Do you replace sleeve bearing fans on site?

[Pentium4]

I love how quiet some of them are but I see at least ten times more of them fail than ball bearings, especially in heat, the sleeve bearing fans just can't handle heat as well. I have a recapped PSU here with a sleeve bearing fan that's going to be running 24/7. It has a Globe Fan sleeve bearing with maybe 2,000 hours on it. I have an NMB here, should I replace it just because it's a sleeve bearing? It is pretty damn quiet though...

[Rulycat]

Re: Do you replace sleeve bearing fans on site?

There are a lot of cheap sleeve bearing fans with inadequate lubrication (or none at all) straight from the factory. Make sure it's well lubed up. (ooh, matron!)

[Pentium4]

Re: Do you replace sleeve bearing fans on site?

There are a lot of cheap sleeve bearing fans with inadequate lubrication (or none at all) straight from the factory. Make sure it's well lubed up. (ooh, matron!)

Isn't Globe Fan just a mediocre company so it probably isn't made too well?

[mcdaydavies]

Re: Do you replace sleeve bearing fans on site?

I always thought Globe Fan was good, some of the high end psus use them

[Pentium4]

Re: Do you replace sleeve bearing fans on site?

I decided to just replace it with the NMB and since it's actually quieter than I thought, I just soldered it straight to the board and now the PSU runs much cooler (It isn't very efficient)

[c_hegge]

Re: Do you replace sleeve bearing fans on site?

Whether I replace a sleeve bearing fan or not depends on whether or not it has a good plug to hold the lubricant I use. Some fans just have a small rubber disc which just sits over the bearing housing, and it doesn't provide a very good seal, and oil just leaks straight out. Other fans (like the 10mm thick ones Antec use) have no plug at all. Again, the oil just leaks straight out of those and they fail. If it has a decent plug which seals well, then I just make sure it has enough lubricant.

[Wester547]

Re: Do you replace sleeve bearing fans on site?

Other fans (like the 10mm thick ones Antec use) have no plug at all. Again, the oil just leaks straight out of those and they fail.

Are you saying that (IIRC, they use ADDA fans) all ADDA fans don't have much of a plug or seal, which may expand upon why they fail quicker than not since it says in the datasheet that they're oil impregnated? D:

[c_hegge]

Re: Do you replace sleeve bearing fans on site?

The 10mm fans Antec used were Dynatron Top Motor or XFan. It seems to only be the 10mm thick fans that lack the plugs. The rear fans in those are also Dynatron Top Motor, and they have good plugs.

ADDA fans usually do have good plugs, but they fail because ADDA don't give them any oil from the factory. I haven't had any fail if I re-lube them.

[lti]

Re: Do you replace sleeve bearing fans on site?

I have an Adda fan that had oil in it from the factory.

[c_hegge]

Re: Do you replace sleeve bearing fans on site?

You got lucky then. I often find them with no oil.

[eccerr0r]

Re: Do you replace sleeve bearing fans on site?

Every fan I opened up are dry as a bone on the shaft. I oil it anyway even if it doesn't have a cap. In fact I just oiled the fan that failed in my SP300, now it's no longer seized...

[Shocker]

Re: Do you replace sleeve bearing fans on site?

nevermind

[momaka]

Re: Do you replace sleeve bearing fans on site?

With good shaft scrubbing and proper lubrication, I can restore just about any sleeve bearing fan. Worst I had was a 92mm Mitachi Spacefan. Completely seized and impossible to turn even by hand. Had to hammer the shaft out of the sleeve! After proper cleaning and oiling of the sleeve, it now works great. Granted I haven't used it much at all in a computer, but it still spins freely. I did do 2 other fans that were very seized, though. One of them is a 80mm Supperred that I have now used for a few months in one of my computers and a year or so in another. The other is a 120 mm "Raidmax", also in use for a few month. No problems whatsoever with either.

So no, I don't change sleeve bearing fans... unless the application requires total reliability in a 24/7 environment.

[Logistics]

Re: Do you replace sleeve bearing fans on site?

I always took my sleeve-bearing fans apart and lubed them back up with transmission fluid. (I'm sure there were better choices for lubricant, but eh.) Anything from case fans to the tiny ones on old video card processors or chipsets. They always fired right back up, quiet and fast... except for one which must have had a bad component on its tiny PCB.

[Pentium4]

Re: Do you replace sleeve bearing fans on site?

Wow, that's really cool! I've never done that before, how do you take them apart without destroying them? And do you oil everything except the motor?

[mcdaydavies]

Re: Do you replace sleeve bearing fans on site?

Wow, that's really cool! I've never done that before, how do you take them apart without destroying them? And do you oil everything except the motor?

Just peel back the sticker, take out the rubber bung if there is one, and put a few drops of oil in the shaft. Then put the sticker back on and spin it a few times until it spins freely. This can also be done as a precautionary measure.

[retiredcaps]

Re: Do you replace sleeve bearing fans on site?

Uxwbill has a short 1:45 minute video entitled

Fixing Failed Computer Fans

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeZnHSnxS0I

[Pentium4]

Re: Do you replace sleeve bearing fans on site?

Awesome, thanks for the info! What kind of oil is best to use?

[lti]

Re: Do you replace sleeve bearing fans on site?

I have never successfully oiled a fan by just putting a drop of oil on the top of the bearing like everyone recommends. The longest that has ever lasted for me was two weeks before it seized up or became noisy again.

[Logistics]

Re: Do you replace sleeve bearing fans on site?

Sometimes, it's tough to get a fan apart. Often there is a tiny c-clip at the top of the shaft or simply a plastic washer that has a split on one side so it can technically be fiddled out of it's slot. I find myself using sewing needles and other weird stuff to remove these parts at times, but it works. I always clean the shaft and bearing, sometimes running some 2000-grit wet sanding paper through the bearing, very lightly, just to debur anything miniscule. Lube, assemble, GO!