How To Repair Noisy Fans
horiz...@my-deja.com
you have beaten and kicked your computers just to get that evil droning
noise to stop (not recommended) =) I discovered a way to stop that
irritating noise and extend its life for free WITHOUT replacing the
fan! Most people chuck their fans (be it CPU, muffin or graphic
adapter coolers) when they still have months or years of life left in
them.
I can't say this enough - buy a good quality ball bearing fan -
especially for thermal sensitive processors. A crappy Chinese made
sleeve bearing fan is just that - CRAP. I apologize if I sound a bit
harsh but I have a big problem with companies that manufacture junk to
save consumers 50 cents. Ball bearing fans will last two or three
times longer than sleeve bearing and only cost a fraction more. That
50 cents (okay maybe a dollar) will go a long way to protect your
investment.
No matter who made your fan, it will eventually start to give up the
ghost. As the bearing starts to wear and the lubricating oils become
displaced they will grind and moan before they totally lockup and die.
Many start showing symptoms when its cold and you first turn on your
machine. Its important to perform this proceedure before the bearing
is destoyed. If the fan blades cannot easily be turned with your
fingers (blades stop immediately when manually spinning them) then
you're out of luck - you'll have to replace it.
First remove the fan in question from the machine (duh). If the fan is
attached to a heatsink then remove the retaining screws to expose the
back of the fan itself. Most fans have a sticker over the back
covering the bearing and shaft assembly. Many of the stickers state
electrical specifications and that they were proudly manufactured in
Taiwan. Peel off the sticker using your fingernail or tweezers. You
are likely to see the fan shaft and the back of a retaining collar or
the bearing itself. You'll need some very light lubricating oil like
sewing machine oil. If you have an electric razor or clippers then
they probably came with lubricating oil to keep the blades sharp - this
will work just fine. Apply a very small amount (usually one drop)
directly onto the exposed shaft and bearing while manually spinning the
blades. Don't overdo it. Most times you'll notice that the resistance
to turning the blades substantially decreases. Ideally you want a
small amount of oil to pool on top of the bearing or retaining collar.
Don't let any oil get on the backplate of the fan (where you pulled the
sticker off) - if you do then wipe it off completely. Apply one strip
of scotch tape to cover the hole but don't leave tape hanging off the
edge - this will affect airflow. I would not use the original sticker
since the adhesive has been compromised. If the tape won't stick then
you probably have oil on the plastic housing. A rag with window
cleaner or rubbing alcohol should remove it. Spin the blades several
times to work the oil around the shaft and bearing. You can hook up
the fan before reinstalling it back in the machine - the exception
being a CPU fan. Voila! You probably just saved yourself the hassle
and expense of buying a new fan. Let me know of any success stories.
BTW - if you find that the above procedure works for a few days or
weeks and the noise returns then you might try automotive wheel grease
instead of machine oil.
Infrared
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
M. Smith
"Peter Szatmari" <pet...@dsuper.net> wrote in message
news:NL1r4.108797$B6.7...@quark.idirect.com...
> Great idea, thanks. Now, how about the power supply fans? I had to change
> fans twice in 4 months and both were brand new.Do other people have such
> problems or this is just bad luck. My place is relatively dust-free
Personally, I think Infrared's advice borders on computer malpractice unless
all the computer stores are closed for the weekend and you have the "big
project" to finish by Monday and are worried your PC will overheat before
you are done.
What he suggests should be an emergency repair only, which I admit to having
done more than once over the past 20 years.
I agree a quality ball-bearing fan should be purchased in the first place.
But every mechanical device fails eventually. Once the "groaning" starts,
this absolutely indicates an unacceptable level of wear has almost certainly
taken place. Re-oiling the bearings is a fix of completely unpredictable
duration. You may get a week, you may get a year or more. I typically have
found such a repair good for only days or weeks.
The problem is that many people (like me) and businesses run their PC's
24/7. What if that "last gasp" on your repaired fan is at 3 AM while you are
busy sawing Z's? Last year I had one machine where the power supply fan died
while I was away and I had to replace half the boards in the machine and
ended up with a hard drive which died early. I came damn close to losing all
the data on that drive.
Quality ball bearing fans - both CPU and power supply - are available for
$10 - $15 from competitive suppliers. You may have to pay $20 or a bit more
or so for local convenience.
However, I consider it foolish to do an uncertain home-made repair that
risks all the other components in the PC. It's one thing to do a
jerry-rigged repair to keep things running for a day or two until the real
parts come in. It is quite another to foolishly pass up an early warning
message to replace a part.
One hint for quick failures on the power supply fan. When you install the
new fan make SURE you are not over-torquing (over-tightening) the screws
that attach the fan to the casing. Those plastic frames warp easily and may
be throwing the fan casing out of alignment which would directly and
adversely affect the fan's bearing alignment.