2000 V40 - blower replacement?

[kcodyjr]

It's definitely shot. I think the hamster cage fan part has disintegrated. It moves zero air and sounds like a bench grinder and a wood lathe trying to reproduce, at any speed.

Do I really have to take the entire dashboard out to replace the blower?

Should I be preemptively doing an evaporator and heater core while it's apart?

Any other common failures that's a nightmare to get to in there?

[kcodyjr]

To answer my own question.

One must loosen the dashboard to get the fan out, but it doesn't have to come all the way out. It's just to make a little more clearance. It's up behind that lower kick panel just like every other Volvo I've seen.

But, in my case, it wasn't a blower problem, per se. It was a massive mice nest in the blower box and cooling unit. The motor is actually still fine, just horribly off balance because the fan cage became structural supports for their nesting. I replaced it anyway.

So, the dashboard had to come out, along with 2/3 of the airbox, for a deep cleaning.

[kcodyjr]

Followup to my own followup.

I didn't try to remove the blower before loosening the dash, so I'm not 100% positive it can't be done with the dash still securely attached where it belongs. Maybe someone tries it next, they can update this post. I do seriously doubt there's room to just slip it out, but, maybe whoever reads this because their fan is shot, should try loosening the fan first and just see for sure.

The good news is that the fan is installed vertically and drops straight down, unlike the 850 where it came out along the car's longitudinal axis. There's three screws, which accept a T25, a slotted screwdriver, or an 8mm socket. I strongly recommend the socket, especially for the forward one that's likeliest to get rusty. You'll be working by feel unless you get your head down in that footwell with your legs up over the seat back.

The bad news is that you're still going to have to remove both dash speakers, the instrument cluster, the radio, the ashtray, really the entire center stack except the topmost vent unit, the glove box, and the side panels along the center console, in order to get to all of the dash bolts. But, this would still save the aggravation of disconnecting the mechanical airmix cable from the airbox, the dash harness from the fuse box, the CEM, and the hood release and its bracket, as compared to removing the dash from the car altogether.

These cars have no barrier except the outer cowl protecting the blower assembly. If there's a protective grille that mine is missing, someone please speak up. So for Pete's sake, if its going to sit for awhile like say over a winter, remove the cowl and drip some peppermint oil down there, or put some moth balls just outside the intake, or something like that. Leaving it set to recirculate wouldn'[t hurt either; at least the mice will be barricaded up where they can be vacuumed through the cowl.

When I say mice nest, I mean I had the mice nest from hell. I've never seen its like. Them critters were partying island style for years.

[volvolugnut]

I hate mices to pieces!
volvugnutr