I never know where to draw the line on my expertise, probably because I have none.
I was cleaning the exterior of the heater motor and decided to pull the housing bolts so I could clean the housing better. When I pulled the bolts they had tons of dirt and debris on the shaft so I decided to open the motor housing to see in. There was tons of residue from the brushes that accumulated over time so I opened the housing all the way, which was where I might have gone wrong.
When I pulled the motor from one end the brushes popped out (I remember making this mistake in High School 30 years ago with another motor). See photos below. So I have three questions:
1. Do these brushes look to be in good shape or should I replace them while I have the housing opened?
2. What is the trick to pull the brushes back so I can get the motor shaft / armature back in place?
3. Should I just find a local repair shop and have them do this for me?
Heater motor pictures 
