Cleaning blower motor & "fixing" ticking

[Towncivilian]

Several weeks ago I came across this TSB which states that if light ticking is heard at lower fan settings (1 and 2) for 1996-2001 Pathfinders, a blower motor cover is available to dampen this ticking to acceptable level, or reduce it completely. I acquired this cover for $11.42 after tax at my local dealership (wholesale price; dealer marked-up price was $20something). Tonight I cleaned the blower motor, its housing, and installed the cover. Here are some pictures of the process:

 

Blower motor cover:

 

Blower motor housing, before:

 

Clean housing:

 

The red stuff looks and feels like rust. I guess that's from 10 years worth of Florida's humidity and moisture.

 

Next was to clean the blower motor:

 

 

Since there are so many fins, cleaning each and every one thoroughly would be an extremely time consuming process. I decided to run the fins under the sink, spinning the cage with my fingers quickly to remove most of the crud. I then used Q-tips to get most of the remaining crud off:

 

I also detached the small tube, rinsed it under water and ran a paper towel through it to grab more crud and dry it:

 

After drying the cage thoroughly and reattaching the tube, I cleaned the blower motor's bracket per the TSB's instructions to ensure proper adhesion of the new blower motor cover. I then screwed it back into its cage and installed the cover. The fit of the external plastic isn't perfect, but this cover applies to several different Nissan vehicles. The actual sound-deadening foam inside of the cover adhered well.

 

 

I reconnected the blower motor's wiring harness and turned it on to test. The ticking was still audible when my ear was right next to the motor in the footwell, and is completely inaudible when sitting in the passenger seat and driver seat in a silent garage with no other noise. Here's a brief video comparison of before and after:

 

Before:

I kept the camera close to the motor just to ensure the ticking was heard as an example. Be assured that the ticking was definitely audible when in the driver's seat as well.

 

After:

Like I said, if your feet have ears, you'll hear the ticking, but if you're in the driver or passenger seat, it's inaudible.

 

For a total cost of $11.42, it's quite an effective fix. The ticking always annoyed me, but if you don't mind it you probably shouldn't bother wasting your money. I do, however, suggest cleaning the blower motor and its housing as mine was filthy. I don't know about you, but I sure don't want to be breathing in that crap that drained down my sink...

 

I had to remove a few pics due to forum limitations, but they were just some additional pictures of the dirty wet wipe I used to wipe down the blower motor housing with for emphasis, and a couple additional shots of the clean blower motor cage. If you'd like to see them anyway, you can read this same thread I cross-posted on NICOclub.