Hey guys,
I just had a breakthrough with this treacherous job. Service manual states you have to remove the dash, you don't have to remove the dash. There is a much easier and faster way of doing this job. Here are the steps I took and it worked very well.
I have a 2008 Sentra 2.0 but from my understanding this SHOULD work on every model through 2012.
Total time was 3 hours but that was because I didn't have a short phillips screwdriver and had to screw around with a small socket wrench and phillips bit for the tight spots. Should be able to get this down in around 2 hours depending on the length of the beer breaks. So much better than taking the dash apart or paying $1200 for someone else to do it.
Tools:
Phillips screwdriver
Short/Stubby Phillips Screwdriver (very important to have!!)
T50 torx socket (T45 will work but it's not a perfect fit so you have to be careful to not strip the bolts)
5/8" Wrench
1/2" deep socket
3/8" socket or wrench
Flashlight
Beer.... 6 pack should be sufficient.
1. Disconnect the battery connections and wait 10 minutes
2. Remove the Drivers Seat
a. Using the T50 (T45) torx socket, remove the 4 bolts holding the seat down.
b. Disconnect the plugs on the underside of the seat, unclip the wires from the holding clips in order to fully remove the seat from the car.
3. Remove the A/C Duct that is in front of the Gas and Break Pedals
a. Open and remove the tray drawer on the lower left side of the steering wheel (the drawer you remove in order to access the fuses). Remove the single Phillips screw holding the bracket for the duct and carefully remove the duct. This allows for more room.
4. Remove the Gas pedal assembly
a. Please follow the Service Manual (Section ACC page 3) information on this to ensure you do it properly, especially for re-installing upon the completion of the job.
b. Need 3/8 socket or wrench for this
5. Remove the Break Pedal assembly
a. Please follow the Service Manual (Section BR pages 5-7) information on this to ensure you do it properly, especially for re-installing upon the completion of the job.
b. Need 1/2 deep socket for this
c. Remove the Clevis. This is a U shaped bracket from which you removed the snap pin and clevis rod. This is a little tricky considering the small space but you need the 5/8 wrench and long screwdriver and remove the lock nut and unscrew the clevis from the input rod.
6. Beer Break
7. Under the dash, toward the center, you will see a small box with three wire harnesses attached to it. There is a metal bracket with one screw holding it in. Remove the screw and unplug the 3 harness connectors. This will be helpful to out of your way, trust me.
8. Optional Step: I removed the Mode Door Motor to allow more room because I have big hands and arms and its a cramped space. If you are able to reach the blower motor and remove and install new motor without removing this, go for it. Removal is found in Section MTC Page 74.
9. Remove the Blower Motor. The Blower Motor is towards the top of the dash and towards the center of the car. Remove the 1 screw and disconnect the plug, twist the motor counter clockwise and then pull out.
10. Beer Break.
11. Re-installation is reverse order of removal.Compare the plug on the original Blower Motor with the new part. I ordered mine from O'reilly Auto Parts and the plug was NOT the same and therefore I had to return it. Thankfully Advanced Auto Parts had 1 in stock as opposed to having to special order from O'Reilly.
There it is everyone, good luck in doing this. I hope I helped at least a couple of you out there.