Oily thermal pads

[madan1]

Hi everyone.

a quick question - is it normal thermal pads to be oily? I mean - used thermal pads ( already installed ).
I do not have much experience with those, only bought new ones with adhesive and they were dry.
So, is it normal the thermal pads to appear moist/oily ( probably to help the thermal conductivity ) or this is a clue for a water damage or something else?

[stj]

Re: Oily thermal pads

yes, it leaches out of the pads.

[momaka]

Re: Oily thermal pads

It's normal, I think. Just about every old/used video card I've bought has had oily RAM thermal pads. Some more than others (typically the hotter GPUs tend to have them "wetter"... so maybe like humans: the hotter we get the more we sweat? )

[Dannyx]

Re: Oily thermal pads

Oh yes: plenty normal. Just about every TV I've worked on has a big block of a pad under the main board and/or PSU...they make a mess and it's a pain to clean up all that dust mixed in with oil since it turns into some mushy gunk that clings to everything...the thicker the pad, the more it's likely to leak out.