Relubing fans

[momaka]

Re: Relubing fans

2. The opposite side of the fan that the blades are on, there is usually a sticker down the middle of the fan. Remove it. It will usually just peel up from the edge. Don't expect to reuse it as they usually don't stick very well when reapplied.

If you don't put too many finger prints on the sticker or the plastic where the sticker goes, it will stick just fine. I've reused quite a few stickers multiple times without any problems (the only ones that give me trouble are the paper ones, but those are rare).

5. Once the clip is off, the fan blades should just slide or easily pull out. Once it is removed, clean everything off. I wipe everything down and if too bad, wash the fan blades with soap and water. Make sure that it is completely dry before you put it back together if you do get it wet.

Washing the blades and plastic with water is fine, but don't get the stator (the metal pieces with the coils on them) wet! They will rust. Probably better to just use a moist cloth to wipe the blades/plastic and a dry one for the stator.

Cleaning the shaft with a solvent and a rough cloth to remove any build up or discoloration.

Excellent point! I do this to the shaft and the sleeve bearing as well and it definitely helps the fan spin more freely than before.
Sometimes if the fan was stuck really badly, I use a small screwdriver to make scratches in the sleeve bearing parallel to the direction of the shaft (you can't really see any scratches, but they are there). After this I clean with a rough cloth and put oil. The scratches help the sleeve bearing to hold lubricant for a longer time and clean gunk that the solvents and rough cloth might have not gotten in the first place.
I've had a fan that was hard to turn even after cleaning and oiling. The scratches made a world of a difference.
To make them, you just take a small flat-head screwdriver, hold it with one of the sharp edges against the sleeve bearing, and make streaks parallel to the part where the shaft goes. Do this for the whole inner circumference of the sleeve bearing. Don't apply too much pressure on the screwdriver (you should feel only a bit of resistance).
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As for lubricant, I use regular motor oil only, and it usually works fine for a few years. I've also used regular grease before, but that dried up quickly. Maybe other kinds work better, but motor oil seems to work flawlessly every time.

By the way, good job on the descriptions kaniki.

I think there are also some videos on youtube on how to lubricate fans in case anyone is interested (I can't seem to find them right now, though).

[kaniki]

Re: Relubing fans

First let me say thank you

as foir the sticker part sticking.. I think it more comes down to how old the fan is then anything.. most fans that i usually have to do this to are not like 1 or 2 years old.. or if they have, they ar in a house of smokers or something like that.. and that tar in the air does make a big difference.

As for the fan part getting wet. If you noticed, i put the wash the fan blades.. i never said anything about the core of the power part.. guess i should have put "Do not get the electrical part of the main body wet" in there. But for the fans.. wiping is fine and dandy, but again with the smokers part.. sometimes kinda hard to get them clean just by wiping the blades off. For me, if the blades are too bad, a quick spray of Westleys whitewall cleaner, let it sit for about a minute, rinse well, then dry it off. for the drying, i dry with something like a washcloth/towel and then either used canned air and let it sit for a spell or put in front of my heater for a bit. just to make sure that it is good and dry with no moisture left. I have done this many times and never had a problem yet.. If my fan blades were only needing water then i dont usually need to get them wet.. but in a smokers house.. dont see just water doing a lot..

I looked up info on the net (youtube and websites) about oiling the fans.. most of what i found says to just take the sticker off, put a drop or two of oil in, put the sticker back on and then spin the fan a few rounds. I guess that would work if the fan was just starting to run a little rough but by the time i get them, either things are so crudded up that that is just not a feasible thing to do.. well, not if you want it to last more then a month. and if in a smokers house.. there is going to be so much tar in there that it will make more of a sludge in there then a lube once the oil gets inside.

[momaka]

Re: Relubing fans

I guess I've been lucky not to get any "smoked" fans .

And yes, most websites only mention to take off the sticker and put oil, so usually they're not a great source of details on this matter. They are okay for visuals, though.

[PCBONEZ]

Re: Relubing fans

You can use good ole rubber cement to put the stickers back on.
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If you dunno what it is it's that 'stuff' that comes on some store packaging [to hold labels or whatever on plastic] that looks like clear silicon sealer but acts like sticky snot.
.
Comes in a bottle with a brush.
.

[NxB]

Re: Relubing fans

I just injected CLP into my top case fan with a hypodermic syringe and it seems to have done the trick. Before it would make noise.

[sLowEnd]

Re: Relubing fans

If it's a case fan, you can replace it with a better one. If it's a video card fan, it can be difficult to find an appropriate replacment, so that's when you oil it.

Ghetto mods for the win.

[kaniki]

Re: Relubing fans

for the mod.. kinda disturbing.. but i have seen much worse.. I once saw a fan put on a heatsink that was only held on by 2 screws (could not put the other 2 in, no room to mount as it was the wrong size).. if that was not bad enough, the fan was not even screwed down snug.. it was loose and flapping in the breeze..

...that looks like clear silicon sealer but acts like sticky snot.
.
Comes in a bottle with a brush.
.

what a wonderful description..

[momaka]

Re: Relubing fans

for the mod.. kinda disturbing.. but i have seen much worse.. I once saw a fan put on a heatsink that was only held on by 2 screws (could not put the other 2 in, no room to mount as it was the wrong size)..

ahem...
http://thereifixedit.com/2009/12/01/...-acted-screwy/

I think you're going to like my computers as well too - they all have at least one ghetto fan mod somewhere (though they're not nearly as bad as the one above).
I have a Dell that my family uses here - well, the Northbridge gets really hot so I just put a 40mm fan on it with two random screws I found (they do match and are of proper size). It fits the heatsink perfectly, works well, and is fairly firm on there.
I have two other computers that have similar mods (both have hot-running video cards with passive coolers).
And my latest mod (I still haven't taken pictures of it yet):
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showpo...5&postcount=33
...
Sorry for going so off-topic.

[ratdude747]

Re: Relubing fans

uh, globe fans suck, FYI.

[370forlife]

Re: Relubing fans

Ehh, they are pretty good. They are about like adda. They have been used in enermax's, some FSP's, ATNG, sirtec, even some delta's I have seen have them.

[ratdude747]

Re: Relubing fans

and iirc addas are prone to seizing?

[ss627]

Re: Relubing fans

I hate adda fans. While they look well built, I've had so many cheap sleeve fans that worked without noise issues for much longer. I tend to use a lot of the cheap yate loon and coolermaster fans since I haven't experienced a single problem with them so far.

[kaniki]

Re: Relubing fans

ahem...
http://thereifixedit.com/2009/12/01/...-acted-screwy/

I think you're going to like my computers as well too - they all have at least one ghetto fan mod somewhere (though they're not nearly as bad as the one above).

actually, i have seen 1 that was very close to that.. but at least that one was on snug /tight.. and not in danger of falling off..

OK OK.. how about this.. i had a computer over a few months back.. this is the condition it had shown up in.. first, only 3 screws holding the MB in place.. the rest, well... i think fell out.. the 3 that were there were very loose.. as in the MB was actually moving back and forth while in the case, cross threaded screws for the hard drive, only had 1 screw in on the right side to hold it in place, but dont worry if it falls out, there was a second one in the spar slot that does nothing (why he did not put it in the 2nd mount screw slot, i have no idea), wrong size and thread screws in the CD-ROM, screws floating around in the case (think came out of the motherboard), the mounting spacers for the MB, none were tight, as in 2 or 3 threads out frokm being all the way down, fan on the vid card was screaming, had the fan in the case pulling air in from the back while the power supply fan was pushing it out of the back to make like a small vortex, ram was bunk (probably overheated), hard drive was just previously replaced (was overheated), and found out that the owner had the PC sitting on top of the heater duct.. The case had a hack job for mounting the fan in it too.. looked like it was cut out with a set of tin snips.. very rough and very sharp edges.. There were a couple other things but can not remember off the top of my head... Scary thing is he could not figure out why the PC kept having problems.. Its like Gee, I wonder... IDIOT!!!

Now that was a computer from hell.... Glad i dont run into people like him very often..

[cheese007]

Re: Relubing fans

I have a Pentium II with a couple of 80MM fans attached to the heatsink with one screw each. They also happen to hang off the edge and cool my memory and video card. :P