[Earthworm]

My heater fan started getting noisy, slow and to the point of not starting without a light tap.

To my surprise there's a quick and free fix to this only requiring a phillips screw driver.

I first looked into how to remove the motor. Didn't look that easy as all I could easily get to was the plate on the back of the motor.

Out of curiosity I removed the 2 screws holding that plate on and attempted to remove the plate. Along with the plate came a pile of brownish powder (from the brushes?). I cleaned off all the powder and continued to ponder how to remove the motor.

Still curious I put the plate back on and tried the fan - PERFECT! It's now quiet and works 100%.

In summary, the accumulation of this powder is what's making the fan noisy and slow. The removal of this powder restores full functionality to the fan.