How to oil T42 / T4x noisy fan (w/pictures)

[bretddog]

I just oiled the fan of my T42. It was really noisy with some rattle, but now it's quiet as a mouse. That is; I can still hear it, but just a normal fan noise. Not sure how silent a new or third-party fan would be, but it's now just slightly louder than my T61p.

Anyway, thought I might share this method as it seems successful. So here's how I did it, for 0.0$:

PS: If you don't have thermal compound, be careful with the heatsink so you don't wipe off the existing compound while handling it.

1. Remove the heatsink/fan assembly (see other guides)
2. Use a dremel or drill with a filing bit to file down the top of the 4 rivets connecting the fan to the heatsink. 0.2-0.3mm should be enough.
3. Pry it lightly open to separate fan
4. Pull out the fan blade with axle.
5. Lube the axle and the bearing it sits in, with sew machine oil, or as I did; Poked a needle inside the bearing of a stationary pc fan to grab some oil/grease as I didn't have any oil at hand. A couple drops of oil is enough. Also put some on end/tip of axle, as it touches a metal plate when mounted.
6. Put fan blade back into motor/bearing.
7. Place/press fan back into mount on heatsink, make sure it sits snug, as before. (If problem file a bit in the mounting holes to get rivets to enter properly.)
8. Drop 1-2 drops of super-glue on top of each filed rivet, a little larger drop size than the rivet itself.
9. Let dry for 1-2 hours. Although super-glue, it takes some time when it's a thicker layer.
10. Remount and hope the noise is gone.

You may also want to re-apply some thermal compound to the cpu, but I didn't, as I had nothing at hand.

And do not worry of the super-glue, it's strength/adhesion to the metal is way more than required for this application. I know because I have re-opened it after, as the first time I had no oil, so just did a cleaning. There is of course much more contact area if you glue on the fan housing flush to the other side of the heatsink, but I don't advice that, as it's not necessary and may be difficult to open later.

Motor/Bearing, drop oil in center:

(full URL = http://img1.uploadscreenshot.com/images ... 3-orig.jpg )

After remount with super-glue (seen best at lower rivet):

(full URL = http://img1.uploadscreenshot.com/images ... 2-orig.jpg )

Moderator edit: Added a pictures-warning to the thread-name as per forum-rules (a service to those folks who are browsing via slow dial-up connections). Please keep this in mind for the future, as well as also kindly keep in mind to limit size of images to 50 kb... thanks in advance.

[Johan]

@ bretddog:

Welcome to the forum, and thanks very much for joining to share this... very useful information for those who wish to prolong the lifetime of an old (and potentially rattling!) fan, which would otherwise need to be replaced.

For your information the issue of fan lubrication has (of course!) already been discussed previously on this forum, and readers considering to take this path may perpahs enjoy reading the thread IBM T43 fan lubrication and especially the links pointed to therein.

Johan

[bretddog]

For your information the issue of fan lubrication has (of course!) already been discussed previously on this forum, and readers considering to take this path may perpahs enjoy reading the thread IBM T43 fan lubrication and especially the links pointed to therein.

That's fine. I posted this because I consider it a better solution than other options I see discussed. Specially the suggestion to drill a hole removing the axle support which I think works selectively just by a bit of luck. So with this simple guide anyone should be able to do this properly with confidence.

[systemBuilder]

I don't remember the web page where I saw it, but they tested several versions of thermal compound, including arctic silver, and toothpaste, and the conclusion was, toothpaste works as well as arctic silver. So when reinstalling the fan, there is never a reason NOT to put some sort of paste (arctic or tooth) between the GPU and the fan !!!

[ajkula66]

I don't remember the web page where I saw it, but they tested several versions of thermal compound, including arctic silver, and toothpaste, and the conclusion was, toothpaste works as well as arctic silver. So when reinstalling the fan, there is never a reason NOT to put some sort of paste (arctic or tooth) between the GPU and the fan !!!

I'm certain we had this discussion before and that the toothpaste approach was dismissed as a hoax...

[rkawakami]

You're probably referring to this: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 16#p680516

From what I remember, toothpaste was included on the graph but there wasn't any mention on what brand was used.

[RolfThinkPad]

Re. bretddog solution, fascinating!
I'm studying a spare fan and agree that the only way to separate the alloy fan from the copper heatsink is to grind out the rivet heads.
Then, for assembly/disassemby I would want small machine bolts/nuts (there is space for them).
Two are easy because there are two lugs sticking out to take a hole and bolt/nut.
The other two are problematic - as far as I can see there is not enough alloy material there for a hole to take a bolt.
So, other than glue, I think some kind of simple clamping device would work if it was flush on the vertical and horizontal, to suit that side of the fan.
Would you believe, a Number 20 stationary binder clip is almost perfect! It is very strong spring steel and only needs the levers removed and one of its knurled edges cut or ground flat (for keeping the underside of the fan flush).
I'll try this with an old fan first and see how it goes. If it works the fan becomes serviceable!

Re. lubrication, I propose a TINY amount of black molybdenum disulphide bearing grease or simply graphite powder.

PS Just had a thought - high performance aluminium duct tape instead of a clamp should work!

[irus]

pic links broken?

[RolfThinkPad]

Update:
Got a used genuine IBM fan assembly and replaced noisy one. Quiet as a mouse.
So, now having one working fine in the laptop, I dismantled the noisy one as explained (drilled out rivet heads carefully).
Fan simply pulls off.
Cleaning solvent and compressed air in bearing and shaft.
Experimented with various oils, graphite powder, etc.
Best I found is a TINY amount of molybdenum disulphide bearing grease (typically black stuff).
It now spins freely and silently! You can easily tell by flicking it with your finger or using an air jet (or simply blow on it). Previously it would stop in 1 - 2 seconds. Now it spins for about 7 - 8 seconds.
So now just going to "clamp" fan back on to heat sink with aluminium duct tape and keep as a serviceable spare.