Q1. Answer, yes, the bearing in the blower motor is about done. Most the time, your car will leak a little water down into the fan from above, and it has no where to go once in there. Poor GM design.
Sometimes you can remove the lower rubber hose from the bottom of the housing, and insert a straw attached to a can of white lithium grease and spray some in there to lube the bearing. This is a band aid fix, but it does work and lets you get more life out of it. Or, you can replace the fan motor, your call.
Q2. Answer yes, your correct with this problem being the actuator.
~F~
