9.1.5 - Remove drivers side blower and repair ( ,  )

This details my own experience but heavily quotes archived material from the modern list. Numbers in brackets refer to Haynes paragraphs.

Tools:
1. Usual selection of spanners, screwdrivers
2. 10mm socket with long extension bar (preferably thin 1/4inch type up to 14" long makes it even easier) - to reach bolts at the top of the blower holding it to the cowl.
3. Soldering iron
4. Solder sucker
5. 4 rivets and gun
6. Drill - to remove rivets
7. Duct tape (most people don't bother with this.)
8. Torch

Time:
45 - 90 mins to remove blower
30 - 45 mins to replace
Clean, repair blower and circuits allow 2 - 4 hours.

Instructions:
Note: Car can be driven without the blower in place, but refit the steering wheel and brace rods, secure and loose cables and relays, keep the fuse out. Be warned not much air will come out of the vents.

1. Disconnect -ve battery terminal - and fuse (drivers side foot well)

2. Remove plastic duct which directs air to feet.

3. Remove brace rod from steering column (10.7). 13mm spanner. Undo nuts on both ends (easier if you extend the steering wheel - as the nut nearest the steering wheel isn't easy.)

4. Disconnect vacuum line (blue) going to the shiny metal bit on the right of the housing (10.4)

5. Basically disconnect all electrical connectors in site and wd40 them. Especially disconnect electrical connectors (10.4) crossing in front of the blower. Also need to unhook the 4 coloured relays which are slotted onto a metal plate on the blower housing.

6. Remove Duct tape covering join between housing and duct to heater (10.4)

7. In the footwell of the drivers side on the left is a circuit breaker panel. Remove the front cover which you would normally do to check your fuses, but in addition remove the shroud around the fuses. This gives you ample room as you rotate the motor down and to the right.

8. Remove two bolts holding housing to cowl (10.5) The Haynes picture is very poor and I wasted a fair bit of time undoing the wrong bolt. You need a small torch. The two nuts you need are at the L and R side of the blower - right at the top pointing vertically up into the cowl. 10mm socket needed with at least 8inches of extension bar (ideally a thin one). The one next to the outside of the car is hard to see as there are a lot of wires hiding it.

Blower should now be eased down. Making sure the duct on the inside going to the heater is separated. It took me ages to get the blower down as it's a tight fit. It needs to be rotated round the steering colum and a fair bit of effort applied. I had to loosen the other steering wheel brace rod at the engine end and lowered the steering column to get the exhaust part out of the duct and around the steering column

As it comes down make sure you unplug the final two wire connectors on the inner topside.