Blower Motor - 98 Safari

The blower motor on my 98 Safari van started howling recently, so it was time to replace it. I don't have air conditioning, which I gather makes this job harder.

1. The blower is behind an "acoustic shield", located in the top of the picture.

2. But first, you have to remove the wiper fluid and coolant reservoirs. Use a set of wire cutters to pull the center pin out of the connector (pull, don't cut). Also, disconnect the hose between the radiator and the coolant reservoir (right above the wire cutters). This will give you more room to move the reservoirs out of your way. Disconnect the power to the wiper fluid motor.

3. Remove the power connector to the blower motor, and the screw on the left side of the acoustic shield. Depending on the year of your truck, there may be two wires, and two screws. Then cut out the acoustic shield, using the markings molded into the plastic. Don't worry about cutting anything inside, as you are cutting against the back of the blower motor, which is all steel. Then remove the remaining screws holding in the motor, in my case there were four screws. The acoustic shield that you will cut out is shown to the left of the motor.

4. The old motor will just pull out. It is a tight squeeze, but you can get the motor out with a little fiddling. Transfer the motor cooling hose from the old motor to the new one. Getting the new motor back in is also a tight squeeze. Line up the locating pins with the holes on the motor, and replace the mounting screws. Then replace the acoustic cover, the mounting bolt(s), and power connector(s).

5. Finally, replace the windshield wiper and coolant reservoir, attaching the power connector for the wiper fluid motor. Be careful you don't knock off the headlight connector! Feed the overflow tube for the coolant reservoir through the hole in the bottom of the engine compartment.