Have I got a weird one for this group. I have a 1997 SC2 and this weekend the AC seemed to go bonkers. There was a fierce rattle in the system, fan speed dependent, and maybe 20% airflow. What a time for it to go out as it has been in the 100's around here. I deducted that there was something wrong with the fan so when I dropped it to check, I discovered a pile of nesting material in the fan. I believe it is from some sort of rodent around our carport ( we live in the mountains). I also found similiar materials on top of my Subaru engine when I opened it to check the oil. I am posting this is to let folks know of the risk of something getting into their AC ducting like this.
I also have a question as to how the critter got in there. I called the local Saturn service to ask where the entrance locations are for outside air and he told me that the air comes in through the cowl vents located under the windshield washers. He said they are screened. I checked that location and found the screens were completely intact. So I'm stymied. How did a somewhat large rodent( the material I found on the Subaru were some very large sticks and misc) get into my ducting upstream of the blower fan? Any ideas? I would like to prevent this in the future (assuming it hasn't returned yet). If it gets in again I wouldn't really know it until we turned the AC on and the fan would turn into a very fast Hamster wheel for it. Trying to kill or trap it beforehand isn't a good option since we have pets and another would probably show up. Thanks, Marty