Hi, i have a 1997 Ranger XLT 2wd, bought off Ford 3 yr/36 mo lease in 2000, had it ever since, never have spent even $500 for any repair, in 21 years, best Ranger I have owned. Still have original spark plug wires and all hoses even. I am a mechanic, and do check everything every month or 2, but like to have all original to use against the import braggers! Only water pump, bypass valve, fuel pump, timing belt and components, and spark plugs are not original, all else is .Not bad for 24 years old. Challenge any other brand to match that!

Anyway, I recently have started having issues with my original blower motor. It once in awhile slows down on the hottest days and after extended periods of use, I am sure it is the fan, so i decided to buy an aftermarket from Rock auto. The one I got was the one they showed for my 1997. I also checked first local places, O'Reillys Autozone, etc. and they all showed the same style of motor and fan. When I removed my original fan, and went to install the new one, which required me to install the fan on the shaft, the only way the fan fit on motor where it would physically fit into the opening, the blades were backwards of mine! So I removed the fan and tried it the other way, but the fan design would make the fan stick off the motor about 1-1/2 inches too far to fit.

I figured they had put the wrong fan in the box, the motor looked right, connector fit and all. So i sent it back. I cleaned my old motor inside with contact cleaner to get the old brush dust out, and carefully oiled the motor shafts. I reinstalled it and so far the original is working fine. BUT here is the weird part. When I was searching online for1997 Ranger fan motors, one popped up that looked exactly like mine, the fan was exactly the same, it was an Ebay listing, but for a 1998 and up Ranger blower motor and fan, so I went back to Rock Auto site and punched in 1998 Ranger and up pops the exact fan style my Ranger has, so why would my 1997 have an original style blower motor and fan only shown for 1998 and up?

That is what I dont get, But it is clear I will have to order a 1998 motor to get the right one. I thought this was really strange. My trucks build date is towards the end of 1997, so could Ford have changed the fan design partway though the model year?

Thanks for any help or info anyone might be be able to share, thanks very much!

 

Rock Auto shows the 95-97 turns counter clockwise
And that the 98-2011 turns clockwise


So my guess is sometime in late 97 they changed.