Hello, I have a 1998 base sedan, 2.0 sohc, manual trans, no ac. I bought the vehicle from the original owner and recently passed it on to my son as his first car. The heater blower has quit working, I believe the fan motor itself to be the problem. When you turn on the fan there is a noticable power drain as the lights dim. I removed the fan assembly and there was a fair amount of black dust coming out of the motor, so I believe the magic smoke has been released from the motor. The blower motor is actually quite a nice design, it twists into the housing and locks in place with a tab. However I am having quite a bit of difficulty finding a replacement, all the blowers I see when I search have mounting screws. So I am wondering if anyone who has run into this problem has a fix for replacing the blower motor, some fabrication perhaps, or having an electrical shop fix or replace the motor itself and using the original assembly. Thank you

 

In my relentless searching the dark depths of the internet, I found a blower assembly that looked very much like what I needed... the blower motor from 2nd generation neons and PT cruisers without AC is a physical match for the first generation, the difference is with the electrical connector. I bought one from my favorite auto parts store because I knew if it did not match they would take it back. I took it home, cut the connectors off, wired my old connector to the new fan and the problem is solved.