Necessity is the mother of invention . . .

[kiwigtx]

I needed a replacement fan for my work van a couple of months ago....the fan had been erratic, and going slow if at all. I had the compressor cleaned out, new filter thingy installed and re-charged with the new refrigerant. All was going well until this past week when the fan just up and died on me.....right when the sunny weather came back.

I had already purchased a new replacement fan from eBay in USA.....at least what I thought would be suitable. The model of my van wasn't on the list, but eye-balling the pictures, and looking at all the other offerings, I decided to take a punt. Well, it arrived in about two weeks as expected, and looked the part.

The fan I purchased is for a Toyota Tundra 2000-2006 plus several other variants. My van is a 1998 Toyota Hiace - very popular in most countries except USA and Canada for some reason. These vans have proven to be the most reliable workhorses for tradies all over the globe for many years. Mine has just ticked over 300,000 kms, so it has finally been run in...lol
People might laugh thinking I have a stinky old van, but I know this much - I'm probably one of the few customers of my Electrical Supply shop who actually owns their vehicle. Most young bucks go out and buy new Ford Rangers on tick, then get squirmy when work dries up.

Anyhoo...back to my A/C issue. I dismantled the dash on the passenger side, exposed the old fan and removed it. I again eyeballed the new piece, offered it up the hole....and it fit like a glove.....a normal glove not O.J.'s.

I couldn't believe it. Then I switched on the fan and A/C, and was most disappointed with the air flow. I held a piece of paper against the fan outlets and it barely moved on High speed. So I removed the fan and took a look at the impeller.....it was the reverse direction on the vanes. No problem...I'll just switch the impellers around and make it work. Half an hour of bashing and prying I had the old one off. I cleaned the old impeller up with a tooth brush and some bathroom spray cleaner....almost like new again. Installed back into the fan unit and tested on High speed.

Again the disappointed was high, but air speed was low. Feeling bummed out I had another idea. I wasn't going to let this damned fan beat me.

I reached into a box of cables and made up a set of jumper leads to reverse the polarity of the fan motor.

BINGO......high speed A/C was what I remember it being like a few years ago. I sat in the nice cool air for a few minutes enjoying my success....and the savings I had made.

Toyoat New Zealand wanted $950 plus tax for a new fan here - they had one in stock in NZ, so I could have it the next day the guy told me......

The fan I ended up buying was on some sort of run-out special and cost me US$32.92 plus shipping.

Even with the exchange rates, duty & shipping costs, I saved myself around $800

The old fan is chocka full of carbon dust - likely need new brushes and a commutator skim.....like that's going to happen... I'm keen but not that keen.

Some pics of my efforts today. I am looking forward to the drive to and from work now.

 

[kiwigtx]

My pictures

 

[Kern Dog]

That is the closest I can come to "Score".

 

[Mopar Hunter]

I found more pics of your efforts today.

 

[kiwigtx]

I found more pics of your efforts today.

View attachment 1637625

 

[padam]

My pictures View attachment 1637599View attachment 1637600View attachment 1637601View attachment 1637602View attachment 1637603View attachment 1637604View attachment 1637605View attachment 1637606View attachment 1637607View attachment 1637608

Way to go!

That’s kind of funny.
My last project car was a little Rav4. The blower didn’t put out much, it had been swapped out by po. Switching the leads fixed it.

 

[hdwrench]

good job on the repair ! it sure does hurt paying the dealer premium on parts , but i recently had to . i try to save shopping stuff recently saved big on a set of 0/2 sensors, until i fired up the car and they kept sending codes . had to go w oem sensors (4) after all . three times the money and twice the work but successful! you guys got rock auto in NZ ? i guessing so but shipping usually to issue . i find some decent deals on amazon too ….

 

[Hey-O]

And to think they said you were slow and backwards..........

 

[moparwacko]

Well Duh, you had to reverse polarity because.....wait for it, you ordered a part from the northern hemisphere.
Good thing your van was bipolar.

 

[Don Frelier]

Well that's what I call reverse engineering.

 

[1967coronet]

Mr wacko up there beat me to it.
Good fix kiwi.

 

[Don Frelier]

Does our toilet still vortex in the same direction?

Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[WileERobby]

Necessity ? No... this is

 

[YY1]

Those dang historically unreliable toyotas.

...and if you're uncomfortable working around all those wires, perhaps call an electrician.

 

[moparsaver]

Heck of a savings… Good job Roger.

 

[GTXDAN]

Nice job and great savings. I could have used some of your savings for my 2018 Ram 2500 diesel yesterday. 2 new batteries for a total of $464. Starts like new again.

 

[33 IMP]

Nice job and great savings. I could have used some of your savings for my 2018 Ram 2500 diesel yesterday. 2 new batteries for a total of $464. Starts like new again.

Whose batteries? I put a couple in my diesel pickup from Sam's recently. $250 plus tax, out the door. 5year warrantee, if I remember right.
The AGM had the same power, and same warrantee, for $180 each . Pass.
The old red tops are now almost $600 for a pair. If the Sam's last half as long, I'm ahead.

 

[padam]

 

[Detective D]

Japan did not sell every model that went to Australia or Europe to the North American market. Politics and likely disagreements in business practices between japan and NA branches.

So if you are looking to get parts from North America, step one should be to see if your model was even sold here. USA missed out on some really cool versions of staple cars from Japan, high performance versions where the drivetrain was not sold here. For some reason we will probably never know.

I applaud your frugal efforts though! Quite the savings!

 

[Photon440]

The fan I purchased is for a Toyota Tundra 2000-2006 plus several other variants. My van is a 1998 Toyota Hiace - very popular in most countries except USA and Canada for some reason. These vans have proven to be the most reliable workhorses for tradies all over the globe for many years. Mine has just ticked over 300,000 kms, so it has finally been run in...lol

I've been in those vans, the bus version, in The Dominican Republic. They have lots of room and power.

I'm sure there'd be a market for them in Canada and the USA but they don't meet the crash tests and so aren't allowed here.