Having an issue with the A/C and heater blower that I hope someone can help me with. After I start my car, the blower sounds normal. But, when I hit a bump in the road, it starts squeaking rhythmnically. It's a very high pitch squeaking like a bearing has gone out of the motor or something. Once it starts, I have to turn the fan off and when I restart it, sometimes it will be ok, sometimes not. It seems to squeak each time the fan blade turns around, so the faster the fan blows, the faster the squeak is. It's very high pitched and VERY ANNOYING! The only thing I can think to do is replace the blower motor. Anyone have other ideas or suggestions?

 

Take the blower motor out. It's easy in your truck. You don't have to remove any part of the glove compartment. Just crawl under there, unbolt it (three bolts, If I remember correctly), disconnect the electrical connector, and pull the motor down. There might just be some dirt in the bearings causing it to squeal. Just try spraying them down with a good lubricant (Don't just use WD-40... as that won't last very long.) You should be able to tell if the bearings are bad by wiggling the motor shaft (radially and axially). There should not be very much play. If you decide the bearings are bad, then you can replace the motor (probably $$$ at the dealer), but I'd try the cheap fix first.

 

I found a replacement motor assembly at Rockauto.com for under $70...which sounds pretty cheap to me versus the stealership. I'll try your suggestions first though with some PB Blaster.

 

For more info on removing the fan, with pics even

http://www.4runners.org/articles/fan/

 

That is a good price. Is that a specific aftermarket replacement for your truck or a generic one. If it's generic, I would make sure that the wattage is such that you won't blow fuses with the fan on 'HI' (shouldn't be a problem).

 

Here is where Bob's writeup came from and you'll see in there I had the exact same issue with mine before I serviced it. Now, 2 years later, still no problem with it (so no need to replace anything).
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/heater-ticking-sound-23595/

PS Don't use any penetrants on it!!! (PB, WD40, etc) use true lube oil (3in1, marvel, etc)

 

Gotcha MTL...thanks for the good advice (as always)! I'll try it tonight and see what happens.

 

Let us know how it comes out. I'm getting a little chirp on low fan and was planning on doing the service per Bob's write up this summer so I'm curious to see if this fixes your problem.