why the different prices for a heater blower motor

[Boston Blackie]

A year a go a posted a question about removing the heater blower motor from a 1993 explorer. I go my answer but I guess I was in no hurry. Anyway I have some time on my hands so I decided I would do it this weekend. I called around to different parts stores and got a range of pricing that made me wonder if there is something I am not understanding. The explorer does have A/C but would that explain the difference is prices. the range was 45.99 to 130.00.

thanks in advance for any comments

 

[scrivyscriv]

The only real differences I can think of to tell you are simply brand price and part longevity. I'd guess that the highball is Motorcraft, and the lowball is the parts store preferred brand. High end gets you a longer warranty and usually very good build quality, low end *usually* being the opposite - but not in every case, and not all low end parts are inferior build quality!!!

My original motor bearings started squeaking at 156,x.. miles so I replaced it and the burned out resistor pack beside it - the motor was an Auto Zone $30-45 motor. It's been four or more months and I have had no problems.

 

[Spdrcer34]

The blower in our `93 went out a few months ago, didn't change it until last Wednesday when the weather reports said it would get to 20 deg.....I found the same price range you did when looking online.

All of the $30-$40 we there Generic/Store brand units made in China.
While most of the $100+ were the OEM quality, Lifetime warranty units made in Germany.

Ryan

 

[dogfriend]

Back when I had my 89 Ranger, I needed to replace the blower motor. I went to Pep Boys and bought their replacement part for about $50.

I took it home and took the old one off. Then I took the new one out of the box. It didn't look the same. The old one had a bypass duct that was part of the motor assembly. The Pep Boys one did not have this. I looked at the instructions that came with the Pep Boys motor. It said that you should cover the hole where the bypass duct used to be using duct tape.

I took the Pep Boys motor back and went to the dealer parts dept. The Ford motor cost about $100. It had the bypass duct.

So, you have a choice: cheap part + duct tape or part that fits without duct tape.

 

[scrivyscriv]

Dogfriend,

FWIW I believe the bypass duct on the motor is simply a cooling port for the motor.

 

[dogfriend]

Dogfriend,

FWIW I believe the bypass duct on the motor is simply a cooling port for the motor.

Yes, but duct tape was not original equipment.

 

[Boston Blackie]

thanks for all the comments especially scrivyscriv's Priceless. I will pull it out this weekend and see what we have.

 

[xtoolmaker]

You might check TitusWillFordParts.com good prices and fast shipping.You can call and talk to Ken great guy.

 

[Cobraguy]

the range was 45.99 to 130.00.

In order of cost: Made in China Made in Mexico Made in U.S.A.

And now you understand why all the stink when the auto manufacturers testified that the average U.A.W. assembly line worker has costs of $70 an hour predicated to his employment. Makes it tough to compete on a level playing field...no matter which side of the isle you sit on when it comes to this subject.

By the way, $70 an hour relates to somewhere in the neighborhood of $30 an hour to the employee. The rest is for pensions, benefits, insurance, Social Security, and whatever else the union has negotiated.

 

[96eb96]

Dogfriend,

FWIW I believe the bypass duct on the motor is simply a cooling port for the motor.

Nope, it connects to a duct that pulls air across an interior sensor if you have automatic temperature control. There is a blend door test where you are supposed to put a tissue over the the small grate on your dashboard to see if there is airflow over the sensor. If you bypass this your EATC will have issues, and think you have a bad blend door or motor.

 

[scrivyscriv]

Thanks for the info, 96eb... I hadn't ever heard of auto temp sensor on a 1st gen so that was new to me.

 

[Spdrcer34]

There was no EATC on the 1st Gen's. All that tube does is cool the fan motor.

Ryan

 

[96eb96]

There was no EATC on the 1st Gen's. All that tube does is cool the fan motor.

Ryan

oops...I was thinking second gen..sorry.

 

[scrivyscriv]

Technically, this thread should go in the 1st gen Explorer thread instead of where it is now in 2nd gen.

 

[scrivyscriv]

FWIW there is a real difference in fan output depending on how much the unit costs.. had a shop install a cheap aftermarket blower in our work van last summer and the A/C never would put out enough air after that. We ended up yanking the junk blower out and replacing with a Motorcraft unit. Not night and day difference, but there was definitely a noticeable difference in how much air it put out.