Honda blower motor installation

[klpete45]

Well, I finally got around to installing a 1992 Honda Civic blower motor into my 1976 Z. While I had every intention of photographing the operation, I didn’t! I got carried away in the process, and didn’t think of taking pictures until the motor was installed. Oh well! Here is the procedure I used and the results:

1. Remove the plastic trim piece under the glove box to allow better access to the blower.
2. Remove the glove box lid and liner. Even though I have a full dash cover, I was still able to pull the box liner out through the front opening. It was tight, but by wiggling it around a little I was able to pull it free.
3. Remove the air hose that goes to the passenger side windshield defroster. This has no purpose except to provide better access.
4. Unplug old motor and remove it. Remove any gaskets that stick to the air housing and the 3 rubber mounts that fit between the fan motor and the housing.
5. Try the new motor for fit. Yep, that’s right, it doesn’t fit! At least mine didn’t, the blower cage was slightly larger circumference than the stock unit. From what I have read here and other places, apparently the 280 housing has a smaller opening than the 240.
6. Plug the new motor into the existing power supply plug and make sure that it works. The fan motor has a female T plug and the car power supply is a male T so that works perfectly. I found that this step was much easier is someone worked the ignition key and fan switch while I carefully held the unit by the motor. Be careful and don’t let the fan hit anything (especially your fingers). I don’t believe it would hurt anything, but it sure would be startling.
7. Using a 2” diameter by 2” long grinding wheel on my electric drill, I enlarged the hole in the housing. Actually, it took 2 wheels as they were cut up rather quickly by the narrow, metal around the opening. Wear gloves and safety glasses as this is a rather tight work area and I frequently slipped and hit my knuckles on various hard things. The top half of the opening is accessible through the glove box opening. I didn’t use my battery powered drill because I don’t think it would cut as well as a faster plug-in type. While this was certainly not my idea of fun, it didn’t take nearly as long as I thought it would. I didn’t time myself, but I don’t believe it took more than 30 – 40 minutes including several short breaks and trial fittings.
8. The open end of the blower fan (the end that goes into the housing first) has a reinforcing ridge around it, so it is larger than the rest of the fan. If you can squeeze the unit into the hole, it should have enough clearance to work. Once inserted, hold it in position, plug in the power and have someone help you through the power-up procedure again. If there is no rubbing, then you’re good – to – go.
9. My fan came with a good gasket. If yours’ didn’t, then you will need one. I mounted the fan flush with the housing (as opposed to mounting it with the 3 rubber bushings between the motor and the housing).
10. Plug in the power supply (a perfect match on my motor) and run the fan through its speed range. Check for rubbing and/or air leaks. In a perfect world, the power cable in the car would be several inches longer, but it works as is.

I didn’t do all of this at one time, but I don’t think it should take more than 2 – 3 hours to accomplish.

Was it worth it? Well, I don’t know. The fan performed much better than the stock fan on the bench, but in the car it was barely noticeable. The real test will have to wait until this summer to try the A/C in the Oklahoma heat. In the meantime, I’m going to do some tests to determine the current available at the fan. I suspect that I’m not getting full potential because of poor current flow in the old wiring and slider switch.

This is a simple project, and if you attempt it, I wish you the best of luck. Ken

[sblake01]

I always thoght that the Honda blower motor change was to benefit 240Z owners. Being an MVAC tech, I would look into anything that make the a/c work better. But I own a 78 280Z and the fan has never been a problem. It moves a decent volume of air for either the heating or the a/c function. Good enough the cool the system down to under 40 deg. at the vents.

[theianmonster]

its cool that you did a swap and everything.
but.
one problem.
honda in a nissan.
you just shattered my heart.

[bemmerguy714]

Originally Posted by klpete45

Well, I finally got around to installing a 1992 Honda Civic blower motor into my 1976 Z. While I had every intention of photographing the operation, I didn’t! I got carried away in the process, and didn’t think of taking pictures until the motor was installed. Oh well! Here is the procedure I used and the results:

1. Remove the plastic trim piece under the glove box to allow better access to the blower.
2. Remove the glove box lid and liner. Even though I have a full dash cover, I was still able to pull the box liner out through the front opening. It was tight, but by wiggling it around a little I was able to pull it free.
3. Remove the air hose that goes to the passenger side windshield defroster. This has no purpose except to provide better access.
4. Unplug old motor and remove it. Remove any gaskets that stick to the air housing and the 3 rubber mounts that fit between the fan motor and the housing.
5. Try the new motor for fit. Yep, that’s right, it doesn’t fit! At least mine didn’t, the blower cage was slightly larger circumference than the stock unit. From what I have read here and other places, apparently the 280 housing has a smaller opening than the 240.
6. Plug the new motor into the existing power supply plug and make sure that it works. The fan motor has a female T plug and the car power supply is a male T so that works perfectly. I found that this step was much easier is someone worked the ignition key and fan switch while I carefully held the unit by the motor. Be careful and don’t let the fan hit anything (especially your fingers). I don’t believe it would hurt anything, but it sure would be startling.
7. Using a 2” diameter by 2” long grinding wheel on my electric drill, I enlarged the hole in the housing. Actually, it took 2 wheels as they were cut up rather quickly by the narrow, metal around the opening. Wear gloves and safety glasses as this is a rather tight work area and I frequently slipped and hit my knuckles on various hard things. The top half of the opening is accessible through the glove box opening. I didn’t use my battery powered drill because I don’t think it would cut as well as a faster plug-in type. While this was certainly not my idea of fun, it didn’t take nearly as long as I thought it would. I didn’t time myself, but I don’t believe it took more than 30 – 40 minutes including several short breaks and trial fittings.
8. The open end of the blower fan (the end that goes into the housing first) has a reinforcing ridge around it, so it is larger than the rest of the fan. If you can squeeze the unit into the hole, it should have enough clearance to work. Once inserted, hold it in position, plug in the power and have someone help you through the power-up procedure again. If there is no rubbing, then you’re good – to – go.
9. My fan came with a good gasket. If yours’ didn’t, then you will need one. I mounted the fan flush with the housing (as opposed to mounting it with the 3 rubber bushings between the motor and the housing).
10. Plug in the power supply (a perfect match on my motor) and run the fan through its speed range. Check for rubbing and/or air leaks. In a perfect world, the power cable in the car would be several inches longer, but it works as is.

I didn’t do all of this at one time, but I don’t think it should take more than 2 – 3 hours to accomplish.

Was it worth it? Well, I don’t know. The fan performed much better than the stock fan on the bench, but in the car it was barely noticeable. The real test will have to wait until this summer to try the A/C in the Oklahoma heat. In the meantime, I’m going to do some tests to determine the current available at the fan. I suspect that I’m not getting full potential because of poor current flow in the old wiring and slider switch.

This is a simple project, and if you attempt it, I wish you the best of luck. Ken

Well let us know if u end up liking it. i was thinking of getting a honda blower.

[wa5ngp]

I went to my local junk yard today and found one of these. I had mine from my 240 already out. I hooked them both up to a battery and to be honest the honda didn't seem to put out that much more air. current draw on the 240 was like 6.5 A and the hond like 8A so its doing more of something. Maybe I'm missing something but it just didn't seem worth it. Now the honda version I found didn't have that separate cooling air hose that is apparently used to cool the motor itself so maybe I need to look for one one those since it may be heavier duty.

What does the correct one look like? Does it have that air port duct on it?
Not sure where I'd put that little hose since I don't really want to drill a hole into the air box.

Don

[klpete45]

The question has come up as to why I would put a Honda blower in a 280. The answer is twofold; 1) the old blower had died and I had to replace it anyway and
2) since it didn’t pump enough air to cool the car in 80 – 100 degree weather (which covers at least 5 months in Oklahoma) and I had seen several threads on several sites that indicated that the Honda blower MIGHT be an improvement over the stock 280. I have previously insulated the firewall, tunnel and floor with a dense ½” foil backed foam insulation and my duct work has been sealed so that there are no leaks. My A/C system has been checked by a certified shop who concurs that the inability to cool the car is due to insufficient air flow. Since I don’t like to leave my Z idle for 5 - 6 months, I thought why not try the Honda motor? Would I take out a functioning stock blower for this swap? Probably not. And if you are happy with your stock blower or don’t mind sweating giant puddles every time you drive, then leave it alone. I posted the step by step because I hadn’t seen it done elsewhere. I don’t believe that I advocated or recommended this swap to anyone.

[imhoppy]

I was thinking about doing this swap but after reading your post i decided its probally not worth it.That was cool of you to take the time to document the process.Then take the time to do all that typing.That would take me a month!
Thanks again

[dogma420]

I wonder if some sort of more tinkering is needed along this thought process; I own a '72 240z (Series III) and want to install a new A/C system next summer, but man, my fan just sucks...heats up the car but I doubt it would make the A/C feel great.

1. Along the lines of the lighting relays that take the current out of the light switch and directly to the headlights, does the current go through the switch and if so, is there a way to make a relay to make the switch just a switch and get full juice to the fan?

2. Could the switch controlling low, medium, high, just be a piece of crap switch that if you replaced it, this would help?

3. Has anyone with a 240z done this conversion that is reading this? Your comments...I don't think getting a replacement Nissan fan for the 240 is a solution to help me.....so yes, in this instance, [Ian Monster] putting a Honda fan into a Nissan isn't so bad an idea. I've had both cars, and I'd say Honda heater fans are always stronger year for year....at least it isn't a Chevy V8 with a blower!

I thought when I first saw this thread, jeeze, the hybridz guys are putting a supercharged honda v-tec in a Zed? Poor shame.....

Peace all, happy holidays

[sblake01]

klpete45, since I'm the only one so far in this thread that even said anything that sounded like "why", I think you misunderstood me. I'm not knocking what you did, I was simply looking for enlightenment. Read my post. I live in Southern California and summer is similar to what you describe in your area. Like I said, I'm a certified Motor Vehicle Air Conditioning tech. My air conditioning system w/stock fan cools just fine. I was unaware that your stock fan was not functioning properly and that is not clear in your original post. I had always heard of swapping out a 240 fan for a Honda fan but never really read much about doing that to a 280 since by the they had their own factory system. If I came across as knocking what you did, I apologize because that was not my intent.

[klpete45]

sblake01, not a problem. I received a couple of emails the intimated that I was recommending this swap and wanting to know what made me such an expert. I'm certainly not an expert, I was just trying to share my experience and opinion. I'm glad that your fan is acceptable to you, I sure wish mine was also. One has to really concentrate to feel the air coming from the driver's side vent and the passenger side is not much better. I really can't imagine anyone who could be comfortable in my car on an August afternoon. I have read of others who also share the same problem. My compressor and other A/C componets are ok. Air temp at the center vent is ok ( I forget exactly what it was, but the tech said it was more than satisfactory). I'm certainly open for sugguestions. As I mentioned before, I'm going to look into the electrical side of the equation.

[klpete45]

sblake01, not a problem. I received a couple of emails the intimated that I was recommending this swap and wanting to know what made me such an expert. I'm certainly not an expert, I was just trying to share my experience and opinion. I'm glad that your fan is acceptable to you, I sure wish mine was also. One has to really concentrate to feel the air coming from the driver's side vent and the passenger side is not much better. I really can't imagine anyone who could be comfortable in my car on an August afternoon. I have read of others who also share the same problem. My compressor and other A/C componets are ok. Air temp at the center vent is ok ( I forget exactly what it was, but the tech said it was more than satisfactory). I'm certainly open for sugguestions. As I mentioned before, I'm going to look into the electrical side of the equation.

[sblake01]

Are the ducts that run from the center vent to the side vents okay? I had to replace those when I bought my car because they were cracked and a lot of air was lost under the dash. Does your car have factory or dealer installed air?

[TomoHawk]

I don't know about you, but on my 280Z, the splitter box in the center (just bedind the vent heads) doesn't split very well. I mean that most of the air that comes from the blower goes straight through the center vents and very little gets to the sides. I'll bet that if you block or close off the center vents, you'll notice a LOT more out to the sides. Could be easily fixed by extending the diverter doors in the splitter box.

[dogma420]

Blake,

When I put AC in my 72 240 next spring/summer, would you say the r134 kit from Courtesy nissan would be the best choice? I would like to go r134...so if I'm in a pinch, I can just shoot a can in the system to get by until it can be 'fixed'....I have done 100s of A/C services when I was a manager at Jiffylube (not even close to your level of exp/)...but I do know that you should do a professional service...just want to go with the 134 so I don't have to worry about paying $50++ to India or what have you for the supposed stuff not made anymore r12.

Sorry to ramble...

By the way blake, you had a blue z as an avatar right? I've associated you with that picture and I hadn't really looked at your name for a long time...the woodstock kinda through me off...what's up with woodstock? He's a cool bird...he would get his ass kicked by tweety bird however.

later all,

[sblake01]

Looks like a pretty good kit. It has finished lines instead of the bulk lines w/hose barbs like the dealer add on system in my 78. It took a lot of work for me to get those to stay sealed. It also uses a Sanden compressor. That's a plus. R134a cools very well in a system designed for it. I've done a couple of conversions (R12 to R134a) and was only moderately satisfied with the results. I use R414B (Hotshot) but that's a whole different story. If you don't have a liscense to buy it, you'd have a problem finding a shop that wil service your a/c if it has Hotshot in it. R134a can be purchased by anyone. Even in large cylinders. Anyway, if you have the expertise to install the system yourself, that is also a plus as it's somewhat labor intensive and costly if a shop does it. as far a Woodstock goes, that's the name of my truck. I really can't recall why but we've been calling it that ever since I bought it 25 years ago.

[2fiddyz]

Yea this is mostly to benefit a 240 owner but to make the most of this mod you should run a Relay and wire the fan directly to the battery. Also another friend ran like 3 inch ducting from the center plenum to the side vents with pretty decent results.

[bpilati]

Doesn't enlarging the ducts, lower the velocity?