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Installing Honda blower motor in Z


Toecutter

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This is a conversion I did a long while ago. Anyway I found a good post on it whilst looking at classicz.com. I've pasted it below for anybody that might be interested. I picked up tyhe 2nd hand honda blower motor for $25.00 just FYI and installation is quite easy.

 

Well, I finally got around to installing a 1992 Honda Civic blower motor into my 1976 Z. While I had every intention of photographing the operation, I didn?t! I got carried away in the process, and didn?t think of taking pictures until the motor was installed. Oh well! Here is the procedure I used and the results:

 

1. Remove the plastic trim piece under the glove box to allow better access to the blower.

2. Remove the glove box lid and liner. Even though I have a full dash cover, I was still able to pull the box liner out through the front opening. It was tight, but by wiggling it around a little I was able to pull it free.

3. Remove the air hose that goes to the passenger side windshield defroster. This has no purpose except to provide better access.

4. Unplug old motor and remove it. Remove any gaskets that stick to the air housing and the 3 rubber mounts that fit between the fan motor and the housing.

5. Try the new motor for fit. Yep, that?s right, it doesn?t fit! At least mine didn?t, the blower cage was slightly larger circumference than the stock unit. From what I have read here and other places, apparently the 280 housing has a smaller opening than the 240.

6. Plug the new motor into the existing power supply plug and make sure that it works. The fan motor has a female T plug and the car power supply is a male T so that works perfectly. I found that this step was much easier is someone worked the ignition key and fan switch while I carefully held the unit by the motor. Be careful and don?t let the fan hit anything (especially your fingers). I don?t believe it would hurt anything, but it sure would be startling.

7. Using a 2? diameter by 2? long grinding wheel on my electric drill, I enlarged the hole in the housing. Actually, it took 2 wheels as they were cut up rather quickly by the narrow, metal around the opening. Wear gloves and safety glasses as this is a rather tight work area and I frequently slipped and hit my knuckles on various hard things. The top half of the opening is accessible through the glove box opening. I didn?t use my battery powered drill because I don?t think it would cut as well as a faster plug-in type. While this was certainly not my idea of fun, it didn?t take nearly as long as I thought it would. I didn?t time myself, but I don?t believe it took more than 30 ? 40 minutes including several short breaks and trial fittings.

8. The open end of the blower fan (the end that goes into the housing first) has a reinforcing ridge around it, so it is larger than the rest of the fan. If you can squeeze the unit into the hole, it should have enough clearance to work. Once inserted, hold it in position, plug in the power and have someone help you through the power-up procedure again. If there is no rubbing, then you?re good ? to ? go.

9. My fan came with a good gasket. If yours? didn?t, then you will need one. I mounted the fan flush with the housing (as opposed to mounting it with the 3 rubber bushings between the motor and the housing).

10. Plug in the power supply (a perfect match on my motor) and run the fan through its speed range. Check for rubbing and/or air leaks. In a perfect world, the power cable in the car would be several inches longer, but it works as is.

 

I didn?t do all of this at one time, but I don?t think it should take more than 2 ? 3 hours to accomplish.

 

Was it worth it? Well, I don?t know. The fan performed much better than the stock fan on the bench, but in the car it was barely noticeable. The real test will have to wait until this summer to try the A/C in the Oklahoma heat. In the meantime, I?m going to do some tests to determine the current available at the fan. I suspect that I?m not getting full potential because of poor current flow in the old wiring and slider switch.

 

This is a simple project, and if you attempt it, I wish you the best of luck. Ken

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