Honda Civic Heater Blower Motor upgrade for 240z's--My personal take

[TBK1]

I got one of these blowers off ebay, but when i was going to mount it it seemed that you had to cut out or grind more of the metal out of the area where the fan cage goes in, this is on a77 so it might be alittle diff, did you guys have to modify the opening any???

[Dtsnlvrs]

This is true....the honda motor is a drop in for the 240Z, however some modification may be required to use it in the 260 or 280.

[dogma420]

I attached 2 pictures so you can see what the motor looks like that I ordered new; looks much different from the normal oem honda fan that's silver on the outside. As you can see, no plastic connectors, just 2 wires, like stock, come out of the motor. It's not an exact clone on the outside, but I think it looks pretty good.

TBK1--This is stictly a drop in for the 240z only; I believe you do have to modify for the 260/280 style of heater box...maybe somebody on here has done a 280z? Or you could be the first!

[dogma420]

When I install the A/C unit this summer, I plan on painting the entire fan enclosure with POR15 Chassis coat black...it does look a little oxidized compared to the actual fan motor black.

[adamr]

I had my used fan shipped to me for a total of $60.00. I installed it in less than a 1/2 hour. It is the easiest and one of the best upgrades you can do. I love it. Thanks!!!

Adam

[sleepyzzz]

Thats alot of work and money for something I can buy from a couple of different sellers on E-bay for less than $60. And both of them include a pigtail to plug it in with. Just do a search for "Datsun Blower"

my fan motor runs but squeals really loud when it is first turned on.

where would a guy find this on Ebay? thanks for the help.

[ZCCOR#109]

Hey folks

Just got through with this upgrade. THANKS Dogma for the info, great stuff.

I bought a generic part from Autozone, $40 with my neighbors tech discount. Mated with a new Honda fan. Made a new gasket and used the outer half of the Z's bolt grommets to bold in to place.

Interesting detail from this experience follows:

As you may or may not know, squirrel cage fans have a curve to the blade. And, the fan housing is built for the fan to turn a specific way such that the air is trapped in certain areas and expelled in a specific direction.

The Z car fan has the curves in the opposite direction to the Honda blades, yet the Honda set up in a Z has to turn the same direction as the Z car to move the air through the housing.

I determined this by wiring my set up for the "correct" direction of the Honda blades. Verrrrryyy little air moving. Using a set of jumper wires reverse the motors direction of turn and ...lots of air even though the "fan" is turning in the wrong direction for the blade curves. The housing configuration rules.

So, what would we get if the Honda fan blades were curved the "correct" was for our usage? Woaahh. I would like to think a real Kansas storm. :-)

Now, will some one come up with a replacement fan cage that will have the correct curve on the blades!

[Inf]

Just did this upgrade myself.

I removed and painted the back cover on the new blower satin black, as I couldn't stand the thought of installing it with that ugly pot-metal colored cap.

I was really dreading taking out the glove box, but I somehow managed to remove it and put it back in without destroying it, or really damaging it at all. A small miracle based on what I've read in a lot of other posts on this forum.

Contrary to what I had sometimes heard, I don't see how this swap could have been done without removing the glove box. In my case, there was simply not enough room between the blower housing and the glove box for the cage to come out.

I was a bit surprised when I hauled the old blower out. I had been under the impression that my blower was stock, and I was expecting to see a metal squirrel cage inside. Instead, I found a dingy old plastic one. I'm attaching pics of the two motors side by side.

I checked the motor part number shown in the picture in my microfiche, and it is listed as the correct number. Could someone have swapped out the cage at some point, or did the 240Z really have a plastic cage to begin with? I've yet to see other pictures of the original unit.

The newer Honda motor blows harder than the old one, but not by a whole lot. Still pretty happy with the upgrade, nonetheless. I was only testing the blower without the engine running today, I'm excited to see how it performs when the alternator is putting out a lot of juice. I also have the 60A alternator upgrade from MSA on the way, so hopefully I can get frostbite while idling at stop lights this summer.

Edit: Forgot to mention - not 100% sure what car model my "new" blower came out of. I bought one of those package deals on eBay a few years ago, with the little dongle wired to the 240Z connectors. It was literally sitting in my house for the last 3-4 years collecting dust before I finally had another reason to remove the glove box to upgrade the bulbs on the center gauges to the 4W variety from MSA. Here's to hoping I never have another reason to pull the glove box until I do a full restoration in 5-10 years.

Edited April 6, 2010 by Inf

[Zs-ondabrain]

This is definately a great upgrade. The earlier Z's had the metal cage, or at least my 70' had metal as did my early 71' (12/70) The swap is very easy and I definatly noticed the difference. Then again, my metal fan was unballanced and caused a bad vibration, in turn causing a slower top speed.

The 260Z got this upgrade but I had to Modify the fan box by cutting a 3/16" lip off the fan box, as the 260Z fan blade and opening is 3/8" smaller diameter. I tested the 260Z fan before pulling it from the box with a fully charged battery. The fan did well on all 4 speeds. BUT!!!! After cutting a larger opening for the onda upgrade and testing again with the same motor, The difference was night and day. The force of air from the new motor and fan blade was almost enough to MOVE the fan box in the oposite direction of the opening triangle. HI speed was a fricken Tornado compared to the Datsun motor and fan. Can't wait to get the 260Z done to see the end result in a rebuilt car.

The new green 240Z (72') will get this upgrade as well. My 12 year old Daughter can blow more hot air than this thing can. Seriously.

Dave

[soundmasterg]

This is definately a great upgrade. The earlier Z's had the metal cage, or at least my 70' had metal as did my early 71' (12/70) The swap is very easy and I definatly noticed the difference. Then again, my metal fan was unballanced and caused a bad vibration, in turn causing a slower top speed.

The 260Z got this upgrade but I had to Modify the fan box by cutting a 3/16" lip off the fan box, as the 260Z fan blade and opening is 3/8" smaller diameter. I tested the 260Z fan before pulling it from the box with a fully charged battery. The fan did well on all 4 speeds. BUT!!!! After cutting a larger opening for the onda upgrade and testing again with the same motor, The difference was night and day. The force of air from the new motor and fan blade was almost enough to MOVE the fan box in the oposite direction of the opening triangle. HI speed was a fricken Tornado compared to the Datsun motor and fan. Can't wait to get the 260Z done to see the end result in a rebuilt car.

The new green 240Z (72') will get this upgrade as well. My 12 year old Daughter can blow more hot air than this thing can. Seriously.

Dave

You got ANOTHER Z Dave? You're addicted to working on Z's I think.

I still need to do the fan conversion on my '72....one of these days when I get some money rolling in.....

Greg

[Inf]

It was only mid 70s today in Austin, but the sun was coming down at full strength. I was getting hot even with the windows down, so I decided to turn on the A/C and give the new blower its first real test.

It was definitely a huge improvement over the stock fan. When cruising at a decent RPM, my little 40A alternator was putting out enough juice to keep the fan blowing pretty hard, and man, was it blowing hard and cold. I felt like I'd transplanted the A/C vents from a modern car into my Z! I stuck my arm into the back hatch area when I was feeling pretty cold up front - still pretty warm back there. I guess louvers or a tint job would fix that, but I'll just wait and see how the system handles this summer.

I heard something making a *thwap thwap thwap* noise at random intervals while I was driving, and after I got home, a flashlight down the center vent revealed it was a strip of ancient foam insulation (you know, the stuff that instantly disintegrates as soon as you touch it) bouncing around around way in the back of the central air box.

Not sure where it came from, but I guess I'll be removing the front panel and getting at it with a pair of chopsticks or something.

Guess the new fan blows hard enough to kick that debris around in there, while the old blower just left it alone.

[New-to-240z]

Hey guys, I was wondering if there is a simple way of testing your blower motor while in the car. I have a 73' 240Z and I would really like to be able to test out my motor to see if my motor is working or if my fan knob is actually just broken. I'm not the best with electronics but I'm hoping someone here has some insight that might make this test easy for me, so I can go ahead and replace my blower if the knob is working. If it isn't . . . then I'll just have to wait till I can find someone with a little more know-how then myself. :stupid: