Thinkpads Forum

I read all the posts here about taking the noise away from the T61 fan. I opened the case and made the repair. My T61 was quiet and for the first time in a long time I set power mgr to highest cpu when on a/c. The oil I used was the same type used to lubricate T-outliner beard trimmers. I did not use an oil and graphite mix because I couldn't figure out how to get the mixture into the hole. I couldn't find arctic silver5 so I used IP Diamond which is rated better for heat dissipation than AS5.

After the repair my cpu temps were no higher than 60, using tpfancontrol on smart mode the fan never went over speed 1 and when the cpu temp went up no higher than 65 the return to 60 was very very fast. Incredible fix....
I wuz in heaven.....

My T61 was quiet for 10 days....now the fan noise has started again...not as loud as before the repair but the noise is back.
In addition to the noise I've noticed the cpu temps are now 5deg higher on average than after the repair up to avg 65 vs. 60 and it takes longer for the temps to return to 60. I've had to set the cpu back to adaptive vs. highest in power manager so the fan doesn't run as much and so the cpu temps recover to 60 quicker.

WHERE DID I GO WRONG? and if I've got to reopen the case and fix the fan AGAIN what do I do different ????
For example....
? is the IP Diamond failing early??
?? did I spread the thermal goo too thickly??
? should I have used graphite alone?
? should I have used a graphite-oil mix?? if so, how do I get the mix in the tiny hole??
? did I use the wrong type of oil ?? if so, what type should I use ??
? is my heatsink FRU fan broken beyond oil-repair??
?? could the oil have leaked out after 10 days ?? if so, why ?? no one has ever mentioned oil leaking out after repair

Remember it worked fine for 10 days....

Hi,
IMHO, you didn't do anything wrong. The small fans used on the heat sinks are a bushing type bearing. Once they wear, i.e. the hole becomes oblong. You are on borrowed time. Bearing failure can be caused by a number of factors. Contamination of the wear surfaces, dirt, hair, carpet fibers to name a few. In lubricating a fan, the most you can hope for is to flush out the contamination and replace lubricant. Sometimes the bearing , shaft or both are just too far gone to save.
I did notice one thing that you mentioned that puzzled me.

I couldn't find arctic silver5 so I used IP Diamond which is rated better for heat dissipation than AS5.

I think that the purpose of the AS5 is to act as an anti-seize compound, not for heat dissipation. In some cases it may temporarily “fill” in some minor bearing scaring. But the fix is generally temporary. If you used the same Diamond compound that I have used for processors and such, I think it might of acted as an abrasive. BTW, I have found the Diamond compound to work very well on heat sinks.
There is a similar thread in the T4X section that discusses this and the use of non-detergent oil.
Again, IMHO you did nothing wrong. It was broken when you got there.
.

Clarification....
I used the Diamond (not AS5) on top of the CPU and GPU for heat dissipation, approx 2-3 grain of rice sized pieces on the CPU, 2 rice grain sized pieces on the top of the GPU. The amount used was to assure that the space between the top of each chip and the heat sink was filled in, ie, that the space between the chip and the heat sink was completely filled with thermal goo. The rice grain pieces were smoothed out to the edges of each chip-top.

I did not use Diamond thermal goo as a fan bearing lubricant.
I did not use graphite as a fan bearing lubricant. I still can't figure out HOW to mix graphite and oil and get the misture into the tiny hole. With the oil alone I just driped one drop into the hole, an easy task.

For the fan bearing lube I used T-Outliner clipper oil, a light oil used for beard trimmers.

Thanks for the T40x forum non-detergent lube reference.

UPDATE....
with the T61 set on adaptive when on a/c for the past several days using tpfancontrol the 0 fan temp hovers between 60-62 which is ok but it seems that the entire case bottom has become a huge heat sink . I can't recall after the repair for the 10 good days ever having that heated feeling. My only conclusion is without the need for the fan to run as often the heat migrates throughout the case vs. being blown out the vent by the heat sink fan.
My lap is poaching....My meat and 2veg are on slow oven bake....lol

Seriously I'm wondering if this slow bake of the T61 inards is a bad thing over the long term ???