My ceiling fan works intermittently,runs for a while, then stops.. then an hour later it will start up again and run for a while then stops. I believe the motor is all gunked up. I've been trying to pry the housing from the motor to no avail. Is there something special one has to do?

Sylvia

If you don't see any screws, grab the housing and twist it counter clockwise. Some fans have rubber twist locks or sliding grooves that keep the cover on. Problem is, to drop the cover far enough, you may need to remove the blades and or light too. Most motors are sealed and don't have oiler cups anymore.