Blower Motor Removal

Removing the Blower Motor
1997 Cadillac DeVille Concours



This bar is the first thing you want to do...








This hose will get in the way, too.








Once you get the 5 mounting bolts off (the red dots in the first post about this) you have to take the firewall off, too. This is the only way you'll have the clearance to pull the old motor out.






Also, this thing has to go... It pops right off.








Now that you've taken it apart, you get to fight like a son of a bitch to get it out... I had to push a large bundle of wires down and out of the way - i broke several very brittle brackets in the process.





If you get this far, you're doing good. If you know a better way feel free to comment.

Blower Motor

Restating the problem...

So the problem is this...

Top/Side View















Frontish View















So I think I can get the 5 bolts undone pretty easy. The problem is that the engine (which you can see from the side view) is in the way of taking the blower motor out. I don't think there will be enough clearance for the blower motor to come out without moving the engine... That's probably why the labor cost was so high.

A Statement of the Problem...

Cadillac vs. My Checking Account

I like expensive toys. I own a 1993 Cadillac SeVille and a 1997 Cadillac DeVille Concours. Any shop or dealer repair on a Cadillac (as I have discovered first hand), is extremely expensive. It isn't just the labor cost, either... The PARTS are RIDICULOUS. Dealer or Shop repairs must be budgeted for months in advance. That is fine - if I know I have a problem coming...

If it's something spontaneous, like the blower motor on my 1997 DeVille, and the month is (chosen at random...) October, then fixing then problem becomes time sensitive and thus must match or exceed the sensitivity of my fingers while I'm trying to drive when the temperature is already approaching freezing...

Dealership: 760 to replace a blown out blower motor.
Regular Shop: Didn't bother...
Part Alone:

• 476.00 from the dealership
• 275.00 if I look around for a new one.
• 125.00 at a junk yard.

Looks like I'm doing this one on my own...

Goal #4

Goal #4: Become Dr. Denver - Ultimate Fighter.


I don't necessarily mean to be an ultimate fighter but it would be fun to have something to train for again. I would like to be fit again. I am a Pre-Physical Therapy major - basically exercise science. It's a fun major and I enjoy it, but I'd like to live it at least as much as I am studying it. As such, I put together a massive MS Excel spreadsheet with tables, graphs, charts, and other implements of destruction (of fat cells! Ha!). I intend to use this exercise tracker to record all of my bouts of exercise from now until doomsday in hopes that I can develop a more structured and consistent exercise regime. I don't want to be a tri-athlete or some crazy exercise geek, but I would like to be fit again.

The other tool I am using is a heart rate monitor by Polar. It reports the number of minutes I spend at a given exercise intensity according to my heart rate. I have defined the three zones using ACSM's HHR (Heart Rate Reserve) guidelines for Light (z1), Moderate (z2), and Intense(z3) exercise intensities.

Here is what I have so far...
***Click on the tables and graphs for larger images.


This is the basic input cell in my spreadsheet. It is organized according to Day and Exercise Mode/Intensity Zone. This also totals and averages the minutes according to day, mode, and intensity.







This table below is the big deal. It took me the longest to make. It is a summary table of all of the data from set of totals and averages from the input cells above... It isn't necessarily complex, but it is the basis for all of the graphs which you are about to see. From left to right, it displays Total Minutes per Week per Mode (mode - run, bike, swim, hike), %Minutes per Mode per Week, Minutes per Zone per Week, %Zone per Week, Total Hrs Exercising, Weighted Total Hrs (weighted according to Intensity), and Minutes Exercised per Day. Following this table, I have several summarizing graphs and charts to help visualize exactly what I'm doing when I work out.




















From here on out, I'm just going to post summary tables and graphs of the data taken from the data above...


The following is just a summary for the first 3 weeks of exercising...

Minutes per Zone:
Blue = Z1, Red = Z2, Yellow = Z3



















Average and Standard Dev. Minutes per Zone:














Average and Standard Dev. Minutes per Day:

Goal #3

Goal #3: Maintain My Good Relationships


I surround myself with mostly good people. That said, I have a tendency to ignore the good people and gradually slip out of contact with my friends. It's not intentional - I don't want to forget about people, but sometimes that's just what happens and I don't realize it until those people are long gone out of my life. A simple phone call, lunch, or email/letter would have be enough and I just don't make time. So, my goal is to do just that - make time for my friends.

Goal #2

Goal #2: Keep My Car Running


I have a general distrust for the automotive industry. I hate paying mechanics for anything - especially things I find out later I could have done myself for much cheaper. I think mechanics can sense this and start charging me by the hour the second I walk through the door. I have too many examples of this sort of thing to count. The best/most recent/noteworthy example is the radiator in my old Cadillac (the 300k mile Seville). The radiator was leaking transmission fluid into the radiator.

Dealership Estimate: $800 (400 was the cost of the new radiator)
Radiator/Muffler Specialist: $500 (250 was the cost of a used radiator)
Radiator King: $240 to diagnose, then more to fix it, depending on the problem...

The radiator I found online (brand new, lifetime warranty) = $141.00
Shipping = Free.
Advice and labor from someone who knew more than me = 2 light beers.
Total Repair Time: 1.5 hrs. max, including beer drinking and admiration at a job well done.

Without going into details, the repair was simple. Painfully simple. So simple that if I had payed for it, I would have driven the car through the shops office. (priceless!)

It is worth noting that a radiator mechanic was nice enough to help me find part numbers and advise me partly through the process should I attempt it myself after I explained to him my financial situation (broke) and the value of my car (worthless). Silent Knight Mufflers and Radiators (Bozeman, MT)

After this I started to think and wonder about other things I could do to my car without help. I haven't had to do anything yet, but I am going to try my own stuff from now on. On this site, I am going to chronicle any auto repairs and/or modifications to any vehicle I am lucky enough to get my hands dirty in. I will try to post videos, pictures, and very simple "How To" instructions for anyone who cares.

Goal #1

Goal #1: Become Dr. Denver


I'm 4 and a half years into my undergrad career. Right now I'm taking 1 graduate class in Exercise Physiology and doing undergraduate research. I'm set to graduate this December. I have a ~3.5 something GPA. That's on the low end for applying to Physical Therapy schools but I'm going to give it a try anyway. I haven't really visited any schools yet, but I think I have a couple months to figure that out. I still need to schedule a test date to take my GRE and I have to do that before I start sending in applications.

Most of what I have been doing up to this point has been resume building... In the past I've done a lot of work with people - I was an Resident Advisor, Assistant Resident Director, and Summer Resident Director on campus while I lived there. I moved off campus and got a job as a Resident Assistant at an assisted living community (pass meds, ADLs, Showers, Laundry, Emergency Response...). Currently I work at the same Assisted Living community where I am the Restorative Aid. Basically, I work with the residents and physical therapists to do exercise programs once the residents are discharged from Physical Therapy. I also do some exercise classes.

I am going to do my best to chronicle the steps I take and the efforts made to get me into and successfully out of graduate school.

I am Denver.

I'm a Broncos Fan. I am 23 years old. I am a student, barely. I also work full time to pay for food and my Cadillac. I'm thinking about going to graduate school for Physical Therapy. Dr. Denver has a nice ring to it... I keep good company. I have a handful of friends I consider good company and a smaller group I call "good people" on an individual basis. It might not make sense until you hear me say it. I feel like I have 4 oversimplified goals in life right now. 1) Become Dr. Denver. 2) Keep my Car Running. 3) Maintain my good relationships. 4) Become Dr. Denver - Ultimate Fighter.

I don't like ...

... it when someone doesn't say "thank you" when you serve them food.