So it sounds like my 2008 SC L322 (NAS) has got a colony of rabid crickets in the dash until the blower motor warms up. RAVE and dealer say spend a day or two tearing the whole dashboard apart and replace the whole unit, searches on the issue result in threads on same, but as it seems to be turning just fine I'm thinking a bit of lube should last it a good while before it conks out completely. (Maybe 3-in-1 oil, turbine oil, or similar.)

It's centrally located, so I'm wondering if I could snake a flexible oil spout (maybe tied to a borescope) down to it from one of the inside center vents or from the intake at the back of the engine bay?

I'm reasonably handy with a wrench but would rather not spend a whole day on the bloody thing!

Anybody done this before? Got any tips or tricks?  2008 SC L322
2001 P38, Epsom Green, fully restored SOLD

Dashboard, head unit and face vents off, you should then have sufficient access, less than an hour each way

What you will actually be able to lube I am not sure

Alternative route in through the engine bay, air filter housing out (10 mins) then long arms, snakey things and mirrors  .
Experience is the only genuine knowledge, but as time passes, I have forgotten more than I can remember
Volvo V70 P2 2006 2.4 Petrol 170bhp Estate SE
MG Midget Mk1 1962

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Thanks Joe!

To save somebody reading this in the future some time, you technically can reach the motor box through the upper central vent, (not the lower one). However, the only way to do so is to have the HVAC system turned on so you can fiddle the controls to get the baffles open. Unfortunately this means the fan is running, so you can't actually get any lube where it needs to go. Sadly turning the HEVAC off to get the fan stopped also causes the baffles to close, thus seizing your handy dandy flexy things in a vice grip of immobility! (And probably throwing errors or even breaking things if you tried to force the issue.)

So through the engine bay it is! Will report back on that adventure as soon as I've actually done it.  2008 SC L322
2001 P38, Epsom Green, fully restored SOLD

Why not get everything open and running to gain the access you need then simply disconnect the battery, stopping the motor and not allowing the baffles to close!

Getting access to the fan is a pain, but even if you can see it, the bearings that will be causing the noise are hidden by the pressed steel bearing mounts.

So even if you spray some lubricant into the fan, it''s effect will only be short-lived.

I have my motor lying on the bench waiting for the replacement to arrive today. Judging by the amount of torque you need to apply to get the fan to turn, it's hardly surprising that the fsr''s are a regular sacrifice! I soaked the bearings in oil to see if it helped and it made very little difference even with running the motor on the bench.

As has been said, it's not physically hard to remove the fan, but it does take a toll on your nerves as you pull your pride and joy apart for something so trivial.

Mike

If anyone is waiting for the final outcome here I did go under the hood, pull the filter, and find that the fan is visible to the naked eye, and exploration by borescope shows that if a long enough flexible oil tube could be snaked between the vanes at the top then it should be possible to dribble some lube down the back to the shaft. (We assume that even sealed bearings must be knackered enough at this point that some lube should work in via capillary action. Yeah, uhuh, for sure!)

But I also found some dead leaves in the box where the filter goes. I removed them and everything got a lot quieter. It's not possible for dead leaves to have caused the agonized screams of cricket torture that I heard, so they must have been living in the leaves and got removed at the same time.

So it never got lubed, but if you want to try it without a tear-down and chop-up, it may be possible through the front. Good luck finding a flexible oil spout that long though!

Thanks to all who contributed to this little adventure! You're awesome!  2008 SC L322
2001 P38, Epsom Green, fully restored SOLD