For the last month or so my furnace has been making a squealing noise, it sounds alot like a loose belt on a car. At first it was only making the noise when it started to blow air, but now it does it at intermittent times while it's blowing air, and every time it starts up. I thought maybe it was a loose belt, so I took off the front covers to have a look inside, and I can't find any belts. It looks like the hamster wheel is directly connected to a motor, but I can't see enough in there to figure out if it does use a belt or if it is directly connected. The Furnace is an older Lennox model, but it doesn't look to be more than 5-7 years old. The Central Air unit is only 4-5 years old, but I don't know if they replaced the furnace at the same time that they installed the Central Air.
Fan bearing/bushing worn out. You should be able to get a replacement squirrel cage and motor should the need arise.
I'd service it or have it serviced soon. Not sure what the temps are in Utah but I'm guessing cold...
Feed the squirrels! Quick! those puppies go on stike and you'll be "out in the cold" inside. I don't know your mechanical ability but I would get out the nutdrivers and open that bitch up. Kill the power and have at it, there isn't much damage you can cause at that end of the furnace, avoid the power, thermostat, and fuel lines. You need to remove sheet metal to get at your problem. The motor for the fan is likely good, I would be looking at belt or bearings like wiskas said.
Yeah, it's been below freezing every night for the past few weeks. I'm decent with a wrench, maybe I'll tear off the back side of the furnace where the hamster cage is and see if there's anything I can do to it. Thanks for the advice!
theres two motors in your furnace. a blower motor and a combustion motor. set your start to fan on and listen to it start up. it it makes the noise its the blower. turn the power off the the furnace and reach in there and see if the wheel is secured tightly to the motor shaft. if its not loose and flopin around your bearings are shot, they are most likely replaceable. which means you need a new motor. they are not terribly difficult to replace. are you mechanically inclined? if so ill go through the process. otherwise call someone
also make sure the wheel is not hitting the outside of the squirlcage. this can happen causing a metal on metal squealing sound. the motor could be misaligned causing the wheel to hit on the shell.
yea, usually there is a 5/32 set screw on the motor shaft. But check the motor to see if there is a place you can add some oil to it. It will probably do nothing but if the noise goes down then you know its defently the motor bearings. I dont know if you have a grainger or united refrigeration around you but you coudl just get the numbers off the motor if you determine thats it, and order a new motor. They really are not that hard to replace espically if the unit is newer. But also check the alighnment on the shaft like miller said, manually spin the motor and see if its rubbing. Usually there are 3 bolts that bolt the motor onto the squirlcage. Could you explain the noise better? Because a bad bearing wont really sound like a belt noise.
Ok, I switched the heat off and just turned on the fan. It doesn't squeal. When I turned on the heat and it started up, the front motor is the one squealing, as the hamster cage isn't kicking on yet.
yea thats your induction motor. if you can get me a model/serial and think you could change it yourself i could get you one.
