Midea U-Shaped Air Conditioner Teardown & Repair: Blower Clean, Fan noise fix, Motor replacement

I have been really happy with my Midea U-Shaped Air Conditioner until the thing started making a really annoying hum any time the fan was going. Customer service told me to get bent when I tried to take advantage of the warranty, so I tried to live with the noise until I couldn’t stand it anymore and finally took action.

Please engage with the video/account so that other Midea owners looking to do their own repairs can find this easier.

** I have just been informed that many Danby U-shaped ACs are rebadged versions of this unit **

If you have any notes, ideas, or better methods please comment below!

Tips from the comment section:
- For the narrow areas you can get small screwdrivers or 90-degree shaped screwdrivers at any hardware store
- Magnetic screwdrivers will help you not lose screws (if you do, get an extendable magnetic wand to fish them out)
- If you use lubricant, use only silicon grease - it's inert, shouldn't harm any rubbers or plastics
- You can remove the entire fan duct without taking the whole thing apart (there's detailed comments about it, I have not attempted this yet)

[wasgonnasdontcount]

Awesome achievement! I'm exhausted (also watched it at 2x speed). Thanks!

[zxypher]

Thank you for this video. Considering you had to record by yourself while working - you did an awesome job AND you showed everything I was hoping to see AND gave many useful tips. A+ DIY

[danielrutledge]

Thank you. after watching this had mine apart in 15 mins cleaning the fan the right way not the Qtip way. Was Easier than looked and now im very familiar with it if i need to replace parts. You did great just took you longer using camera for this great tutorial.

[mikeks]

Ahhhh man, THANK YOU. Whirring noise is finally gone. I really appreciate the time you took to make the video and the tons of research that you have saved everyone that watched this video. You should leave a link to your venmo or something for those like me who would like to buy you a coffee or beer for the effort and knowledge share.

[theresaosborne]

Thank you for making this video with your step by step instructions. It reassured me that it was the motor that I needed to replaced. You also gave me the confidence to tackle this myself. I really like the quietness and the cold air of this Midea air conditioner. I was going to by another new one. You saved me a lot of money. As I was removing everything apart I realized that there were three more screws on the left side and three on the right side that also could be removed. This allowed me to remove the whole motor housing straight up and out. It came out so easy. I didn't break a single tab off. It also was very simple to slide back in. I hope this helps everyone tackling this repair project. It was definitely worth the effort. Thanks again Nick.

[piperjohn_]

Very well done--I love when a gutsy hack succeeds! I have one of these installed waiting for summer temps. I got an asurion 3-year plan but if they ever tell me to "get bent" I now feel comfortable I can get to the squirrel cage for mold abatement or motor replacement in a pinch. I know I'll break some clips and strip a screw or two but you've helpfully shown here it's doesn't seem to be an issue.

[dalekrueger]

I just finished the motor replacement and this video was very helpful. Especially with the link to the correct motor on Amazon and the hidden screw that comes in from the back side of the blower housing. I'd would have never found that screw without your help.

The fan shaft setscrew was a bear but my drill-driver got it out with the light impact.

[georgegassmann]

Thanks for the video. I broke my blower fan by putting a thermometer to far into the opening. I was able to buy a new one for 19.99 and with this video had it up and running within an hour. One tip I have is that I did not have to remove the entire plastic housing around the fan blade. I took all the screws out and was able to open in enough from the top to remove old fan and install replacement. This saved a lot of trouble of having to get the bottom of the housing lined up and probably knocked 15 minutes off the job.

[OriginalNajja]

This video helped me take mine apart just yesterday to clean in out. One note I wanted to mention. It's possible to take out the whole plastic unit that surrounds the front radiator if you remove 3 more screws. Then it becomes much easier to take apart and clean the whole area.

[NathanCrouse]

Thanks for the video. It helped me understand how to get the unit apart better so I could properly clean out all the mold growth. I saw another comment and would like to second it that the whole grey plastic assembly can come out as a single unit that's screwed to the evaporator coil. Only need the screws on either side of the evaporator and the white cable holder piece. The one you missed to get it all out is under that foam piece on the left side of the unit. Pull the unit as a whole, and them disassemble on a bench from there. Makes it much easier to get at the screws in the back and that one screw that's hard to get at on the left. The hardest part of disassembly was getting the front panel clips undone. Now that some of mine are broke or looser it will come off much easier next time I clean. Cleaning in itself took much longer of course, it takes time to clean all those individual fins on the blower.

[MeganHarris-Linton]

Super Super Helpful! I just watched this 4 times stopping and going backward and then forward as I worked. I kept you playing while I worked so I didn't feel alone with this annoying task. You didn't miss a single part! The slow pace was perfect for me to work along side you and pause and resume. Thanks for the close ups of the clips and other ways to separate the electronic connectors. I am so thankful for all of the time you took to make this video. Thank you for doing such a kind service for all of us of sharing what you have learned! And you were totally right, you do have to push so hard, that you think you are going to break it when removing the white case. So now 3 hours later I have a better smelling and completely working AC! I am proud of myself! (But I could not have done it with out you!). The one thing I added was WD40, on the end of the drive shaft for the blower wheel axle before putting back the axle into the rubber end. I did this because I noticed that the axle had grease on it when I took it out so I wondered if it was important to grease it. Anyone else need to re-grease the axle?

[StephanieCarter-wj]

Wow! Thank you so much for this video. Saved my sanity when I had to perform a full breakdown for mold/mildew ablation. One thing I noticed (and perhaps it is unique to my particular model) is that the wires coming from the motor actually have a notch in the cover below both of the top and bottom ventilation holes. If they are fed through this notch instead of the bottom hole, they are not pinched up against the motor as much and have more slack to wind them back into the “coffin.”
Thanks again for your great service to Midea owners!!

[julienbenatar]

You are a legend, this video is more helpful than anything Midea shared with me. I was quoted $300 for someone to clean it and able to do it on my own thanks to you! Really appreciate that you took time to share all of that with us.

[dattran]

This video helped me take apart my unit and get to the Blue Roller. It was covered in mold and mildew. Following the steps, I was able to get it done in 3 hours today (half the time was cleaning and most of the time was just getting the front cover off). 10/10 Thank you for your help. With all said and done, I only broke 2 tabs and lost one screw behind the "Coffin" cords

[ianholmes]

Lifesaver!! Bought one of these from a colleague for $100 bucks because of an annoying whirring sound, thanks for making my summer cooler and quieter!!!

[KimSchak]

This unit is such a pain in the ass to take apart. And like most mini split systems, they accumulate way more mold and debris than a standard unit. I blame the squirrel cage blower and how close it is to the coils, picking up moisture. I know most people will frown upon this but I’ve cleaned the blower and coils without taking the unit apart fully, and using a hand steam cleaner. Just need to be careful with the blower and the motor but it works when it’s mid summer and 95 degrees and you don’t want to take the unit apart completely.

Thanks for this video though!

[jafizzle]

I haven't even bought the unit yet but thank you for this. Good to know that it's repairable by a layman like myself.

[michaelrxs]

HUGE thank you for this breakdown. I didn’t have a motor issue but I did need to do a really deep clean. When I finally got to the fan, it was covered in mold 🤢 But your vid helped so much, especially your tips on the tabs and wires. Really appreciate it!

[josephp]

I am planning to buy a aircon myself and this video came up. What a great way of showing what could go wrong with buying the unit and being able to fix it DIY. Thanks for the info!

[Davethreshold]

For tight spaces, they make screwdrivers that are under 3 inches long at any hardware store.
Phillips head/driver tips come in at least three weird hole sizes.
For those tight spaces, if you use a magnetic driver, and the screw is aluminum or plastic, take a tiny piece of tape, wrap it around the screw and the driver, so it holds the driver tighter than the screw. When you screw it in, the tape will stick to the driver. I discovered that idea while working in tight, deep computer spaces.
That damn noise! It sounds like Cicadas! ~~ THANK YOU!! ❤