Thinkpads Forum

I have a X60 tablet in need of a new fan. Searching for "X60 fan" on eBay yields some cheap replacements, but when I add "tablet" all that shows up are the more expensive fan+heatsink combos.

Does anyone know if they use the same fan setup? I tried looking at the maintenance manuals but they yielded no information.

The X60T fan is much closer to the one for the X60s --> the slim models with the low-voltage CPUs. I'm not 100% sure, but I think they're the same.

axur-delmeria wrote:The X60T fan is much closer to the one for the X60s --> the slim models with the low-voltage CPUs. I'm not 100% sure, but I think they're the same.

I wish you were right, I should have taken a closer look before asking here.

To anyone reading this, you can't replace just the fan on the X60t. The entire assembly needs to go as the fan can't be removed from the heatsink. I'm not sure if this is true for all models, but I have the L2400 cpu and my heatsink looks like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CPU-Fan-with-He ... 27d8944b84

All one piece , oh well, so much for saving $15.

Actually, the fan is removable.
There are three aluminum tabs/legs holding the fan to the heatsink assembly. https://www.flickr.com/photos/axur-delm ... 918072873/
You just need to move them out of the way: grab with a pair of long nose pliers and bend; you can also use a small knife as a wedge, be careful though.

Don't cut the aluminum tabs unless you're discarding the fan afterward.

Also, there's a small gap between the fan cowling and the heatsink's cooling fins, and it's covered by aluminum foil tape. You'll probably damage the tape in the process of removing the fan, so you need to buy some aluminum tape and replace the old one.

axur-delmeria wrote:Actually, the fan is removable.
There are three aluminum tabs/legs holding the fan to the heatsink assembly. https://www.flickr.com/photos/axur-delm ... 918072873/
You just need to move them out of the way: grab with a pair of long nose pliers and bend; you can also use a small knife as a wedge, be careful though.

Don't cut the aluminum tabs unless you're discarding the fan afterward.

Also, there's a small gap between the fan cowling and the heatsink's cooling fins, and it's covered by aluminum foil tape. You'll probably damage the tape in the process of removing the fan, so you need to buy some aluminum tape and replace the old one.

I did try this, but unfortunately bending back the tabs simply frees the metal cowl and the plastic fan appears inseparable from its base. If you look at the bottom you'll notice the fan's axle is one with the heatsink.

Compare that with something like this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... SIMPLEITEM

Notice the fan + cowl is all one plastic piece, and clearly has screws on the bottom of the heatsink to separate the two entities.

Thanks for your help though

Ah, I remember now. It's been a while (maybe 6 months) since I fiddled with the fan on a Tablet or slim version of the X60/61 series, so my memory is a bit fuzzy.

The fan motor is mounted directly on the heatsink assembly, with the bushings and bearings.
The fan blade assembly is removable (which contains the axle) simply by pulling on it.

Sometimes, lubrication is enough to fix a "Fan error" message, but perhaps in this case the damage is too severe.

axur-delmeria wrote:Ah, I remember now. It's been a while (maybe 6 months) since I fiddled with the fan on a Tablet or slim version of the X60/61 series, so my memory is a bit fuzzy.

The fan motor is mounted directly on the heatsink assembly, with the bushings and bearings.
The fan blade assembly is removable (which contains the axle) simply by pulling on it.

Sometimes, lubrication is enough to fix a "Fan error" message, but perhaps in this case the damage is too severe.

Update: Didn't work

Ah I've already ordered a replacement, but I'll give this a shot when it shows up and update this post accordingly (don't feel like taking everything apart again).

The fan appears to spin up fine, but makes a dreadful grating sound.