid screws which I swore up and
down I was going to toss into a field somewhere; anywhere where they could
never give lick of trouble to another living sole ever again!
Except
for one thing. A quick glance at the new blower motor exposed another problem.
It came without screws. So, when my
daughter attacked the screws, we made sure to hang onto those (bleep)ing little parts. It took my daughter 15 minutes
to remove them (only because I'd spent the better part of 2 ½ hours loosening
them for her). In less than a minute she had the old blower motor out and was
replacing the (bleep)ing screws into the new one – yeah, they went in much easier than they came
out. A few seconds later she had the wires and air flow hose plugged back in.
The blower motor now puts out the usual Arctic Waste and Saharan Summer winds.
If I’d
known that 3 little screws were going to make my Sunday afternoon this
aggravating, I might have reconsidered. I almost had myself convinced (for a second) that I had a
few of my own screws loose for attempting this repair. But instead, I’ve found
it’s made me fighting mad. I am not going to let a seemingly easy
auto repair stop me. Next time, I get a repair that looks like something I
could do, I’m going after it with a vengeance. This is not going to beat me.
One good thing that’s come out of it, though. My daughter’s blower motor was
doing the same thing as mine. She knows where the blower motor is and she now
knows how to fix it. Next paycheck? We’re attacking a Toyota Matrix.
Oh, and if anyone has a prayer, a good luck charm, or a magic spell for making the removal of stubborn screws easier, send them our way.
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