I give up

If you know me, I pride myself in being able to fix/replace/repair/or generally make better, most anything. However I officially given up on this furnace.

January 14th I "fixed" it when it began to sound like a cat in a washing machine. Last weekend it went out again. So upon further review it seems like the motors bearing were going out and that might have shaken the screw loose on the motor/fan mount that I found the first time. After I "fixed it", it worked for about a week but I got up on Saturday and no hot air. I inspected the it and could tell that there was power to the motor but the fan would not spin.

My boss who is a DIYer told me about a place called Appliance Part Center to find a new motor. Last night when I removed the motor/fan I found some scary crazy wiring. Not sure who did it but HOLY CRAP!!! I knew that once I replaced the motor I would have to call our electrician to come and fix this mess because even I would not try to tackle this.

To the right of the furnace there are two outlets and I have no idea why. I have two connections from the furnace and one is plugged in each. The outlet on the left is controlled by a switch in the hallway and the one on the right has no power. So I got to thinking.... (that can be very dangerous)... that maybe the one on the right is the problem.  What if....(also very dangerous)... I was to plug both of the plugs in the left socket because it has power.  You can probably guess where this is going. I flicked the switch and we had fireworks in the closet. I proceeded to blow the igniter box. Not good.

Today I went to the parts store and they had a motor that was similar to mine but maybe a 1/4 inch smaller so the guy said I would have to remove the motor to determine if it would fit because once I bought the motor it could not be returned. The igniter switch they had in stock. The motor cost around $120 and the switch around $160 for a total just shy of $300 with tax. So the plan was to remove the motor and then go back the next day to ensure a proper fit.

I spent almost 2 hours on that damn motor and could not remove it. I took off the mount and unscrewed the bolt that held the shaft and it would not come out. Massive amounts of WD-40 and consistently larger hammers did not work. I only smashed the end of the shaft almost guaranteeing it will never come out now.

I have finally conceded that it is time to look into a new furnace. But maybe I could....no just kidding.

This sucks!