Fan cleaning help

[I Use Dial]

Hello all!

Great forum here. So much information that no matter how much I search, I can't seem to find in the mountain of data a solution for me.

I've got an A31 2652-M4U and I think this 5 year old beast could use a good cleaning in the fan assembly. My place is a bit dusty and the computer is nearly always on and runs louder and hotter than it used to. I want to disassemble the fan assembly and clean it and lubricate the fan.

The only part that concerns me is the reinstallation of the thin piece of aluminum that covers the top of the assembly. I'm worried it won't go back on as it appears to have some sort of rivets or something.

Anyone have any experience with putting this back together?

Thanks!

[Harryc]

That metal piece is a bracket and it is held on with 4 screws. You really don't want to remove that because it may disturb the connection between the CPU/heatsink. Just get a can of compressed air, hold the fan blades still with something, and spray all the dust out of the fan through the top. Don't let the fan blades spin freely because the high speed may damage the fan.

[I Use Dial]

Are we talking about the same thing? On my assembly the aluminum piece is on the opposite side of the copper that contacts with the CPU and I can't see any screws, just the rivet things.

Here's a picture of one I found searching the FRU on Google Images:
http://cnl.orije.be/online-shop/images/ ... cb837eb1e1

I don't really think that blowing it out will take care of the fan noise. My experience with fans, and most rotating mechanical gizmos, is that they require occasional lubricating.

[Harryc]

Don't remove that metal on the top of the heatsink. Lubricating a sealed bearing fan is not always going to work, but see the thread below for tips. These fans are relatively cheap. If it's shot get a new one. EBay is one source, the marketplace conference here is another. I would try blowing it out first though, might buy you some time.

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... hlight=oil