Interesting. Just had round #2 with that compressor fan motor.

[RockmartDawg]

When I "fixed it" last week I sprayed WD-40 (that was all I had at the time) and worked that into the motor shaft and bearings. It did fully loosen it up. But I guess WD-40 isn't designed to stand up to that kind of demand too very long. It lasted for about a week, and that is in this heat we've been having.

Since fixing it, last week (or whenever it was) I went online and found myself one of these, at Ace Hardware:



I put some Amsoil full synthetic 10W-30 in it. I just now had to go out and re-oil that fan motor, doing the same 5-10 minute exercise as last time, but this time I used the heavier synthetic oil.

I did make use of the opportunity of having the fan assembly turned upside down, and I took a picture of the part info on the label on the side of the fan motor, semi-expecting that I might oughtta go ahead and order a replacement. If the fan isn't staying lubricated as it should, then either the grease in the set of bearings has leaked out or dried out. Oiling it may just be kicking the can down the road. I reckon I had better go ahead and order a fan motor.

JCDAWG has a spot-on fix for tenant issues, though, by having folk pull the fuse on the AC unit. They may think they're tough and hornery, but they ain't Georgia-summer-in-the-house-with-no-AC tough.

[JC-DAWG83]

Go ahead and replace that fan motor. Those things don't fix themselves. I'm betting on a bad bearing that is waiting patiently for a scorching hot late Saturday night, very early Sunday morning to go out completely and lock up.

A little known DIY democrat rig trick when the fan on the condenser unit goes out is to take a box fan or other large fan and lay it on top of the unit and run it on high blowing air up and away from the coils. It won't cool as well as if the actual condenser fan motor was running but it will provide some cooler air in the house.

[RockmartDawg]

Go ahead and replace that fan motor.  Those things don't fix themselves.  I'm betting on a bad bearing that is waiting patiently for a scorching hot late Saturday night, very early Sunday morning to go out completely and lock up.

A little known DIY democrat rig trick when the fan on the condenser unit goes out is to take a box fan or other large fan and lay it on top of the unit and run it on high blowing air up and away from the coils.  It won't cool as well as if the actual condenser fan motor was running but it will provide some cooler air in the house.

Good info on that box fan, if needed. 

Yeah, I've been perusing the Al Ghores today, looking to see what is available. Man, the motors are like in the $300-$400+ range. That's way cheaper than a new system, for sure, though.

[CDXX]

My friend. I have been in the hvac world since the early 90s. You are gonna get stuck with no AC. If you can replace the motor do it sooner than later. The box fan can damage your compressor as will letting it continue to over heat with a failing condenser fan. If you don’t want to do it yourself, oil it one good time and schedule the repair. The cost of a scheduled call vs a Saturday call is huge.

[RockmartDawg]

My friend. I have been in the hvac world since the early 90s. You are gonna get stuck with no AC. If you can replace the motor do it sooner than later. The box fan can damage your compressor as will letting it continue to over heat with a failing condenser fan. If you don’t want to do it yourself, oil it one good time and schedule the repair. The cost of a scheduled call vs a Saturday call is huge.

Thanks, bud. Yes, I will be ordering a replacement motor. I was looking for a specific matching part number, but haven't yet found one. The system I am using is a Trane... probably 10 years old or thereabout? The motor is a Genteq, which looks to be a common make, based on what I've run across online... just differing part numbers.

[JC-DAWG83]

My friend. I have been in the hvac world since the early 90s. You are gonna get stuck with no AC. If you can replace the motor do it sooner than later. The box fan can damage your compressor as will letting it continue to over heat with a failing condenser fan. If you don’t want to do it yourself, oil it one good time and schedule the repair. The cost of a scheduled call vs a Saturday call is huge.

Yeah, box fan thing is very much a short term patch to get through until the technician arrives.  Buddy did it for one night so he could sleep until the repair guy came the next day.

[RockmartDawg]

My friend. I have been in the hvac world since the early 90s. You are gonna get stuck with no AC. If you can replace the motor do it sooner than later. The box fan can damage your compressor as will letting it continue to over heat with a failing condenser fan. If you don’t want to do it yourself, oil it one good time and schedule the repair. The cost of a scheduled call vs a Saturday call is huge.

Yeah, box fan thing is very much a short term patch to get through until the technician arrives.  Buddy did it for one night so he could sleep until the repair guy came the next day.

Whatever we gotta do, right? I'm there wid ye.

Side note... when I oiled it with the WD-40 it ran for like a week before the fan motor started heating up again (the label says it is temperature protected). I put 10W-30 Amsoil full synthetic in there yesterday. That stuff stands up inside a car engine for thousands of miles. Of course, it is also circulating about 4 1/2 quarters of it. Still... I'd think it will hold up eons better than does the WD-40.

Now, I just have to find the proper replacement motor. There is a guy in our subdivision who has his own HVAC company. I think I'm going to ask him about it... maybe even just pay him to replace it. Cost is a bit sensitive these days, due to some other unexpected MAJOR expense that has suddenly and unexpectedly arisen (yay).