which fan to get

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brettsinger · #1 Post by **brettsinger** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 12:28 pm

I have a T40 (2373-72U) and I've been getting the dreaded "fan error" when I boot. Not all the time, but enough that I'm concerned. I thought I'd replace the fan, but I'm having trouble determining the exact FRU number, whether a long fan or short fan is the right one, or something else entirely. I would also love a recommendation of where to buy; I found this site but the prices seem high:
http://www.thinkpad-parts.com/search.as ... =t40%20fan
Thanks,
Brett

sktn77a · #2 Post by **sktn77a** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 12:54 pm

I had that same computer. It has the Radeon 7500 GPU - doesn't need the long fan. I believe there was only one short fan for the T40/41/42 whereas there were two (or maybe even three) long fans.

Have you tried Lenovo for a new fan? Otherwise e-bay (I'm just a bit leery of used fans - they may be "used" for a reason), Craigslist, Thinkpads.com Marketplace, etc.

ulrich.von.lich · #3 Post by **ulrich.von.lich** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 1:52 pm

I would also suggest you to stay away from ebay fans as possible as you can. Try to use IBM's Part Order site:

http://www-132.ibm.com/content/home/sto ... _main.html

Then type the FRU number. All T4 fans are interchangeable. Your machine comes with the short fan. But you can also use the long fan I think. (doesn't work the other way around)

Hope it helps!

brettsinger · #4 Post by **brettsinger** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 3:13 pm

That link is just what I needed, thanks. I'm leery of used fans too.
Still not positive which FRU is correct, but I think its 91P8393 based on this:

http://tinyurl.com/6xn4fg

Of course, Lenovo doesn't have that one in stock, but they do have 26R7860. Anyone know how to check if these are compatible? Thanks, this is a huge help.

aaa · #5 Post by **aaa** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 5:42 pm

Any T4x fan will work. Since you have a 7500 which doesn't care about the cooling (unlike the hotter GPUs), it does not matter which you pick as they all fit.

sktn77a · #6 Post by **sktn77a** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 6:25 pm

Well, I've only been inside my 2372-72U and 2379-DKU, which both used the same short fan (91P8393). But as these pre-date the 2379-R1U (which uses the other part number for the short fan) by at least 3 years, I suspect that it's simply a revised part number. I've never heard of anyone having a problem with any of the short fans so I suspect they are basically all the same.

brettsinger · #7 Post by **brettsinger** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 7:21 pm

thanks for your help everyone, much appreciated.

brettsinger · #8 Post by **brettsinger** » Thu Apr 10, 2008 5:25 pm

So I got one from IBM.com, thanks for the tip.
Last question: when installing the new fan, do I need thermal grease or anything?

sktn77a · #9 Post by **sktn77a** » Thu Apr 10, 2008 7:05 pm

Yes, you need to install thermal grease on the center protruding 1/2" square of the CPU - use a wafer thin coat (thin enough to just see through). You don't need the fancy stuff (eg Arctic Silver) - just use the stuff from Radio Shack - it works fine.

brettsinger · #10 Post by **brettsinger** » Thu May 01, 2008 11:32 am

First, thank you for your help with this. I was able to replace the fan and now will get more time out of my T40.

I have one question: any idea of where to recycle the old fan?

Thanks again

which fan to get

which fan to get

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