Air handler motor removal

[Bo Alley]

OK, don't mind adding to the beer fund.  Samurai has helped before.

I have a 20 yr old air handler for an AC (heat pump) system. 

The motor front sleeve bearing when south.  I have the motor/fan unit removed from the handler, the evap section looks good.

I have the motor shaft locking bolt removed from the circulation Fan.

and with the help of 'fixitnow' parts clinic, have the motor replacement picked out.

THE ONLY PROBLEM IS THE MOTOR SHAFT IS SIEZED  TO THE circulation FAN COUPLING!

How in the heck to I get the fan off the motor shaft?  Motor is a FR 48Y, 1/2 inclh D shaft, the locking bolt is removed,  I have applied Kroil (excellent penetrator).  the shaft is frozen to fan coupling? 

Only hope is the coupling has a small indent near the top.  Looks like maybe there is some special tool (puller) for removal?  The air handler is a 1990 residential OEM Snyder General 'Comfort Maker'

Should I just relace the entire air handler when all I need is a new motor?  Maybe only a new motor sleeve bearing?  What a residential POS.

Regards,

Bo

[ACtechGUY]

The secret is a crescent wrench and plenty of oil. Adjust a crescent wrench so it fits tightly on the flat of the motor shaft . Hold onto the blower wheel and turn the shaft with the wrench. If it still does not turn, tap the wheel down towards to the motor just a bit. Once it moves and breaks free you will be able to use the crescent wrench to spin off the wheel. Once you get the shaft spinning in the wheel hub put some nice slippery oil on the shaft(penatrating oil is not real good at helping the shaft slip off the wheel).

Hope that makes sense.

The other method is to use a wheel puller( more of a shaft pusher really)

[Bo Alley]

Thanks New Orleans, I think that should do it, if not will head to harbor freight and PU a puller/pusher.

Bo

[Bo Alley]

Well, ACtechGUY's idea worked perfectly.  Now to complete this fix need to make a couple of decisions:

The 48Y frame motor appears to be good, both electrically and mechanically.  However, am not sure just how much end play is allowable for the output shaft?

Wth the motor sitting on the bench, the output shaft is true radially.  If I grab the shaft, I can probably get .030 radial movement.  Axial movement is greater, but less than.100.

So without a fixture to see how much the fan bushing is out of wack just do not know?  The fan was making a squeal noise and finally made contact with the cowling before the motor quit.  I can't see where a small amount of radial play on the motor shaft could allow the fan to drop that much?  Then again, maybe its a combination of both.  The fan motor was secured properly to the cowling. 

New motor?  motor bearings? OR new fan?  OR both?  Not an applicance pro and the stuff I have worked with in the past  has much higher tollerances so I don't know what is acceptable in these air handlers..

Thanks in advance,

Bo

[myrepairman]

I've done lots of these indoor blower motor replacements. Now that you have the motor separated from the blower and the blower housing, replace the motor. If you're trying to save a buck, you can try prying the failed bearing out and looking for a replacement and then try to put it back together and see if it works, but since your not in business I'd avoid this route and just replace the motor - save some time, and keep your air filters clean!

[Bo Alley]

Appreciate the input Referman...  All in all, replacing the motor and the blower fan would be the best bet.  However taking a closer look at the bottom of the evap unit, did see some rust developing.  Unit is 20 years old so decided to just clean everything, re-assemble and see how it worked.   Although the blower fan has some 'wobble' , it clears the housing.  So put everything back together and it runs now, how long??? 

I see where I an get an entire new 4-5 ton air handler with variable speed for around a grand.  Will start shopping because the summers here in Arizona are a killer!

The motor bearings did not fail.  After closer inspection, the blower fan actually started spinning off the shaft, e.g., reason by ACtechGuys tip worked for removal.  However,  the motor shaft remained pretty true.  A little cleaning (blower blades) and emery on the motor shaft and blower bushing, it went back together and did the trick for now.

Regards,

Bo

[ACtechGUY]

Most of the time when a blower wheel set screw comes loose and the blower wheel shifts on the motor shaft to rub against the blower housing the only real result is an alarmed homeowner.

They almost always can be put back in the correct postion will no ill effects on the motor or wheel.