Noisy Blower Fan

[Slick72]

I've searched through this site, but haven't seen an answer to this question. I think something has fallen into the fan on my '98 Camry and is now making a harsh noise when my AC/heater fan is on any setting except 'low'. Can anyone tell me how to access the fan compartment (or direct me to another site) so I can try to fix the problem. Thanks and it's nice to see a good site dedicated to one of the best cars made.

[atobe]

i just know the blower motor is behind the glove compartment. as how to get there sorry. but you can try to leave the fan on high for a lil while and it'll blow it out. i had a small leaf stuck in mine and that seemed to work

[brungold]

i had that last week too, but it made the noise even when the climate fan was on LOW.
i usually drive with the fan on low anyways, so when it started making the noise i freaked. but i turned if off for a day or two and the noise isnt there anymore.
try giving your fan a rest for a bit too.. although your problem might be different from mine.
Good luck!

[jhbhatia]

Question: when did last change the a/c fan belt?

[Slick72]

I haven't changed the a/c belt since owning the car. It currently has 111k on it. The noise appears to be coming from behind the dash slightly on the passenger side. I'll try removing the glove box for access to the fan motor, but does anyone know how to access the plenum in case I can't reach whatever object is causing all the commotion.

[Nico]

Originally posted by jhbhatia
Question: when did last change the a/c fan belt?

What and where is this belt ?

[Slick72]

Fixed it!!! I removed the glove box and found the fan motor. I then loosened three bolts to remove the fan motor/squirrel cage assembly. Inside the squirrel cage, it looked as if a mouse had made a home. When the fan was in low speed, there wasn't enough momentum to make the squirrel cage run off-center. But when the fan was on 3/4 or full speed, the extra weight on one side of the cage made the fan run lopsided, thus the godawful noise. I cleaned the cage and reassembled. Voila, noise problem fixed. Thanks for those who replied.

[jhbhatia]

Originally posted by Slick72
Inside the squirrel cage, it looked as if a mouse had made a home.

god..how long had you kept the car in storage for this to happen....Glad your problem is solved!

[CDub LXi]

I tried taking mine apart today but I can't access the last screw to drop the motor out of the dash. I have a lot of wiring right there and don't want to mess it up.

The motor has 3 screws holding it to the dash and it has 2 screws in the dead center on the bottom of the motor... no clue as to what these do. I pulled those 2 screws off the bottom of it and now they won't go back in! The fan motor won't turn back on now.

Off to Toyota service department I go I guess..... something as simple as this turns into something big all the time

[EDIT]
UPDATE! I took it to Toyota this morning at 7am and finally got it back around 4:30pm! Total cost to fix it was $70 (US currency). They said a mouse must have gotten in through insulation or something and made a nest in it. They told me to prevent this from happening again to leave the car overnight with the recirculation button on instead of pass through or whatever.