Yet another lurker out of the shadows... (2 Viewers)

[Tommy Dwyer]

Glad you got it repaired @TWillz. The noise was driving me nuts.... Your parking assist radar controller looks completely different than mine...what year LC? And yes, the wiring jack on the fan assembly was the big dilemma....but after removing the three screws, I thought about what @ForrestGrump said about his literally falling out after bumping the glove box. I lowered the fan to the point that the plug was resting on the lip protruding from the back side of the glove box, then pushed / tilted the fan assembly back (towards the front of the truck), and it fell right out.
As you said, best $150 I’ve spent in a while!

 

[ForrestGrump]

@TWillz interesting shot of your radar control. Mine wasn't attached like how yours is. It only had one screw close to the firewall. Wonder if it has something to do with model year (mine is 08). Glad this helped both you and @Tommy Dwyer!

 

[TWillz]

Mine is an '09 LX. If you guys both have LC's, I'm wondering if under the dash could be slightly different between the two models?

 

[Docboy]

Mark

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

Just replaced my blower motor today. It was creating a lot of noise and making the steering wheel vibrate like a Maytag. Curiously, the old blower motor did not have any obvious vibrations or looseness when I examined it after removal. But replacing it fixed the issue entirely.

Here's the trick to getting the blower out quickly and easily -

You need to rotate the blower away from you. As you're looking under the dash, pull the back of the blower motor (toward the front of the truck) down first. Don't try to drop the motor straight down. If you flip the back down first, it will just fall out from under the dash easily. Reverse the process to install the new one.

 

[Duhmoon]

Thanks for posting this information.

My blower made a god awful noise then quit altogether. Bought the part and replaced it in less than 30 minutes. Just for grins asked my local Toyota dealer for replacement cost and they quoted 8 Hours of labor and around $1140 to do the work. Told me they had to remove the heater box. I really hope they just got the Landcruisrer confused with something else.

 

[NDizzle]

Is this the part that makes the plastic-on-plastic "fart sound" that my kids think is absolutely hilarious? If so I think I need to order one as well. The farts have been getting out of hand, especially now that it's running the heat more often.

Edit: One time I specifically recall that when I left the kids (on their devices, in 60 degree weather) in the car while I went into the store. When I returned they told me that my car was alive, and that it farted real loud a few minutes after I left. I guess that's the hvac system closing the recirculation? Possibly not the fan that is mentioned, but who knows...

 

[Duhmoon]

Fan/blower let go with a squealing grinding sound. Not a fart sound.

 

[bemerritt]

So this rusty spindle is causing all of my AC noise?!?! Crazy that this is at 64k miles. Anyone have Toyota replace it as part of extended warranty? Seems ridiculous to happen this soon.

Should mention that the shaft spins freely and the noise changes as the speed of the blower increases. Coincidence that the sound started after two muddy trips off-road and a trip out on the dunes?

 

[Tommy Dwyer]

So this rusty spindle is causing all of my AC noise?!?! Crazy that this is at 64k miles. Anyone have Toyota replace it as part of extended warranty? Seems ridiculous to happen this soon.

Should mention that the shaft spins freely and the noise changes as the speed of the blower increases. Coincidence that the sound started after two muddy trips off-road and a trip out on the dunes?

View attachment 2041297

Could be....can you feel any play in the bearings of the fan / motor assembly?
Stinks that this happened at relatively low mileage...

 

[Duhmoon]

That’s what mine looked like at 120,000. Replaced the blower and no more noise. I swore I could feel a vibration in the steering wheel as well. That also went away after the replacement.

 

[bemerritt]

Dealer said that they would have to inspect the car to see if it is covered under warranty. Would cost $150 to do that which is reimbursed if it is covered. Hard pass on that.

Sol i sprayed it with some WD-40 and reinstalled it. Low and behold it seemed to be silent. Oddly enough i noticed two small leaves in the footwell (which i had just vacuumed prior), so they must have fallen out at some point. Didn't notice when i pulled the fan. Regardless, happy it appears to just be two leaves causing the commotion. Now to figure out how those got in there in the first place.

Nice to know how to fix this in the long run though, now i just need to learn more about the truck that helps when broken down in the middle of nowhere.

 

[Tommy Dwyer]

Dealer said that they would have to inspect the car to see if it is covered under warranty. Would cost $150 to do that which is reimbursed if it is covered. Hard pass on that.

Sol i sprayed it with some WD-40 and reinstalled it. Low and behold it seemed to be silent. Oddly enough i noticed two small leaves in the footwell (which i had just vacuumed prior), so they must have fallen out at some point. Didn't notice when i pulled the fan. Regardless, happy it appears to just be two leaves causing the commotion. Now to figure out how those got in there in the first place.

Nice to know how to fix this in the long run though, now i just need to learn more about the truck that helps when broken down in the middle of nowhere.

Glad it was a simple fix!

 

[RyanR]

My replacement blower came in on Friday afternoon and I was able to get it installed. Took me almost an hour to get the old one out but after re-reading this thread several times I managed to get it out. Thanks for your tips on this install ForrestGrump! I ended up having to remove 3 bolts to get the radar unit out, then another 3 for the blower assembly.
View attachment 1684960


Once this thing is off you can see the blower and the three screws that need to come out of it to remove:
View attachment 1684961

Here's a close up with the lip of the dash that makes it kind of a pain to remove the blower. The connector is right above it and it's tight in there...

View attachment 1684962

Here's a shot of the rusty old spindle. This thing wouldn't spin around easily at all. i can see why it was so noisy and vibrating so much.
View attachment 1684965

And finally a shot of the new unit - this one had a metal clip on one blade (I'm assuming this is for balancing) and then the blade directly across from that one had a small piece of black tape which is probably also to balance the fan I'm guessing.
View attachment 1684970

The new unit is super quiet, all my vibrations are gone and it blows strong. This is easily the best 150 bucks I have spent on this truck to date!

Great photos! This was exactly the setup with the 3 bolt module on my 2008 LX570. With all the tips and feedback in this thread install was a breeze.

FYI - I also opened my glovebox (Just opened, not removed), opened the recirc flap and pulled out the airfilter while I had the blower assembly out. I had a couple leaves and bits of debris in the blower but I couldn't see any other visible junk in the assembly. I gave what I could reach a quick wipe down with a damp microfiber towel.

I figured while I had it all open I should hit it with the air compressor... HOLY s***! I recommend you do this, I also recommend you wear eye protection. I had a small explosion of dried leaves, twigs, tiny pine cones, pine needles, some candy wrappers?!? and dirt and sand come blasting out of there right into my face. I spent a couple minutes hitting it with the air from every angle I could and the amount of crap that came out was amazing. Keep in mind from what I could see from above and below it looked like there was nothing in there.

Recirc and blower functionality is nice and quiet now!

 

[DecreedIt]

what a great resource ih8mud is - at 163k - as we sat idling in the ski area parking lot changing clothes to head back home, heard the dreaded bearing death whine out of the heater fan. The old Fonzie smack to the passenger side dash top confirmed - went away briefly then returned. Turned off climate control completely - noise gone. Pretty cold that day.

Searched the forums, didn't get good hits, Google though - this thread is the winning of the multiple about this topic, so another bump. Ordering with the OEM wiper blade assemblies (and hvac vent assy if I can confirm part # in time). Y'all rock, thank you for sharing.

 

[RyanR]

what a great resource ih8mud is - at 163k - as we sat idling in the ski area parking lot changing clothes to head back home, heard the dreaded bearing death whine out of the heater fan. The old Fonzie smack to the passenger side dash top confirmed - went away briefly then returned. Turned off climate control completely - noise gone. Pretty cold that day.

Searched the forums, didn't get good hits, Google though - this thread is the winning of the multiple about this topic, so another bump. Ordering with the OEM wiper blade assemblies (and hvac vent assy if I can confirm part # in time). Y'all rock, thank you for sharing.

Ha, this thread is a great resource and glad you found it. I just ordered the OEM wiper blade assemblies as well.

 

[supdizzle]

Glad you got it repaired @TWillz. The noise was driving me nuts.... Your parking assist radar controller looks completely different than mine...what year LC? And yes, the wiring jack on the fan assembly was the big dilemma....but after removing the three screws, I thought about what @ForrestGrump said about his literally falling out after bumping the glove box. I lowered the fan to the point that the plug was resting on the lip protruding from the back side of the glove box, then pushed / tilted the fan assembly back (towards the front of the truck), and it fell right out.
As you said, best $150 I’ve spent in a while!

did u some how unplug it before dropping out? Or did it fall down still plugged in?

 

[Tommy Dwyer]

did u some how unplug it before dropping out? Or did it fall down still plugged in?

Been awhile since I repaired this, but as I remember, after you remove the mounting screws and have the fan loose, the jack will seem to prevent it from coming out. If you push up on the part of the fan closest to the glove box so the part towards the firewall tilts down, the fan will come out. Then you can unplug the harness, and reverse the procedure to install the replacement.

 

[08URJ200]

+1 on replacing blower motor. Motor started to squeal and run rough at random times but more so when cold outside. Felt a vibration in the steering wheel that went away when the fan was turned off. Another symptom that I believe is related but not listed above by others is that when braking while the fan is on, as the car leans forward it sounded as if the blower was wobbling due to the forward momentum. But like others when inspecting the blower assembly after and before removal, there was no clear play. I found it much easier to unclip the connector before trying to drop the assembly. There was not enough play in the wiring harness for me to leave it clipped. I also had to cut 2 pieces of electrical tape that held the wiring harness for the blower secured to the plastic housing. This gave enough play to rotate and remove the connector. No one else mentioned it but was necessary for me.

1 banana job but the magic required to drop and re-install will vary. Im still not sure how I got it out or back in but it can and will. Had to step away and come back a couple times.

 

[Catskills]

Read this thread and a couple others when my blower motor failed last week.

At Toyota, my service advisor said: "Bad news. We have to take your entire dash apart and the part's been discontinued. It'll be at least $1,200."

But I was primed. Told him that's what everyone says and you don't need to take the dash apart. He was unmoved and said he trusted the tech.

Got the Denso part from Parts Geek and replaced it myself. I had to remove the sensor on mine before I could get the blower out. I did take me awhile to remove the blower but I probably shouldn't have started this project when it was 12 degrees. It was much easier to get the new one back in, which surprised me.

I found a Tundra video that was helpful for me. Little different but the visual helped:



Anyway, thanks everyone for weighing in. You guys just saved me 1200 and now I have heat.

I'm gonna offer to train the tech.

New one going in...