Blower Motor Upgrade - Not a Honda

[HusseinHolland]

On 4/12/2023 at 9:47 AM, HusseinHolland said:

Just found this thread. Very useful! I've ordered one of these off RockAuto, still a good deal at just over $40 for the 4 Seasons 35086. 

Still haven't installed the Kia motor yet - the one I bought seems like it's more than 1/16 to an 1/8" larger OD - I'll have to take some compassion pics - I don't see any actual install mod pics in this or the original linked thread.

[SteveJ]

23 minutes ago, HusseinHolland said:

Still haven't installed the Kia motor yet - the one I bought seems like it's more than 1/16 to an 1/8" larger OD - I'll have to take some compassion pics - I don't see any actual install mod pics in this or the original linked thread.

What part is larger? Are you talking about the squirrel cage?

[HusseinHolland]

1 hour ago, SteveJ said:

What part is larger? Are you talking about the squirrel cage?

Yes - the OD of the squirrel cage, that impedes the install in the stock opening.

[chaseincats]

25 minutes ago, HusseinHolland said:

Yes - the OD of the squirrel cage, that impedes the install in the stock opening.

Correct, you need to modify the box to get it to fit.  The general consensus is (this is what I did) getting some literal tin snips and cutting away the metal until you can fit it in.  Don't be discouraged by this, it's absolutely worth the effort.

[jfa.series1]

3 hours ago, HusseinHolland said:

Still haven't installed the Kia motor yet - the one I bought seems like it's more than 1/16 to an 1/8" larger OD - I'll have to take some compassion pics - I don't see any actual install mod pics in this or the original linked thread.

If you go back to my orignal post that started this thread, you'll find my coment that the OE housing has to be trimmed about 1/16" all aroound to accomodate the new squirrel cage.

Edited September 19, 2023 by jfa.series1

[SteveJ]

The strange thing is that I didn't trim anything for it to work on my 240Z.

You may want to see if you can swap the squirrel cages between the fan motors.

[Yarb]

Out of curiosity, Are the cages designed the same meaning the blades on the cage itself.

[HusseinHolland]

9 hours ago, chaseincats said:

Correct, you need to modify the box to get it to fit.  The general consensus is (this is what I did) getting some literal tin snips and cutting away the metal until you can fit it in.  Don't be discouraged by this, it's absolutely worth the effort.

 

8 hours ago, jfa.series1 said:

If you go back to my orignal post that started this thread, you'll find my coment that the OE housing has to be trimmed about 1/16" all aroound to accomodate the new squirrel cage.

I'll take some pics with measurements - my recollection when I tried to place it was that the discrepancy was much more than 1/16" with the 4Seasons motor 

2 hours ago, SteveJ said:

The strange thing is that I didn't trim anything for it to work on my 240Z.

You may want to see if you can swap the squirrel cages between the fan motors.

Yeah, If the shaft fitment is the same, that will be preferable. My 280Z has deep foam & metal spacers for the factory blower to get the correct offset. I'm wondering if it's even worth the bother. The Z motor has much more heft to it. I'm dubious as to the newer motor having more 'zest' than the original.

[HusseinHolland]

1 minute ago, Yarb said:

Out of curiosity, Are the cages designed the same meaning the blades on the cage itself.

The cages are not the same form factor. I'll take some pics of what I have. Perhaps different brands vary, the 4 seasons motor is much lighter weight, smaller motor than my 75 Z version, cage is larger.

[Yarb]

There have been a lot of folks that made the conversion and swear it’s a night and day difference.

[SteveJ]

25 minutes ago, HusseinHolland said:

The cages are not the same form factor. I'll take some pics of what I have. Perhaps different brands vary, the 4 seasons motor is much lighter weight, smaller motor than my 75 Z version, cage is larger.

I still have a VDO PM9196 in the box. If I can remember, I'll take photos and measurements, too. The only trimming I saw that may be necessary would be for the brackets for the mounting screws. The VDO went right in.

[HusseinHolland]

Pics of my box opening, stock motor cage & Kia (4Seasons) cage. Cages are not interchangeable, shaft design varies

5 3/8" opening

Stock cage just under 5 1/4"

Kia Cage 5 3/4" (!) 1/2" is too much meat to remove - the wall is pretty shallow in the 2 o'clock area above

 

Edited September 20, 2023 by HusseinHolland