Compressor fan's hitting

[halehouse]

Ok, I just put a new compressor fan motor on my Cavalier.  When I first put it on the fan was hitting the coil/grid at the front even when I would spin it.  No big deal, pulled it and tightened everything as best I could with grips. It still hit badly.  Maybe the blades got bent a bit?  So I ever so lightly pushed (moved them very little) the blades until they didn't hit when I hand spun the blade. I figured that would do it, but when the compressor fan gets "up to speed" it really starts hitting again, but I can't tell where.  Any suggestions?

Thanks.

[Creighton]

Dan,
Is the new motor shaft the same length as the orginal? Should leave a mark where it hits. Maybe one blade is bent, do all the blades line up? I put a car fan blade on backwards once. At speed it flexed and hit the cooling fins.
Let us know what you find out.
Creighton

[MoonDawg]

The cardboard shroud us probably warped. Remove it!

[halehouse]

Got the motor from Eric and it looks pretty much the same, but didn't measure it.  I don't think that is it.  I am pretty sure it is not on backwards, so I will look at the cardboard shroud tomorrow.

[Yarochrehc]

Double check the size of the fan motor, the motor comes in differant wattages and the higher the wattage can some times be a little bit longer in the body.

[90grad]

Dan,

Any chance you could move the mount further away from the condensor coils?  I've seen compressor plates with different mounting holes for the condensor fan so the position is adjustable.  Even if there are no adjustment holes, you could always drill some if you have enough room in front of the compressor.

The fan motor should be 4 watts.  There will be some movement of the shaft along its axis, so when the motor is up to speed, that's what you are probably seeing.

[90grad]

Another thing to check is if it's hitting the condensor coils or one of the refrigerant lines that may be routed above the fan.  Sometimes, when a system has been handled, they are pushed down and will touch the blades.

[halehouse]

My old fan motor was 3.5 watts.  I will check the new one this afternoon.  I will spend more time on it tonight. I am sure I am close, was just getting frustrated with it.

[halehouse]

Figured it out.  Duh!  I didn't realize that when the fan blade goes on that there is a smaller hole that needs to be lined up with a little post that comes out from the motor.  I didn't do that and therefore it was out of whack.  Lined that up and it runs smooth and almost silent now.  So I learned something.

[Yarochrehc]

Like the old saying goes, you never stop learning.  Glad to see you found your problem.