Thinkpads Forum

I have a fan that is going bad on my T61.

The fan heatsink assembly are 'refurbished' which I presume means the fan is original and could be 10+ years old.
Therefore, I would rather just replace the fan to get one with a new/good bearing.
It seems that the fans on eBay are only being sold out of Germany, not seen one out of the US or China. Such as this one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lufter-Fan-Fur- ... SwnipWVJLE

Is that the correct fan for a 15.5" T61 with the Intel video?
How difficult is it to replace just the fan?

thanks.

You may need to peel some of the original glued-on foam on the heatsink around the fan assembly, and you may also need a tiny screwdriver to remove the tiny screws.

I know T500 heatsink uses little clips to hold the assembly in but I think T61 used screws.

Why not upgrade fan from one from T500 heatsink assembly? More quieter and cools better. Exact fit, done one already.
The sticker stuff is one time deal so while you are ordering from ebay, get 10mm wide rayon tape so you can also replace perished clear tapes that holds down any wires in your notebook and useful for fixing your heatsink with new fan using rayon tape.

Don't forget while replacement fan is out, lift the fan rotor out and lubricate shaft with little bit of light oil or engine oil. They were all dry anyway.

Cheers, thinkpadcollection

Well now I HAVE to replace the fan, it just died.
Thankfully, it limped on for long enough for me to get a new main computer built, and files transferred to it.
Now the fan replacement is not so critical. Important, but not critical.

try oiling it, as suggested above.

Are the T61 14" and 15" fans the same? I have a dead T61P 15" with a good fan and a T61 14" WS fan that makes a slight noise.

I believe the 14" Wide uses a distinct heatsink that is not compatible with the 15".

Got the fan in the mail.
Now to get the fan installed.
Taxes are now taking priority.