Being a little tongue in cheek here but maybe you can get the motor to run for a short while and use the money saved to pay for future burned up wiring, ignition switch, relays, fuse box connections etc. from that high power draw each time the motor tried to seize up. Those used blowers owe you nothing. Time to bit the bullet. While you are in there consider the heater core. At least remove it and clean it inside and out. They make an excellent filter for road dirt. Any signs of goo of crusty stuff it is time to replace it. While sudden heater failures are almost unknown in Vanagons it happens with many VW cores. My Fox had a recall where they installed safety valves to restrict the flow if the core fails. An sudden massive core failure means a lot of hot antifreeze into the interior onto your legs and possibly your face. The steam and fumes can create a bad situation  including an accident.

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of J Stewart
Sent: Monday, December 26, 2011 8:44 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: More On Front Blower Motor

My situation is a bit different, last year my front blower worked, but it squeaked. I drilled the Karl M. port and tried to lube it, but a week later it locked up. Turning it on now causes everything to dim and the rear motor to noticeably slow down, and if left on for few seconds the fuse blows. I want to pull the dash to replace the brown dash pad, and while at it, it makes sense to go ahead and deal with the blower motor. I'm hoping maybe something fell down in the dash and jammed it? Who knows. I hate to order a new motor then find out I can get this one working again, especially if the motor would be non-returnable, as I am suspecting it would be. I also hate to pull the dash twice (although its not a fun job, after pulling a 1987 Chevy van dash years ago to replace a heater core, trust me, the Vanagon aint that bad!) Anyone ever found crap that jammed the motor, or had any luck resurrecting one that had stopped?

Jeff Stewart