So I finally got the blower motor to turn over without a very loud *clunk* on every revolution, by replacing it, and got the squirrel cage to stop squealing on every revolution, by replacing it. But the damn thing kept giving me a very high pitched whine, which got exponentially worse the higher speed it ran at.
So I got in there again, for gods know what time, and ground flat part of the rim down to circular form, so it wouldn't interfere with the squirrel cage (blower motor fan) going round.
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That fixed it! Now it "just" sounds like an electric engine running at full tilt. No *clunk*, *thud* or squealing...
...but there's very little air coming through the vents... As I understand it, the flaps inside the dash that controls the airflow are vacuum actuated. Are they all defaulting to closed? So that no air passes if the vacuum system is defective?
I'm stoked that I got a (mostly) soundless blower engine/fan now, but I'd like it to actually move some air as well.
Any suggestions?