HVAC blower fan upgrade

Update. These work great, easy swap, no issues. Order one up!

As many Tundra owners have found out, the stock HVAC fan can and will wear out. The unit in my 2011 began making noise and then rotation speed dropped. The bad unit was removed for inspection, and what appears to be brush dust has coated the underside of the squirrel cage. Bad bearings, worn out brushes, armature… toasted. Replace.

Since improving and upgrading are the norm around here… the search began. It did not go far…. The Tundra unit looks very similar to the Land Cruiser 200 part, and since the Tundra is somewhat based on the LC… why not take a look? I had an extra LC part on the shelf. A quick try and it pushed right up in! The plug is the same, but the orientation on the motor is at a slightly different angle. There’s plenty of slack in the harness though, so it’s of no consequence. Plug in, turn on, speed dials up and down… seems good to go…. but I’m going to run it for a bit just to be sure. If anyone wants to try it, the part number I have is 87103-60390, which has been superseded by 87103-60481 LC 2008 - 2015. I suspect it too will work. Stock part number is

$157 87103-0C040 Blower Motor Sub-Assembly

87103-0C040 2007 - 2021.

So what’s the difference? The LC motor is brushless…. No brushes to wear out. Should last much longer. Crappy low light pic, Tundra left, LC right.

 

Toyota has been known to use the same parts for 30 years or more.

My 08 Tundra windshield washer fluid pump is the same as my 84 Toyota pickup.

Actually it's the same pump. I removed it from the 84 and installed it in the 08.

Works perfect.

It's the same pump as my 21 tundra.

I rebuild Toyota wrecks, so I notice these things.

BTW. The carrier bearings for all 3 trucks are the same as well.

 

Any update? Work well? Quiet? Just replaced mine with an aftermarket and it’s noisy.

 

Nice. Now someone needs to find faster window motors. Tundra = slow as hell. 4Runner = watch your fingers.

 

Would enjoy an update here? The motor of the hvac fan looks massive when compared to the Tundra unit.

 

Still working great, no issues.

 

Is it faster than the OEM blower motor? I'm wondering if it would push more air since I added rear AC to mine.

 

Hard to say if it spins any faster, the old motor was pretty rough and noisy… so the new unit seems pretty smooth. Being brushless, it should be more efficient. A side by side test of two new OEM units would be the way to compare.

 

Going to look into this as well. I'm on my 2nd blower motor which is starting to make some bearing noise. Nice find @Jowett

 

Happy to share. Another good thing is the price only grows slightly for the better motor. I’ve seen the

$157 87103-0C040 Blower Motor Sub-Assembly

87103-0C040 for as little as $126, and the 87103-60481 for $140.

 

Installed 87103-60560 today- listed as the motor for 16-21 Land Cruiser. Went in easy peasy and is quiet like it should be. Had replaced my OEM due to noise at 94k miles with an O’Rilleys and it ticked immediately. Thanks for the idea. Hopefully this one lasts.

 

Lube the bearings once in a while, and they could potentially outlast the truck.

 

Sorry to ask this question but when I put the part number in for a 2019 tundra platinum the part still says tundra part ( shouldn’t it say lc)

 

Which number are you trying? Order 87103-60481 or 87103-60560 and you will receive the proper brushless LC piece.

 

Ok any place you recommend buying from

 

Search the part number through google and you’ll find dozens of online dealers selling at 20 - 30%+ off MSRP. Find the best price and bring it to nearby dealers, they may be able to match, or get close when shipping is factored in.

 

Well this is a fantastic find thank you! Bought the El Cheapo unit off Amazon and it has, ironically, worked longer than my stock one but it was always loud and I would love to replace it with something of higher quality.

 

So part number 87103-60560 fits a 2015 Tundra? My cheapo Amazon blow job sucks.

 

Any of the listed parts should fit. Either 87103-60481 or 87103-60560. Maybe I’ll collect all three to take apart and compare how they are built.

 

@Jowett you’re the man. My blower motor rattled literally yesterday for the first time ever. IME, that usually means its about worn out. The only better than the LC brushless motor would be if it said Milwaukee Fuel on the side. Then I would order three of them..

 

Lol, nice.

 

Fan ordered. We shall see how well this works…

 

Please report back

 

My blower making noise, might get in to this.

 

NuCar Toyota of Norwood had the lowest price I could find without looking too hard - $135. Used to be Boch Toyota. I've purchased there before.

 

Looking forward to hearing from you guys how these work out. My kids are constantly complaining that there's no air flow in the back seat of my 2014 Crewmax.

 

Might want to make sure your hvac fresh air intake has been screened under the windshield cowling. Rodents like to get into the system through there and you could have clogged vents from dead rodents and/or nesting materials. That intake isn't screened at the factory.

 

Just today my 8 year old asked me what that noise is. Turns out there is a quiet, consistent squeak (like a tiny cricket in an infinite loop) coming from my dash.

61.7k miles.

Is this the dreaded blower motor noise? At lower fan speeds, it’s very apparent. Turn it up to high, and it’s drowned out by the air coming out of the vents.

 

Sometimes leaves make it down to the fan blades and can make noise. Remove the three screws and drop the blower down. If you see no leaves spin the blower to duplicate the noise.

 

The fan swaps in, no issue. The electrical connector is angled a little differently, so it is prolly easier to plug it in before screwing the blower in to the housing. But you don’t need to modify anything - it’s plug and play.

Function-wise, it works great. Perhaps it is placebo, but I feel like it flows more air than the standard blower. I know I’m comparing an old, used, brushed motor blower to a new, brushless motor, but I’ve always felt the blower could use a little more cfm. It’s definitely quieter, but the air rushing through the vents makes most of the noise anyways.

Overall, great find by @Jowett. I’m happy with the upgrade.