The A/C blower in my Civic just quit. And it seems like Honda STUPIDLY angled the thing so that the wheel well interferes with its removal. Sure enough, the manual says that the A/C lines need to be broken and the evaporator box needs to be removed to replace the motor. So, short of clearancing the wheel well with a hammer to allow the fan to drop out, is there a way to replace the fan motor WITHOUT having to discharge and recharge the A/C? And, by the way, no A/C is NOT an option.

 

By the book,You would have to discharge the system..

There are however, a couple of ways to cheat...

What I did was to make a single, straight horizontial
cut in the black insulation against the firewall
and peel it back out of the way.. Mine was already ripped..

The added clearance gives you almost enough room to wrestle it out.
Loosening the blower box and surrounding dash so everything has some give will also help..
I coated everything with WD-40 to give it less resistance on the way out.
It was not easy,but it is possible..Take care not to break the
plastic blower wheel.

Another method I have heard of,
You cut a small hole in the filter screen,or peel it out of the way so you can get a
1/4" drive socket in and remove the nut that fastens the blower wheel..
You then remove the motor followed by the fan blade..

When I replaced mine,I made the mistake? of getting it from the dealer.
It was very expensive and it really doesn't seem to blow that hard..
An aftermarket unit would probably be as good or better..

While you are inside the dash,Inspect the evaporator..
Mine was full of dog hair from the previous owners pet.
I used a commercial-type foaming evaporator cleaner
to remove as much as I could without removing it or discharging..

 

I just went through the same job. I thought to myself this can't possibly be the way to replace the motor. Anyway, I removed all the bolts from the surrounding equipment and twisted and pulled until it came out. Finally got it out (probably the easy part). To replace it, I had to somewhat crush the sides a bit and force it in. You will need a ratcheting 8mm wrench to get the three bolts off the bottom of the motor. Good luck, it is possible. Wear gloves to save knuckles.

 

Well, before I was able to read ANY of the responses here, I actually got the job done. Like I have read here, I basically loosened EVERYTHING. I also removed the bolts and metal straps holding in the evaporator. By doing this, I was able to move the fan box just enough that I could drop the fan out and replace it (although I didn't actually remove the fan box itself). Now, I need to find a way to do it in my brother's Accord. Since the fan seems to be in a horizontal position, that looks like a MUCH more difficult job.