Unbearably Noisy Fan

[Andy]

Right now my (15") T60's fan is not only unbearably noisy but actually vibrating the keyboard so much it makes my fingers tingle. The box is still under wty but I'm told the turnaround would be at least a week. I've opened it up and cannot find anything visibly interfering with the fan.

The fan is integrated into the MB, so it's a depot-only repair.

Any thoughts?

[mgo]

Right now my (15") T60's fan is not only unbearably noisy but actually vibrating the keyboard so much it makes my fingers tingle. The box is still under wty but I'm told the turnaround would be at least a week. I've opened it up and cannot find anything visibly interfering with the fan.

The fan is integrated into the MB, so it's a depot-only repair.

Any thoughts?

If there is vibration as well as noise, the fan is physically damaged and will fail soon. It needs to be replaced.

Are you sure the vibration isn't from the hard drive which is right under your hand? There is software to cut down on the annoying fan noise; I use TPFan control, which is freeware available on this forum.

[wap32]

My 14w T61 is actually suffering from a similar problem. No vibration but at times the fan is incredibly noisy, even at lower speeds.
I've opened it and cleaned the dust but the problem remains. Sometimes if I give it a few taps the noise stops, but then it comes back after a while.
I figure it must be the bearings going bad.

I've also just found out my machine has a 3 year international warranty (I had no idea) but since it has been opened a few times, I don't know if they'll repair it.
Does anyone have any experience with repairs on Europe? How good is the service and how long is the turnaround time?

[lmittell]

Right now my (15") T60's fan is not only unbearably noisy but actually vibrating the keyboard so much it makes my fingers tingle. The box is still under wty but I'm told the turnaround would be at least a week. I've opened it up and cannot find anything visibly interfering with the fan.

The fan is integrated into the MB, so it's a depot-only repair.

Any thoughts?

Are you sure the repair is depot-only? I had mine replaced on-site while my machine was under warranty, and I did it myself once, after the warranty expired. It's a pretty easy job.

My T60 (2007-63U) is a 14-incher, but I can't imagine your fan would so radically different that it would be irretrievably wedded to the motherboard.

Larry

[lmittell]

Further to my note in your other fan thread, your fan appears to be replaceable, according to the parts information on Lenovo's website. See item 23 here-- http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-62741

The fan part number for a 2613-CTO is listed as 41W6406.

HTH,
Larry

[ssd_thinkpad]

If you want to replace the fan itself, it is rather easy.

[Sandstorm83]

The same thing happened to my T61 and I had the fan assembly replaced under warranty. Just follow the HMM for instructions and you should be alright.

[sktn77a]

The fan is easily replaceable but it is not a "CRU" (customer replaceable unit) - hence the need to send it in. As it's under warranty, bite the bullet and send it in for replacement.

[Andy]

The fan is easily replaceable but it is not a "CRU" (customer replaceable unit) - hence the need to send it in. As it's under warranty, bite the bullet and send it in for replacement.

I did just that and I wish I'd done it sooner. Having been told by EZ Serv phone reps that the turnaround would be four or five days, I took a lot of time Monday setting up an old T42 with essential stuff. I pulled the HD, battery and DVD from my T60, put it in the box that arrived Monday morning, and drove to a UPS depot that's ten minutes away from my office to send off the package around 7:00 PM. The repaired computer arrived around 10:30 AM Wednesday, for a turnaround of less than 40 hours.

Not only did EZ Serv replace the noisy fan, they also replaced the plastic palm rest I'd damaged by tightening the one long screw into the wrong hole one of the times I reassembled the box. The screw raised a little pimple next to the upper right mouse button, just a minor cosmetic blemish which I didn't mention in my repair order. Anyway, as a result I no longer have an IBM ThinkPad; it has now become a ThinkPad T series. They also upgraded the BIOS and ran dx while they had the box.

The only very minor complaint I had was that EZ Serv's status page never reported the tracking number for the return shipment, so I had to call to confirm it was really coming yesterday. I mentioned the problem to the rep, who told me they were aware of it and it's being fixed.

Now if only I'd remembered to tell them my mic jack quit working, I'd be 100% satisfied -- with myself. After this experience I won't hesitate to send this computer back before the wty expires to get that fixed.

[sktn77a]

Now if only I'd remembered to tell them my mic jack quit working, I'd be 100% satisfied -- with myself.

AAAArrrrrggggghhhhhhhh..............!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[selector]

My system (2008-CTO) has just gone out of warranty and the fan is very noisy. Is it fairly easy to replace the fan? Does it come as one complete unit with the copper heatsink?

Using the link provided:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-62741
I can't seem to work out what part I need as all the fans listed apply to my machine type-model (2008-CTO).

Appreciate any advice.

[richk]

In general, they come complete with heatsink, but they can occasionally be found as bare fans.

[selector]

In general, they come complete with heatsink, but they can occasionally be found as bare fans.

Thanks. Just looking on the website all 4 part numbers are listed for 2008-CTO:
41V9931
41W6406
41V9932
41W6407

I don't know which one I need. I assume all of these are complete with heatsink so I need to purchase thermal paste too?

[msb0b]

41V9931 and 41W6406 are for Intel integrated graphics. 41V9932 and 41W6407 are for discrete ATI graphics. You should choose one base on your system configuration.

If you are careful and have steady hands, you can lubricate the fan bearing yourself. I did it to my T60 2 months ago, and it has been problem-free since. Here's a short writeup with pics: http://www.msb0b.com/home/thinkpadt60fanrepair

[selector]

41V9931 and 41W6406 are for Intel integrated graphics. 41V9932 and 41W6407 are for discrete ATI graphics. You should choose one base on your system configuration.

If you are careful and have steady hands, you can lubricate the fan bearing yourself. I did it to my T60 2 months ago, and it has been problem-free since. Here's a short writeup with pics: http://www.msb0b.com/home/thinkpadt60fanrepair

Wow thanks for the info and the link.

I do have the ATI discrete graphics. Is there a way to determine whether I need 41V9932 or 41W6407 if I choose to buy a new fan? I may do that as a backup. It is printed on the fan assembly somewhere? Thanks again.

[msb0b]

On my heat sink fan assembly, there was a small round green sticker with the P/N and FRU numbers.

I don't know what's the difference, but on the Lenovo/IBM FRU ordering site wants $41.25 for 41V9932 and $80.16 for 41W6407.

[eyestrain]

I second the possibility of hard drive for vibration, for some TPs with 7200 drives.

For the first time, I tried the 7200 rpm drive that shipped with my T60p, and absolutely could feel it on the KB. Especially the trackpoint. Very distracting.

Then again, my five senses aren't only too effective, they're also too finicky. Someone else might consider it a finger massage.

I usually use Non-magnetic hard drives.

For fans that aren't defective, just annoying: search the forum for NHC or undervolt, which can cool the computer some for less fan. Also has an add-in for fan control and maybe silence, if you don't mind letting your hardware heat up. Depending on vid card, fan may still need to run a little depending on risk you want to take with heat, or hot KB. If you have a Pentium M computer, especially a Dothan, definitely try undervolting!

[steyoung]

I do have the ATI discrete graphics. Is there a way to determine whether I need 41V9932 or 41W6407 if I choose to buy a new fan? I may do that as a backup. It is printed on the fan assembly somewhere? Thanks again.

Both fans would fit in your system. However, the 41W6407 has larger heat pipes and is used with Core 2 Duo processor based systems such as T7200 T7400 and T7600 which run hotter than the Core Duo and need the more efficient heatsink/fan. The 41V9932 is used in Core Duo-based systems such as with the T2400 processor. You can go onto ebay and search for both fans and you'll see the difference visually (remember both would fit physically in your system).

If your system has a Core 2 Duo in it, you should use the 41W6407. Even if you have a Core Duo system, I personally would still use the 41W6407 as a) it would run cooler and b)you could upgrade to a faster processor and not worry about changing the heatsink/fan. But it would be your choice as either would work.

[eyestrain]

, I personally would still use the 41W6407 as a) it would run cooler and

Do you think this is true even if the fan never runs?

Say I use fan control to keep the fan off (up to 75 or 80 degrees) and let the notebook get hot. I put aluminum pan and/or Thermapak Heatshift underneath the computer. Maybe the better heatsink and pipes will work better to bring heat to the open vent where the fins are, and just to spread heat away from the cpu?

[steyoung]

I really don't know and I'd just be guessing. Logic says that if you have more copper in the heatsink with bigger heat pipes then it could well keep it cooler without the fan running than with using the smaller heatsink but I couldn't guess at what temps the cpu under load would sit at.

I have the smaller heatsink in my T60. I just upgraded to a T7200 from a T2400 last week and I have the bigger heatsink on order from a forum member right now.

I'm using TPfanControl (smart fan control) and when my system is idle the cpu sits at 62-64 and the gpu at 65. The fan runs at 2870 and I cannot hear it.

Under constant 65% load, the cpu temp goes up to 74 and the gpu to 68. The fan runs at 3500 and is fairly quiet. without any background noise in the room it is noticeable but with normal background noise, I can hardly hear it.

At 100% constant load, the cpu temp gets to 79 and the gpu to 70. The fan is still only at 3500. The bottom of the unit does get warm to moderately hot at these temps.

With the new heatsink (which I should get on Wednesday), I am expecting the temps to be quite a bit lower and the fan to spin even slower and there to be less heat apparent on the bottom of the unit.

I tried turning the fan onto manual control with tpfancontrol and set it to be off. The system runs at idle with the fan off no problem. Temps don't get over 65. When I put a 100% load on it, the fan control gets overridden at 80 degree and the fan is switched on so I cannot tell you what the temp maxes out at.

Not sure all this helps you but... I'm still looking forward to a cooler system on Wednesday when the new part arrives!

[pezpaul]

Ugh, I had lots of noise problems, but I used the thread/guide below and it was quite helpful--

So to those whom are feeling ambitious should check out this thread here:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=84754

I followed the guide given in one of the posts here--
http://www.msb0b.com/home/thinkpadt60fanrepair

and was very successful with a drop of oil on the sleeve bearing as shown in the picture.

Note that it helps if you have some thermal grease (or pads) before you tear off your heatsink.

If you just wish to replace your heatsink fan, it's not too bad, just several steps to go through. I highly suggest the video tutorials given here, as they were the most helpful IMO:
http://lenovoservicetraining.com/ion/

Good luck with the unbearably annoying noise!

[eyestrain]

Not sure all this helps you but

Of course there's lots of readers and lurkers too that might be helped

I tried turning the fan onto manual control with tpfancontrol and set it to be off. The system runs at idle with the fan off no problem. Temps don't get over 65.

If you could post what that temp (65) becomes with the new fan, that should be useful.

That 65 number also helps for comparison to my computers. What surface was the computer sitting on?

In comparison to your 65 degrees above, my 2007-57U T60 15" T2400, ATI X1300, had this result:

left a T60 on for hours fanless on top of an aluminum pot, it settled at CPU 50, vs 61 after a couple hours on internet.

In BIOS I shut off parallel, serial, wireless, etc, leaving on only ethernet and USB. CPU and PCI use power saving modes but CPU is allowed to increase freq with demand.

Thanks!

Edit: filled in model # and video card #

[steyoung]

when my system is idle the cpu sits at 62-64 and the gpu at 65. The fan runs at 2870 and I cannot hear it.

New fan with system idle, cpu=56, gpu=62, fan at 2840 and almost silent

Under constant 65% load, the cpu temp goes up to 74 and the gpu to 68. The fan runs at 3500 and is fairly quiet.

New fan with system under constant 65% load, cpu=69, gpu 68. Fan at 2914 and almost silent

At 100% constant load, the cpu temp gets to 79 and the gpu to 70. The fan is still only at 3500.

New fan with system at 100% load, cpu=76, gpu 70, fan at 3400 and quiet

For me, I think it was a good investment at $25 for the new fan. All these measurements are with the laptop on my... lap.

[eyestrain]

Thanks for the post, sounds worthwhile for one who uses the fan (almost everyone) especially your 2nd case.

Did you redo the test of that formerly 65 degree number, with fan set to off, CPU idle?

[misfit]

Of course there's lots of readers and lurkers too that might be helped

<Raises hand> Yep, it will help me as soon as I get some 9.5mm screws. Some clown used screws that were longer on the T60 I'm working on and made the bottom of the case bulge and there was very poor contact between CPU and heatsink. I guess that's why the fan is so noisy, it would have been going flat-out without cooling the CPU much.

Some people shouldn't be allowed to open a laptop....

[steyoung]

Did you redo the test of that formerly 65 degree number, with fan set to off, CPU idle?

It now sits at 61 with the fan off and the system idle.

[eyestrain]

It now sits at 61 with the fan off and the system idle.

Thanks. Looks like I'll be replacing my 2.16 CD T60p's fan with a 41W6407 if the price is reasonable, and same with my future R60.

[JGA]

I replaced the noisy fan assembly in my T60 (2613-CTO) a couple of weeks ago (after three years of heavy use). Very easy to install. I just followed the instructions in the hardware manual that I downloaded from Lenovo. Make sure that you get the correct part number... there are a few different assemblies depending on the CPU and whether you have integrated or discrete graphics. Mine required part number 41W6407. I bought it brand new in the box for $50 shipped from an Ebay seller in Singapore.

Before you install the new assembly, make sure that you peel the thin plastic covers off of the two grey heatsink pads. The manual doesn't mention that step. Clean the old heatsink compound off of the CPU also (easily removed with rubbing alcohol). The new fan assembly already has CPU heatsink compound on it, so it's ready to be installed out of the box.

-Jeff