what is this noise?

[GuJu MaN 89]

ok, so i have a 97 corolla, and i have had all the belts replaced thinking that was a problem. well, i still have a sqealing/squeaking noise coming in. it stops with i turn the fan off (u know, the one that blows air into the cabin). so could the blower unit need some greasing or something?

[daniel2002p]

where is the source of the noise, the cabin or engine compartmenty

[GuJu MaN 89]

dunno, it sounds like engine I THINK. it could be cabin too. its coming from the passenger side.

ive had the belts replaced thats why i think its the fan. any way to check it out and grease it up?

[daniel2002p]

take out the glove box so you can get access to the motor blower for the cabin, and then turn on the fan and see if the motor just may need some lube or something, but that is the only place in the cabin that the noise could be originating from.... lemme know what you find out

d

[diver9000]

Yep, this is true. The fan motor is directly behind the glove box all the way to the right side. When you turn on the fan and the squeaking starts and when you turn off the fan the squeaking stops. It sort of limits your options.

[thespud]

If its from the Engine when the AC is on, it could also be black death. But if it happens when the AC is off and the fan is on, your motor or fan need replacing.

I believe the fans in these are just plastic core, so lube probably wont help...

[punter]

Bearing on the AC compressor?

Or as others have said, fan.

[GuJu MaN 89]

ill go home and take out the glovebox and check. if the A/C is off, it still squeaks, only stops sqeaking when i turn off the fan. Also, it squeals louder SOMTIMES when i hit a big bump and such.

[chadmcdonald]

I've been looking around for a forum on this topic. My Corolla (2003) currently has significant belt noise as well. I've taken it in several times and they tell me "there's nothing we can do about it" because when I took it in it didn't do it. It seems to only squeal on humid, rainy or days between extremes (e.g. hot the day before, cold today). Could it be moisture on the belts?

It doesn't seem to depend on the A/C or fan: if I turn both off, it just keeps squealing.

Also (perhaps related, perhaps not), when we go on long trips, the A/C works fine but after several hours of driving, the fan's output decreases SIGNIFICANTLY (so much so that you can barely feel the output even when your hand is right on the vents).

Any clues/tips/insights would be greatly appreciated!


Thanks!

[GuJu MaN 89]

mine stops when i turn off the fan. i just got home, now imma take out the glove box and check. what should i look for?

[daniel2002p]

just take out the glove box and see if you can see if the noise is coming from the blower motor.... it will be a black(I think) round assenbly with a whole bunch of wires going to it.

D

[GuJu MaN 89]

ya the noise is from it, i hope. should i take it to like toyota and tell em whats wrong with the motor? i dont really wanna fiddle and takin it out and such.

[daniel2002p]

Probably the bearing on the motor are bad, I think that replacing the blower motor will fix it, but someone may wanna back me up on this forum, never actually took that part of the car apart....

D

[GuJu MaN 89]

its like $150 for a new blower motor at my local toyota dealership. how easy is it to take out the old one and install the new one? i have a haynes manual is that helps but i wanna make sure i can put it back lol

[stevenspc]

I had a similar problem with another vehicle where I sprayed a good dose of WD40 into the fan/blower motor area (trying not to go too crazy with it). This fixed the problem. Much cheaper than a $150.00 replacement. Make sure you leave the fan off for 20-30 mins or so to let the WD40 soak in well.

Hey, what have you got to lose? You can always use the WD40 for other stuff.