Blower Fan Noise - Solved! And wait until you see the cause...

[TEujunga]

Well, this is a new one on me. I returned to the T4R after it had been sitting in the hot sun a while, and turned the a/c on high. There was a TREMENDOUS crashing noise, after which the fan had a loud rattle and vibration. I seethed all the way home -- after all this is a new truck with only 5,700 miles, and something major already broke.

I called the nearest dealership to make an appointment, but because of my schedule and the upcoming solar eclipse (a big deal here in Oregon), the soonest I could get in was Tuesday August 22nd. Great. Meanwhile, I'll have to live with the noise and hope it doesn't get worse or that the fan doesn't stop working entirely.

Then I had the idea to search this forum for "blower fan," and found that it's very easy to remove. I took it out, and this is what I found. Judging by the racket it made, that poor mouse had a wild ride! The only question I have is, how the heck did he get in there?

 

[tpetsch]

One hell of a Hamster Wheel.

 

[BobsTrail]

Wonder how long he kept up running?

 

[engineeer]

I had a really annoying on-and-off rattle from that same exact part. It turned out it had somehow gotten a little loose, so the dealer added more felt paper where it contacts other things and torqued it down again.

I'm happy it wasn't a dead mouse causing the noise in mine.

 

[philsey]

You'd better find his nest, and his family, and the wires he chewed, and set some spring traps.

 

[gm350reratliff]

You'd better find his nest, and his family, and the wires he chewed, and set some spring traps.

This!!^^

I would also make a screen cover for the outside air inlet under the wiper cowl to prevent this in the future.

 

[TEujunga]

I'm thinking he may have been in there for a while. He was pretty desiccated and stiff when I took him out. The vehicle sat on the lot for several months before I bought it. He may have crawled in and died back then (come to think of it, I did notice a bad smell from the a/c when I first got the truck), and my turning the fan on its highest setting today is what finally dislodged him.

Putting a screen over the outside air inlet is a good idea. I wonder why it doesn't come with one?