noisy heater blower

Mine squeeks like hell too. Think I'll just buy a new one. Thanks for the link.

 

2010 Tacoma Double Cab with 12500 miles. Been making noise at the fan for much of those miles. Going to try Love My Taco's fix. Wish me luck. Man that's an annoying sound. I'll report back my findings.

I finished in about 45 minutes once I had all the tools assembled. Glove box was a piece of cake. Lightly squeeze the sides to release two side stop pins and pinched the lug on the right side to release the spring loaded preventer. 3 - 7/32" hex head self thread screws hold the blower assembly in place. Removed them and the fan will drop out on its own. There were four small phillips screws holding the motor cover on and they came out easy. There is a flange on the cover which needed to be worked out of the blower housing a little at a time and then rotated out of the way to gain access to the two 'balance screws'. I turned the fan off, turned the ignition key to energize the electrics (did not start engine) and then turned the fan on LOW. I held the fan in my hand being careful not to get my flesh near the squirrel cage. I could hear the tic tic tic noise that is so annoying. I tried turning the screw that happened to be closest to me clockwise but it would not move. I adjusted my grip and turned the screw counter-clockwise about 1/4 to 1/2 turn and the 'tic tic' went away. I cycled the fan through all speeds. No 'tic'! When I reinstalled the motor cover, the 'tic' returned. Damn! Fortunately when I rotated the whole assembly into the installed position the 'tic' went away. I felt good that I didn't overdo the screw adjustment. Put the assembly in place tightened the 3 hex heads and installed the glove box. NO TIC at any fan speed. Woo hoo! Now whether the fix lasts who knows. Thanks forum for the procedure.

Follow-up: Next day. I took a trip with a total of about 100 miles after about 30 miles the 'tic tic' returned on the LOW fan setting. I turned the radio off and moved the fan speed selector up a notch and the noise went away. Back to LOW and the noise was there. So the fix was unsuccessful for me.

Same day back in the garage I took the blower down again and made different adjustments with the 'balance' screws. I got the same result as yesterday. Noise went away but when the blower was put into different attitude the noise came back. Tight, loose, etc. no fix. So I decided to focus on the bearing at the bottom of the blower. With the fan running I applied a little pressure with my finger on the end of the armature and the noise went away. Next I put a little lithium grease on the end of the armature and tried to work it into the bearing while the fan was running. As soon as I took my index finger away from the end of the armature the noise came back.

Digging deeper, I decided to remove both 'balance screws' and see if the bearing was replaceable. When I got the back cover off the motor I saw what looked like a lot of carbon dust had collected at the bottom of the motor housing near the armature end. Could it be carbon that came off the motor brushes? Was the carbon causing the noise? Regardless, I cleaned the black material with a cloth and wiped the end of the exposed armature and reassembles the motor, cover and blower back into the dash. I hand tightened the two 'balance' screws as tight as I could with the Phillips head, and tightened the four housing screws very snug and the three hex screws very snug. Result after cleaning the 'carbon' out - the noise was gone! I haven't driven the Tacoma but when I went through the fan speeds the fan just pushed air and there was no tic - tic. If the noise comes back I may be looking at a replacement motor.

Stay tuned for more follow ups.

 

I had the same issue with the blower on my 2011 TRD Sport. It was replaced twice; this fixed the noise for about a year. Now I have a slightly different issue. Although the squeaking cricket noise is gone, I now have a new noise. It only happens when I turn the blower off; it lasts for about 3 secs.

 

Hi,
I ended up taking it apart with the instructions somebody had provided in this forum,..I did that a couple times but it seamed to keep falling outa balance and starting to chirp again.
I ended up coming across a service bulletin stating that the dealership would replace it free of charge.
I went to Boch Toyota on route 1 in Norwood Ma. and couldnt be happier with the service,...it was in and outer there the same day I stopped by just to inquire about it...and I walked out of there with the problem fixed , with the noise never to return again....after they replaced the whole fan motor....free of charge.
I hope this was helpful