Leaves in the A/C blower fan?

**JWSmythe** · 06-12-2010, 02:16 PM

The A/C fan in my car has sounded like it's off-balance for quite a while. It made a lot of noise on the 4th position, so I just used it at the 3rd position. That's been making noise for a while, but it was ok because it wasn't summer yet. Now that it's hot, running the fan in the 2nd position just doesn't cut it.

I assumed a piece of a cigarette pack got sucked up or something. Nope. This is what I found today.

... and for anyone that needs to do this, it's real easy. Pull the underside of the passenger dash off. Two clips pull down on the front. One spring clip on a big rod on the back (it'll be obvious when you pull the front clips off). Three 7mm bolts, and you have it in your hand.

But my question. How the hell did the leaves get in there? This is a '00 WS/6 with over 100k miles on it, so it's been around an awful lot. I guess these could have collected slowly. I'm usually careful to keep crap out of my cowl (it just looks bad). I checked the cowl, and the screens look fine. Where does the air get sucked in? I reached up in the ducts, and couldn't figure out where in was. It doesn't come from the passenger floor, so I can't even blame folks riding with me.

**pajeff02** · 06-12-2010, 04:45 PM

Speaking in generalities (not F-body specific) the air should come from the cowl area -- there's a flapper that will switch the air supply from inside to outside depending upon your HVAC settings. Not uncommon to see crap in the fan like that, especially on a car that sits outside or around trees or bushes.

**Knight** · 06-12-2010, 05:52 PM

I've had to do that a couple of times with mine.

**JWSmythe** · 06-16-2010, 07:11 PM

Originally Posted by pajeff02

Not uncommon to see crap in the fan like that, especially on a car that sits outside or around trees or bushes.

Well, my car has seen just about everything it can. Pretty much places along I-75, I-95, I-10, and a few routes from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. I've parked in garages when I can, but she's usually been outside. So, rain, snow, trees, desert dust, wildfire smoke, hurricanes and earthquakes.

I'll look forward to cleaning out the fan in another 10 years.

I love this car, she's a keeper. I'm already considering what to do for a new motor when she's closer to 150k to 200k miles (she's just about at 112k and still running like brand new)