We had a blower motor put on in Feb and a couple weeks ago while we were sitting still in a parking lot there was a big thump and then something in the dashboard started vibrating. So we took it back to the place that put on the motor they said that a rock or acorn was sucked up and shattered the fan blade and that’s what’s vibrating. We contacted 5 other places that said it’s impossible for a rock to get in there and shatter it and they are just blowing us smoke. Does anyone have any experience or know if this is true or not?
Well, something had to shatter the fan, if it is indeed ‘shattered’. If a rock got in there, it should still be in there. It is difficult for something large to get in there. Another possibility is that they damaged the fan when they worked on the motor, and eventually it self destructed. Or a bolt or something could have been left loose in there and eventually the $#%^ hit the fan, so to speak.
That’s kind of what we were thinking, thanks. I’m sure it was their fault and they just don’t want to own up to it.
I have had acorns get into the fan. I’ve never seen a rock get into one but I would not say that it is impossible.
I’m with keith on the acorn experience. Lots of rocks are the size of acorns.
The fact is that until the fan comes out you won’t know and even then it might not be possible to say. Weird stuff does just happen. Having only your description I’d only give about 50/50 odds that this was the result of the previous work.
I will tell you that weird stuff like this is what has me working on my own cars. If someone is going to screw something up - then I want it to be me.
Lots of stuff gets sucked up into these fans. I’ve seen mice get in there and build nests in them, that’s a lot of fun when you turn the fan on…
I guess the confusing thing is that it is only vibrating under the glovebox but they say the fan is shattered and the blower motor itself is still attatched. But when asked what the vibrating is we were told the fan. Either way it’ll have to be fixed and I wish my husband could do it.
Replacing a blower motor/fan is not that complicated for someone of average mechanical ability. It is a little strenuous on the body since you have to do some acrobatics to work under the dash. So if you or your husband aren’t physically challenged in an serious way its probably not a big deal. A typical blower motor involves 3 screws and one electrical plug.
If the blower wheel hasn’t been removed yet I wonder how they are able to know the condition of it.
The cowl screen on the Durango usualy won’t let in any large debris, the most common problem with these vehicles is pulling in napkins and small pieces of paper for the glove box while in recirulate mode.
The blower motor in this vehicle is difficult to replace, the motor is mounted sideways, with the motor towards the firewall. However you should be able to clean out the blower wheel by removing the glove box and blower motor panel.