How the HELL did you get that apart!!!!!! Mine kept giving me a look like it was going to break in half every time I got a pick near it
I started by reading
this thread, which initially convinced me that it's impossible to take the thing apart without breaking it in the process. So I tried squirting some lube in without disassembly, but I soon realized that there is no way the lube could get to the bushings that way.
Then I got to
this post, and I figured I can give that a try too. To mimic his approach, I used a couple of Simpson Tension Ties (HTT5's I think) that I had on hand to slip between the fan cage and the base plate, but any heavy gage metal would work. Then I straddled the base plate on the straps over an open vise, gently pulled away the little plastic tab that sits in the shaft groove, and gently started tapping on the motor shaft with a punch (if you're keeping count, this really does take about three or four hands). The fan cage came off the shaft rather easily - after all, it's not a metal to metal press fit, just a plastic on metal.
4Runner4Leon- what lube did you use and where did you apply it? Nice job. Something I've been wanting to do as well.
I used white lithium grease. Once you get the blower motor out, you just squirt some at the bushing at either end. I suppose if I wanted to get really ambitious, I could have tried to take the bushings off the shaft, clean everything, and apply the lube more directly, but I thought I was already pushing my luck with disassembly this far, so I just sprayed at the bushing/shaft interfaces.
Frankly looking back at it, it probably makes more sense to just buy the TYC replacement assembly for 40 bucks (although some folks complained about the noise), instead of spending the hour on disassembly and reassembly. But I like tinkering, and it's satisfying to fix something instead of throwing it into the landfill.
Congrats on the registration! That's awesome. You didn't have to sell a kidney did you?
Thanks

. No, it wasn't that bad, though it did feel like it at the time. But it's very nice to finally be legit

.