Why do blower motors go bad?

That’s a good question because it happens so often.  There is a motor about one foot down from your dash and about one foot back from your center console.  Here lies the blower motor, the bane of too many 240 and 740 drivers.

The motor has two nautilus-shell looking blades on each side that blow air coming from the little grills at the top of your hood or recycled from inside the cabin.  The motor shafts of the motor are exposed to moisture in the air and after 20+ years they start to corrode.  The corrosion grows along the shafts and eventually works its way into the motor area itself.  The parts in the motor need to be clean in order to operate properly, and when it’s not, that’s when you start hearing the squeal.

Eventually the corrosion on the motor will get so bad the motor will completely cease.  There is only so much space between the pieces in the motor, completely locking it up.  Unfortunately, no servicing can really happen for the motor other than completely replacing it.

A blower motor replacement job is tedious, to say the least.  You must move a lot of dash and center console pieces to even get to the shrouds housing the motor.  There are different tricks you can check out by googling the steps, but the instructions don’t really help the job be any less of a major project.  Seriously, check it out.

And on cars 1984 and older, newer style blower motors don’t match the holes perfectly for the brackets on the car and you have to cut/grind the brackets down a bit.  It’s a pain and if you don’t do it correctly, the motor will be off camber and the motor blades will hit the housing, making a different terrible sound.

Needless to say, it’s a rough job but at least you know what’s going on with it.  When you are looking to purchase your next Volvo, if it’s a 240 or 740, keep in mind if the blower motor doesn’t work you’re going to need to have it serviced before it starts getting cold… because you can only drive with the front windows cracked for so long to defog your windshield.  I personally have gone through a few seasons like this, but I have really warm gloves and love the rain.

peace - Phil


r-sportinternational.com

Internal vs. External Wastegate

Every-now-and-then we run into an issue with an internal wastegate on the turbos we work on. Wastegates are the valves that release excess pressure when you aren’t pushing on your turbo.  The pressure builds when you spool up the turbo but when you shift or decelerate that pressure needs to go somewhere or it will blowback on the turbo… which is a really bad thing to have happen.

So, there are these internal wastegates that are inside a turbo. A little pressure switch flips open a door for the release with a little whistle sound.  Not usually a problem but when we start working on turbo cars with 250hp+ we stop losing control of the boost.  For instance, the last car we had with this problem we wanted to have the boost around 10PSI, but we couldn’t get it below 20PSI.  All because the door on the wastegate is smaller than we need and the boost release was like having a hairdryer blowing through a coffee straw, there will always be a high pressure.

Internal wastegates are really great--they are less operating parts, smaller in size, they can be ported a bit better than stock, and cheaper because they’re usually already built into the turbo.  But when you are thinking of high performance or race level engines, you need to start thinking about having a larger diameter door for the release.  You can only bore out the door internally so far before you’re cutting into the integrity of the turbo.

What we do is weld the door shut (make it look like it was never there) and install an external wastegate on the exhaust header itself.  What we see is complete control over pressures, allowing us to increase the efficiency of the turbo and even add to the strength of the motor.

Ultimately, internal wastegates are the way to go on the daily-turbo-driver, but when you’re thinking of going big with the engine always plan on having an external wastegate built into the exhaust header.

If you have any questions, as always, give us a call or email us - Contact Page

Intro to R-Sport International Bloggers

(R-Sport International Website)

Hello and thanks for checking us out!

In the R-Sport International (RSI) blog we will cover what's on our minds about Volvos.  From racing, maintenance, fabrication, and Volvo lore, we will discuss the things that make us excited about Volvos.  Let me introduce you to our bloggers:

Eric - Our master mechanic.  He works on all models of Volvo and BMW's, but has a soft spot in his heart for Volvo 240's.  Super experienced with over-the-phone support and diagnosing problems from the sounds people make.  When not working in the shop, you can catch him playing the Reggae Flute... seriously!

Mitch - Our director of operations.  Runs our day to day operations and makes the big decisions.  He has lots of track-time under his belt and is a bit crazy about Volvo performance racing.  When you are in need of a good joke, Mitch has got you covered.

Ben - Our orders conduit.  Ben processes all orders and knows Volvo parts like the back of his racing glove.  He is the RSI Race-Team captain and makes a mean-chili for the track days.  If you're a professional level shop-mechanic or a novice to Volvos, it doesn't matter, Ben's got you covered.  On a side note, I like to call him Dr. Sunshine.

Tom - Our custom race-fabricator.  Tom makes stuff out of nothing and has been doing it for years.  Custom headers, runners, roll-cages, robo-cops, whatever, Tom has made it and can get you set up.  He has worked on $100k+ race cars but really likes upgrading your daily driver.  When not in the shop, Tom uses his pro-level race skills to beat the socks off kids on XBox 360.

Joel - Our social interface.  Though Joel has been a fan of Volvos for years and even used a 240 instead of a ring to propose, he's not the professional the rest of us are.  But this allows him to see Volvo things the way most people do and still get excited about it.  When not in the shop plugging away at the computer, he's head-banging like he doesn't even give a care.