How to maintain your fans, Also how to succesfully perform fan surgery

[pantherx12]

So WD-40 is no good huh?

Well the 25 fans need re-doing with something else then!

Why is it bad by the way? Never had a problem using it for other things.

 

[Bo$$]

Have a minty sweet?



No, WD40 does make plastic/nylon bearings wear out faster because it corrodes them.

Both vaseline and that product are suggested for example for the bearing in automotive gear levers - in many case it's made of nylon and if you use normal oil lubricant it will get ruined.

i thought i bought something VERY similar, but i remember that it was called WD-55

 

[Bo$$]

So WD-40 is no good huh?

Well the 25 fans need re-doing with something else then!

Why is it bad by the way? Never had a problem using it for other things.

plastic issues...

 

[erixx]

OP: hair oil? Like the one Elvis used? Lol!

 

[Thrackan]

Sewing machine oil ftw, though I never tried to get off that washer! Thanks for the info

 

[de.das.dude]

I have been away for college and soooo many posts!!!
thanks guys for all your thanks and replies. really appreciate it.

Easy way ? , You could have the fan all sorted within a hour and for me at least would take 5 days to get a good new one which would cost any thing from $14 + postage and that to me is not the easy way.

Half an hour infact.

nothing can stop in front of dust :shadedshu here in great iraq nothing can survive dust so cleaning and greasing is the way

same here, we have too much pollution.

I use grease from a can with a long nozzle, works for me. Not all fans have an easy access point like the one you are showing, gotta squirt it from behind to fix this problem.

Wish my m8s would listen as both have thermaltake fans that are dieing after only 6months of use, my god there bad fans. zalman FTW. Second choice Coolermaster.

Well, all the fans i had always seem to have an access point.

Sewing machine oil ftw, though I never tried to get off that washer! Thanks for the info

Sewing machine oil...tends to collect dust.

I mainly use castrol AP3 protector series

 

[_JP_]

nothing can stop in front of dust here in great iraq nothing can survive dust so cleaning and greasing is the way

Yeah, dust is a problem. I somewhat regularly clean my case, so I don't allow too much dust to build up.

 

[pantherx12]

plastic issues...

Aye that's what I'm saying, I've never had a problem

WD40 is my non body lubricant of choice

 

[Arctucas]

The best I have used: Abu Garcia® Reel Lube.

 

[de.das.dude]

Lube. LOL.

 

[KingPing]

Sticky!!!

 

[de.das.dude]

Yes!!!! any one who wants this stickied, show some sign!

 

[Exile_Chavez]

I agree, before reading this thread I never thought to live my fans to help them run better, I always figured that thu were built to run without maintenance I guess I was wrong. Sticky this guy for people like me who wouldn't think of it!!!!!!

 

[mudkip]

*cough*

 

[de.das.dude]

sneeky no sticky this thread

 

[MohawkAngel]

I pass fans under hot bath water shake them to remove water and let them dip into a bucket of olive oil. After 1 hour of soaking remove the oil excedent and plug them. Before plugging into the case try them outside so the rotating fan will blow out the oil excedent and VOILA !

 

[de.das.dude]

GHETTO! But funny neverthless... LOl

 

[Altered]

Nice how to article.

On the few fans that have no access plug or cap being extremely careful with a very small drill bit you can make a oiling hole. Make sure to just go through the plastic. Use a very light wt. oil such as sewing machine oil so that it flows into the hole. A couple a drops usually does the trick. You can use a old sticker to cover the hole or some good tape after cleaning any oil that missed the hole.

Surprised no one mentioned.

 

[MohawkAngel]

Nice how to article.

On the few fans that have no access plug or cap being extremely careful with a very small drill bit you can make a oiling hole. Make sure to just go through the plastic. Use a very light wt. oil such as sewing machine oil so that it flows into the hole. A couple a drops usually does the trick. You can use a old sticker to cover the hole or some good tape after cleaning any oil that missed the hole.

Surprised no one mentioned.
http://www.foodservicedirect.com/productimages/OT478168S.jpg

Yup. When you want to drill a hole there's nothing like K.Y.

 

[streetfighter 2]

I recently had to do surgery on an ancient 40mm fan that was pulled off a NB and re-purposed in my new machine as a SB fan. I recycle!

Fan specs:
Colorful CF-12407S
12VDC 0.14A
Sleeve Bearing

I thought this thread might enjoy some high(er) quality pics.

Here's the incredibly tiny snap ring (which is only visible after the sticker is peeled off):

Here's the front (back?) of the fan after the blades have been removed. Notice the dirt on the coils and in the bearing? That's going to generate a lot of noise!

This is the inside of the fan blades. Notice how the old grease accumulated in the center after it bonded with dust? That's going to add more noise!

I did something that I wouldn't recommend others do, I used WD40 (both as lube and to clean the dirty residue). Don't do what I did. I'm a professional!

 

[micropage7]

i use castrol motor oil
its really make my fans run fast

 

[de.das.dude]

i use castrol motor oil
its really make my fans run fast

same here!!! but they kinda get a lil hot LOL.

 

[F1reFly]

i just spray some WD40 in it with the fan running and works perfectly, no need to take out or use much of your time. though their cheap enough i typically just replace them anymore.

 

[RejZoR]

Sleeve bearing fans are easy to maintain. Repairing ball bearing fans is a bit more tricky. But can be done. You have to clean the whole thing just like you do with sleeve type, it's just that you have to take ball bearings out, clean them thoroughly from the outside and then submerge them into oil, to lubricate the inside again. You have to violently move them inside oil to force it through tiny opening of the shield. Wipe them clean after that, especially the inner ring where the rotor goes, otherwise it will be lubricated and will spin inside the bearing which is bad and kills the whole point of the bearing. So clean the bearing thorougly on the outside. Put it back and run it at slow RPM to spread the oil inside. It shoudl become much more silent after few seconds.
But the rate of success depends on how long it was running dry. The longer it was, the more bearings were damaged. But it will be always better than running them dry...

 

[streetfighter 2]

i just spray some WD40 in it with the fan running and works perfectly, no need to take out or use much of your time. though their cheap enough i typically just replace them anymore.

You can't be serious? I know WD40 isn't conductive but spraying a fan while it's running inside your case is just disturbingly dangerous. WD40 is like a dust magnet and it often forms a capacitive gel when it does so. It also breaks down thermal grease.

Sleeve bearing fans are easy to maintain. Repairing ball bearing fans is a bit more tricky. But can be done. You have to clean the whole thing just like you do with sleeve type, it's just that you have to take ball bearings out, clean them thoroughly from the outside and then submerge them into oil, to lubricate the inside again. You have to violently move them inside oil to force it through tiny opening of the shield. Wipe them clean after that, especially the inner ring where the rotor goes, otherwise it will be lubricated and will spin inside the bearing which is bad and kills the whole point of the bearing. So clean the bearing thorougly on the outside. Put it back and run it at slow RPM to spread the oil inside. It shoudl become much more silent after few seconds.
But the rate of success depends on how long it was running dry. The longer it was, the more bearings were damaged. But it will be always better than running them dry...

Ball bearing fans are definitely more tricky to clean but they should last quite a bit longer between cleanings. (source)