Air Conditioner Cooling Fan

Several SHOtimers have had their cars overheat or their air conditioning popoff valve deploy (sounds like a mild explosion under the hood). This can be caused by a failed air conditioning cooling fan. The fan is approximately $375 at your friendly Ford dealer, and seems to be pretty much unavailable in the aftermarket. Although an aftermarket fan can seemingly be found and costs around $100, the one that shows up doesn't fit properly.

Luckily, the failure is commonly caused by worn brushes on the fan motor. Disassemble the fan and remove the brushes. If they're worn down to nothing, take them to a starter and alternator repair shop (or an electric motor shop) and get replacements for about $1 each. You will need a total of four brushes. Put them in, put the fan back together, and you should be back in business.