Scorpio Laparoscopic Blower Lubrication

[brokencase]

Yep, you read that post title correctly...

We all know the Scorpio blower motors are prone to premature failures...and we know how hard it is to replace that motor.
The problem, of course, it the fact that every time you get into the car and start her up, she wants to turn on the EATC - and hence the blower.
It doesn't remember "Off". If you are not diligent, blower runs all the time and wears out.

Any experienced Scorpio owner is aware of this issue and is in the habit of immediately turning off the EATC soon after starting the car.

I have a relatively low mileage Scorpio with blower that is running fine. In an effort to keep it that way, I decided to do a little maintenance.

Previously, and for other efforts unrelated to this task, I had purchased a borescope that plugs into my android cell phone.
These are very affordable on ebay. In fact, you can get these in either a short length version to plug into your andoid cellphone, or
you can get longer length units (5 meters) that will plug into your laptop. They are so inexpensive that it makes sense to get both.
Just search ebay for "android borescope", Here is one example : https://tinyurl.com/yceqolew
I think I bought a short 1 meter unit for the cellphone and a 5 meter unit for the PC for less than $25 total.
They do come in different diameters and number of illumination LEDs. So shop around for your needs.

I recommend that you do not use the Chinese software that comes with these devices.
Instead - for android, locate the app called "Basic USB Camera version 3"
For the PC - use Oasis scientific's application for Windows http://www.oasisscientific.com/downloads.html
These apps will allow you live video, record movies, or capture stills.

You will, no doubt, find these borescopes very useful for a variety of automotive and household troubleshooting tasks.
For example, you can put these down your spark plug holes and inspect your piston bores (or valves). You can use
the longer variety to help snake wires through your walls, etc..
The only issue I find in using these is that I can seldom see the image on my devices very well in full sun light. So I typically
do these tasks just as the sun sets.

So, for the Scorpio blower, I removed the top access panel just above the blower motor in the cowling area (2 screws)
I then combined a 3 ft length of copper wire, the borescope, and some thin plastic tubing into a bundle using some tape.
Into the tubing the red spray nozzle of the Tri-Flow teflon lubricant aerosol went!

I then snaked the bundle until I got a good view of where the shaft goes into the motor bearing. Blast!
I repeated on the other side. I followed up with a blast of contact cleaner on the motor brush assembly.

Pretty slick don't you think?

Yes there will be a bit of Tri-Flow smell out the vents after this application, but fear not, for it will quickly dissipate.

Now, are you not happy that you read this post? Can you not see the relevance of this approach to so many
other Merkur related service tasks?

You are welcome sir!

[Ed Lijewski]

I just finished R&R-ing the blower on one of my XRs (fleet of 2 XRs and a Scorpio). Blower motor couldn't rotate. I found that the open areas of the shaft on each side between the motor and the squirrel cages had a coat of rust that encroached into the bearings' outer ends. No chemicals (Tri-Flo, PB Blaster, Liquid Wrench...) loosened the shaft/bearings; but a tap on the shaft ends with a drift while holding the assembly vertical (first one end and then reversing to thc other) completely freed the rusty areas of the shaft from the bearings. The cages now spun fully freely. I then polished the open areas of the shaft with emery cloth to a shiny surface. Again, the cages spun totally freely but with lubrication added.

Re lubrication, I used Tri-Flo first, but sprayed into the back of each bearing retainer as appying lubrication from the outer shaft/bearing wasn't sufficient--and this was with the assembly on the workbench.

For the record, I sectioned the upper half of the blower motor case for easy R&R of the blower assembly, using aluminum duct tape to seal the two new joints of the upper case half.

YMMV

[brokencase]

Sounds like yours sat for a while. In my case there is no current problem with the blower, I just want to do the preventative maintenance to make it last.
With my previous Scorpio the blower's bearings started to wear and the squirrel cages started to rub on the housing.

[Ed Lijewski]

No; issue slowly made itself known over 2-3 months with slower blower response to each setting until it stopped fully.

[brokencase]

I've done this this as preventative maintenance, Ed. There is no way you could convince me that my efforts are in vain.
There is nothing wrong with my blower right now, lubricating before I approach failure can only help it last longer...not hurt it..

Plus I'm letting everybody know about the inexpensive bore-scopes that are available and are useful for so many other troubleshooting tasks...