S4 Heater fan

[106500]

The heater fan runs very noisily on my S4. It screeches as if in a dire need of lubrication. I assume I can only rectify this by removal - involving the time consuming removal of the dashboard. Appreciate any views as to the potential nature of the fault/procedure for remedy. etc. Thanks.

[nebogipfel]

Assuming the fan blades aren't actually chaffing on something it is likely that the bearings in the Smiths motor are dry.

Simple to rectify but an absolute pain to get at. I haven't tried but I'm sure the dash would have to be at least partially removed. The heater box is a tight fit twixt the back of the dash and the plenum chamber.

[Dave-M]

Almost cetrainly the bearing bush on the heater motor. Dash out time!
Wiper motor doe's the same noise too (same reason)
Dave-M

[SADLOTUS]

I used to squirt WD40 down the air intake grill at the base of the windscreen thinking what harm could it do? Had the fan spinning, seemed to work, used plenty and stinked a bit for a coupla miles. Worth a try before you take out the dash!

[john.p.clegg]

I've just done this and it's a bummer of a job,the heater was not 100% and the fan noisy.
I had a spare unit which i overhauled prior to starting(new seals etc.)
You can't imagine the number of electrical faults you can put on just by removing/refitting the dash.
But to cap it all it proved to be a dodgy earth that caused the fan to be slow and noisy,so have a play in that direction first is my suggestion
John(still no smiley?)

[Dave-M]

Try all the bodges, But in the end you will find replacing the rock hard 30+ year old grease in the end bearing is the only proper fix.
Regards
Dave-M

[106500]

You're right! Just how difficult is it to remove the dash? My S4 was rebuilt some years ago and appears to have a new loom and dash..........

[poiuyt]

1. disconnect the negative battery terminal (in fact, both - just to be sure)
2. drop the u-clamps under the steering column and pull it down
3. remove the shift knob and lift off the console (it's just a drop fit - no screws
4. open the glove box and remove the fiberboard box (screws around the opening)
5. remove the bolts across the upper front of the dash (five, I think) and the two at the base of the dash near the console
6. you should be able to pull the dash out enough to get behind it. If not (or if the idiot who owned the car before you shortened all of the wires, as on mine) you will probably have to remove it completely.
7. if you need to remove it completly, remove the instruments (label every wire as you take it off and make a diagram of where they go - you'll thank me later). If you can, release the clamps and pull them out the front as far as you can - you should be able to leave most of the wires on and remove them after you pull the guages out of the dash.
Except for the grounds which are connected to the clamp pins.
8. Don't pull the wires off the switchws - they may come apart before the wire pulls off (they are easy to put back together, though). Instead, pull the dash as far out as you can and unscrew the switches from the back of the dash. They will hang there until you are ready to put them back in.
9. The choke and other cables can be left in - there should be enough play to get behind the dash and, besides, they are a bitch to reinstall.

When you reinstall the dash, take a piece of a bicycle inner tube and tape it over the back of the switch terminals. There is a steel support behind the dash and it shorted out my antenna switch because of the close tolerances. The rubber will insulate the terminals and avoid one more possible problem.

Once you have the heater core and motor back in, installing the dash is the reverse of the above.

Note: I'm doing this from memory as we installed a Prestige Autowood dash last April before the Greenwich Concours. Go slow and, if I missed anything, you should be able to figure it out.

Steve B
1969 S4
1978 Fiat X1/9

[pereirac]

A word of warning.

The varnish on modern replacement dashboards can be very thick and brittle. If you have any sharp corners (such as around the switch holes on a Sprint) or small cracks in the varnish (such as around the holes for the screws fixing the ashtray in) it does not take much pressure on the dashboard to make the cracks grow until you have a long visible crack across the part of the dash. It happened to me once when I was fitting a 'new' replacment dashboard (for the first time). The varnish on my dashboard was actually so thick that after a few weeks of being vertical the surface of the dashboard looked like a lake with horizontal 'ripples' across its surface...

Take care applying any pressue to the dashboard when trying to get it out or refit it...

Carl

[nebogipfel]

My advice FWIW, unless you really need the fan I'd forget about it until you need to remove the dash for some other reason, then solve both problems at the same time.

Of course if you live in a cold clime or drive your Elan through the winter I guess you cannot forget about it!