In this video I disassemble a 1985 VW Vanagon dash to repair the seized blower motor. Now is a good time to do this as winter is coming and the coolant is out of the system due to a Subaru engine swap taking place. Follow along!
+Busaru thank you for posting this video. I just successfully replaced my blower motor thanks in part to the tips and tricks learned here. Two things I did differently: instead of using zip ties or clips to reattach the halves of the heater box, I drilled pilot holes through the welded tabs and secured them with sheet metal screws (17 in all, I believe); secondly, I relocated my blower motor resistor to the grill area behind the passenger side headlight (similar to the radiator fan resistor located behind the driver's side headlight) with an extended 12 AWG wire loom; it's now surrounded a by non-flammable/non-meltable metal area, is always in fresh airflow, and can be easily changed when the time comes.
I learned the deal on those bolts from a friend who has been a mechanic in the 70s. They are called “shear” bolts, as they come with a nut on the head for installation that Shears off when the appropriate torque is reached. These are to keep you from removing them. He said that they always just welded new nuts on them after removing to make it easier if they had to remove them again.
IVE HAD ALL THE PARTS TO DO THIS FOR LAST TWO YEARS , I BEEN FREAKED BY ALL THE HORROR STORIES , IVE WATCHED THIS VIDEO NUMEROUS TIMES AND IM GOING FOR IT .....I THINK
How did it go? Im into my second day and cant get the blower motor housing off- looks like it has screws from the front radiator side. Ive got an '89. Also, my 2 halves are glued as well, but I am worried about breaking them when trying to separate them, how do you do that? 8^(
I vaguely recall doing this on my '83 in the cold. Couldn't split the plastic cases in place, then I removed it and brought it into warmth, the sealant around the perimeter softened and voila.
Blower was working fine, until the #10 fuse blew. Thought it was the wiper motor, but turns out it blows when I turn on the heater blower. So, must be seized, eh! Will order a new one to replace it. Looking forward to doing the job now that I know how. Any comments on the fuse blowing?
My heater cable snapped, thankfully with the heat vent closed. Live in S CA so not an issue BUT I’d like to fix it. Does the dash HAVE TO come out? Or could I some how snake the new heater cable to the original (I can see it/access it) and maybe get away with not removing the dash. This looks hard, and I’ll gonna break stuff on the old gal… Great vid. Thx for posting
First off... LOVE the videos. Now my question. Is it necessary/mandatory to replace the blower motor? I am a huge believer in, "if someone can make something, then someone can take it apart, fix it, and put it back together". My fan motor stopped working, but instead of buying a new one, I thought why not try to fix it. After seeing all the CRUD that was in my blower box (dirt, feathers, bugs, leaves, etc.) I figured clean the motor up, clean it out, and see if it works. Well so far, so good. All it cost me was a can of Lectra-Motive Electric Parts Cleaner, a few shop rags, a few blasts from my air compressor, and a little electric motor oil. The amount of CRUD that came out of the motor was amazing. I wish I could of gotten the actual motor apart to do a FULL service on it... but... it blows (big-time) without any noise or bad smell. Just wanted to share... and keep those videos coming. P.S... living in Georgia, having a heater isn't really mandatory... it just bugged me that it didn't work.
+B.J. Boyette Good work! Personally, I feel exactly as you do. I love repairing over replacing. The problem is that this was a customer vehicle and he really just wanted to replace everything, so I didn't have much say. Still waiting on payment for this job haha!
Thanks Bro... but this whole process began with my clutch pedal have WAY too much play in it (the infamous egging out of the clutch pedal arm hole and wear of pivot pin). As I noted, the blower motor was just add-on since I had the dash off. Living in Ga., heaters are optional, however A/C has become mandatory. My Subaru donor engine came with ALL the A/C equipment installed, but of course, I removed it for easier engine installation. Do you plan on adding a A/C installation video to your repertoire?? Just wondering. I guess A/C isn't all that necessary in Colorado... but... here is the steamy humid south... they sure are nice to have.
The first time I did this I cleaned the motor up and put it all back together, the second time was not too much later when I replaced the blower motor :-)
Tell me guys what is the auxillary water pump at the rear on the Vanagon, Someone tells me it is there to rotate the coolant from the back to the front Radiator. Mine has been dis connected now I want to get my heater working again. Do I need this pump? As the hoses have been disconnected and bridged. I purchsed a 1995 Vanagon. I want to get everything original working on it.
great video! We just bought an '85. The heater controls are stuck near center. It blows hot air constantly. Is this the issue you had, or do you have any recommendations?
+Hi-Calibre Graphics Ltd. I bet you just need to live up the cables or free obstructions on the flaps. It would sure help to have the heater box out to do that. I had to replace the actual blower motor on the van in this video. Good luck!
One bad thing about moving the resistor pack outside the air box is that I'm fairly sure the rush of air in the box is supposed to cool the resistor pack to keep it happy.
Dwayne Perry Dwayne, thank you for pointing that out. With a heat sink on the resistor it dissipates enough heat to keep the resistor happy (at least in my experience) and I've edited the video to hopefully pursued folks to either leave it alone or move with a heat sink. Thanks man!
Busaru No problem! I never really noticed the heat sink in the video. But with a heat sink it should be cool as a clam. Love your videos and look forward to seeing the Vanagon moving under its new power soon.
Hi Busaru, Just a quick question as i'm currently doing this job myself. I noticed that you place the resistor on the outside of the heater unit for ease of access, but aren't you worried that the resistor will get too hot as they do and melt the plastic casing?
HiJust a question, my heater control don't do anything control switch not working , it's stuck on ' hot', fine in the winter but a little stifling in the summer, do you think it's a fan motor problem or just the controls that operate it
+Think Tiling it sounds like the control cables, flaps, and coolant valve need a little rehab. Start by locating the valve and see if you can manually open/close it.
+Man Living Naturally It's pretty labor intensive so maybe 6-8 hours depending on how in depth they get. It is definitely better to do this job yourself if trying to save some cash.
Great vid...thanks. Question: I've seen a couple videos of dash removal, but nobody shows how to remove the instrumentation knobs. Do you just physically pull them off, or do you do something from the back side like unscrew something? On another note, my brakes are very suspect. I can slam them down and the van will ease to a stop while I was expecting it to screech to a stop (almost ran into a couple of folks). It seems I'm hitting "bottom" quite quickly when I slam it home. Brake performance is ~ 15% improved if I pump them once before applying. I've replaced the MC (and brake sensors), I've bled all six zerks (Mitivac pulling dirty fluid out) and my indi says my pads and rotors are ok and that sometimes this is just how the Vanagon is (I call BS). Why do I still have crappy brakes? Would appreciate any, I mean ANY, advice or tips.
If you mean the heater controls then you just take a small screwdriver and kind of work then off from the back while pulling out. For the brakes, make sure you have good vacuum to your brake booster, perhaps your booster is on its way out??? Good luck!
Hello Sir ! Could you please tell more about the plastic welder ? What model did you use, so I can have a reference point ? About the dashboard...I had smoke from the dashboard, about a week ago. Somebody affirm that fix it, but last night when I started the engine, my dashboard heating was on 2 speed and I felt burn smell again, docI stop the heating. Sny idea about what I should looking for ? I'm a full time traveler and unmounting the dashboard completely, it's not a valid option for me. Any suggestion what I could check ? After the guy "fix it" , something strange occurred. The heating started without the key contact and somehow, seems to be connected with the headlights, because when i turned iff the headlights (with the key off) the heating also stopped. Thank you !
Busaru Well...one day, lot of smoke came out from the dashboard air blowing holes. I've been to the garage to fix this, among other stuff. After few days I left the garage, ine night when I turned on the engine, the dashboard ventilation was already on 2 speed position but refused to start, and after few minutes, I felt smoke smell or burned smell inside. Taking down the dashboard, is not possible for me now, since I'm a full-time traveler in the wheelchair, depending on the van, sleeping inside. My guess is that on that garage, they did some improvisation. Here's why : one night, the engine was turned off and also the key was in off position. Still...the heating was activated when the headlights were on. If I turned iff the lights, also the heating turned off. In this context, anything that I can check myself ? Where this resistor is located ? Thank you for your time !
Early in the morning it was raining I had the windshield wipers going they were going kinda slow I turned on the heater and a fuse blew, now it won't turn on at all, what fuse is it, I have an 84 would I have to take it all apart and replace the motor or? My wipers still work fine and I think I remember trying to swap the heater fuse if it has one but the fan still didn't work.
Sounds like you might have a frozen heater blower. Check your manual for fuse location or just look for the blown fuse in your panel. You will probably have to pull the dash - pretty much an all day effort unfortunately.
+Busaru Thanks for the reply it was working fine for a year then it did that and now it won't go Ha. I'll get to it later, too scared to pull the dash atm.
I have a question for you. Do you have (or know of a video somewhere) that shows which cable goes where on the blower box? Also, would you have any info on required cable lengths and cut back for the cables. I have been searching the web looking for replacements, but it is looking like I am going to have to fabricate my own. It appears that the previous owner used lawn mower throttle cables for heater control cables. Any port in a storm I guess. In hindsight, I really should of marked them at the blower box when I removed them. Anyway... any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
hey man... I see you are delivering a vehicle. Never mind about my question. I worked it out. No pics cuz it is a butt ugly arrangement of cables (not my best work)... but it functions... which is way better than before.
That might work... depending on how easy your slides and flaps move. I wound up using lawnmower throttle cables (HomeDepot). I bought them all the same length (52"). I wasn't sure about the cable length so I snipped the z-bent ends of the cables (one end only on each) and pulled the cable out of the cable housings. They are a LOT easier to route with the cable out of them. Then I just started routing cables. Once I got the cables routed, I marked and snipped the cable housings at the needed length. After that I slid the cables back into the housings (grease them first). I connected the finished end (the one with the z-bent end) at the control flap and did my final snip and put a new z-bend at the control levers. I used a magic marker to mark the open and closed locations on the cables (they move pretty easy brand new and freshly greased). Anyway... that's what I did... good luck. Just remember... measure twice... cut once.
+Think Tiling ai think you can reach the hot/cold valve from the spare tire carrier area. It's been a while for me but take a look down there and see if you can free that valve up manually.
+Zehnuss Yep, just super inefficient that way. Throw a heat sink on it and it's a much better setup. Or better yet, go with a Jeep type that you can replace without having to take the entire dash apart to replace, or PWM control. When Ava's one is on low it needs the most cooling at the resistor, seems to be why they fail, not enough airflow?
I just found that my 77' Bus's brake booster and master cylinder started leaking, causing white smoke out the tailpipe. That scared me a little as I thought it was a head gasket. Good luck with your maintenance.
Just an FYI...alternative solution to resistor replacement found on thesamba.com here www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=623382 My test video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nvxZ5Iq0Ehk.html I plan on installing inline ball valve near passenger front panel to shut of circulation to prevent "hotfoot" in summer.
