Hi, just want to chime in to say that I had what I thought were very similar problems but the solution was different. I tried lubing my motor and that didn't help and I got a replacement blower fan motor and to my dismay that also didn't help! At that point it became clear that it was an air Whistling noise and not a bearing noise. I was pretty distraught because who knows where and all the buried Plumbing behind the dash the whistle could be coming from. Turned out to be super easy to find though! It was the cover for the cabin air filter, which sits just above the blower fan behind the glove box.

Anyone reading this article having a similar problem, I would recommend this quick test before doing anything else. Drop the glove box open and then squeeze the stoppers to release it all the way down. With your fan on and the whistle Screech noise happening, press around on the lid for the cabin air filter. Or maybe lift it around or crack it just a little bit. When I did this it became clear that manipulating that lid caused the sound to start and stop or get louder or quieter. So it was air leaking out of the cabin air filter box lid that was making the noise.

I stripped off the old foam gasket that was on the filter lid and replaced it with some new thicker weather stripping. That solved it!

 

Just a quick thanks for the write-up.

I picked up a blower motor from NAPA and was able to do the job in about 20 minutes. The hardest part was getting that ductwork back in. I actually finished the job one afternoon but got frustrated it wouldn't go back in. So I left it, and the next day figured it out in about 5 minutes. I cannot remember the tip for getting it back in, but it took trying it several ways before it finally went.

Also, with it being a cheapo NAPA part, I figured as long as it worked for 2-3 years, it was worth it, and I can either swap it for another one or go with an OEM one next time.

 

Also thanks for the write-up, I'll chirp in with my $0.25 worth, my symptom was a completely dead blower motor so the fix was to replace the motor speed controller (LR031677) with an inexpensive made in China substitute. I then took apart the dead controller to find fuse F1 was open, a 10 Amp 130 degree (Celsius) solder in thermal type fuse, which can be had online for as little as $1. I saw that a previous owner had replaced the motor but the controller could have been heat shocked as every once in a while the blower would quit and then start again if you drove over a bump before it failed completely. I'll try to fix the controller and keep it as a spare, plus I have a new motor also on its way. The rear blower motor is likely using the same controller and motor so I'll probably be putting all parts to good use sometime in the future...
Edit:
The part should be called a MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor) Blower Speed Controller and the original Denso 077800-0901 part is used in many other vehicles like Jaguar, Subaru and Toyota. The thermal fuse is easily replaceable and so is the MOSFET by anyone with some basic electronic soldering skills and a few basic tools, total parts cost is under $5. Basically the automatic temperature control module ATCM (dash control) sends a low level digital signal type called pulse width modulation (PWM) to the MOSFET (gate connection) or as some call it the "resistor pack" which in turn can switch large current signals to the blower motor, increasing the width of the PWM signal pulses to speed up the motor or decreasing their width to slow the motor down. Failure of the thermal fuse causes the motor to not run at all, and a short circuit in the MOSFET will cause the motor to run at top speed all the time. Hopefully this helps folks who experience similar blower motor difficulties, and if you don't want to test your soldering skills then complete replacement modules are available for $20 and up, nearly all manufactured in the far east...

 

I know it's late, but right outlet duct part JKB500410 looks like what you are looking for, maybe, perhaps?...