Water in the blower motor. (was "Re: a/c blower performace observations (long))

["Robert Rooney" <DMCVegas@xxxx>]

--- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxx, "Walter" <Whalt@xxxx> wrote:
<SNIP>
> The reason my original blower went bad is because it filled with 
water. Why
> did it fill with water? My condensate drain does not appear to be 
clogged.
> So what's the deal? It only had 9000 miles on it when it started 
giving
> problems. Why do the bearings get wet and rust to pieces?
<SNIP>

The drain for the intake chamber is clogged. At the bottom of the 
windshield is the intake for the heater & A/C. On the top passenger 
side is the opening where air enters in. At the bottom is a drain 
that empties out over the gas tank. As water and air enter the 
chamber, water naturally falls to the bottom and drains out. The air 
seperates and is sucked into the ducting at the top and is routed to 
the blower motor. If the drain at the bottom is clogged, water will 
fill the chamber, and will spill down thru the ducting, eventually 
collecting in the motor thus rusting it out.

To test this, pour a small amount of water down the windshield, about 
a glass or two. Then check underneath the the car to see if, and how 
much of the water drained out. You can also lean over to look 
directly down to check for blockage, and to see how fast the water 
drains. Water shouldn't stay for very long, and should immediately 
exit thru the drain. After cleaning mine, I can't flood it with even 
a garden hose.

If it's only dirt and cobwebs causing the blockage, cleaning should 
be fairly simple. Remove the access panel in the trunk for the gas 
tank. From here you'll be able to see the drain above the fuel pump 
boot. Using a coat hanger, pencil, or any other object, you can break 
the dirt apart. It makes it easier if you keep the chamber filled 
about half way with water (turns the hardened dirt back into mud. If 
the blockage is worse (twigs, leaves, excessive dirt, etc...) you'll 
need to remove the grill below the windshield to remove the items. 
But be careful, the grill is fragile. Not much force is needed to 
break it.

After this, the problem should go away. The intake chamber isn't 
something you would be able to find in the parts manual. It's not 
installed, but rather "created" when the front firewall is put into 
place (or in the DeLorean's case, when the 2 fibreglass halves were 
glued together). But it's pretty much that way on every car I've ever 
seen.

-Robert
vin 6585

p.s. If the intake chamber for the blower motor is clogged, chances 
are so is the ram air intake for the engine. It wouldn't hurt to 
check 
it as well.