Lubricating Computer Fans

I'm putting together what might just be my last mining rig and I want to reuse some of the fans that I have kicking around the basement, but all my remaining fans are a bit grindy. Rather than dumping money on some new fans, I'll get these ones back up and running.
You can also check this out on my web site: diynorth.com/projects/other-p...
Tools and equipment used:
Sewing Machine Oil - amzn.to/32Q1TJy
3 in 1 Oil - amzn.to/3Hl3NkD
Rubbing Alcohol - amzn.to/3eDCupe
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[@dianaalyssa8726]

Good to know, Thanks for sharing. I clean them but never thought to lube them until I read about that yesterday and searched this up.

[@DIYNorth]

Thanks for checking out the video.

[@davidnollmusic363]

Thank you for your very helpful video! Wishing you all the best!

[@DIYNorth]

thanks for watching.

[@MaximumDIYGarage]

Great DIY project! Thanks for sharing!

[@DIYNorth]

Thanks for watching!

[@halilcaglayan917]

great video. really helpful, thank you

[@DIYNorth]

thanks for checking it out

[@Douglas-hw8is]

Thank you - suitably brief and to the point.

[@DIYNorth]

Thanks for watching

[@EhEhEhEINSTEIN]

Fixing up a 2007 xps 720, I ordered from ebay, a 8gb kit of the corsair dominator 1066 with the factory triple fan thing. Visually, they added a lot. Audibly, also added a lot... This video was just the ticket, didn't realize those were plugs and not part of the casing lol.

[@DIYNorth]

I'm not sure how many times the fan can be serviced before it is really dead. These ones are still going though.

[@EhEhEhEINSTEIN]

@@DIYNorth I'm not sure either.. There are 10 fans total in this machine, all but one being from around 2007 and only the one RAM fan was loud enough to make me go to YT for the fix. The next one to get loud will probably prompt me to just service them all, yay lol. Glad yours are all still holding up!

[@tdwf1]

you've saved my sanity and laptop cooler pad from being thrown across the room lol

[@DIYNorth]

I've found throwing electronics generally makes them worse....except sometimes it does fix them. Glad the video was of use.

[@johnme60]

​@@DIYNorth My friend has an old laptop that has some hard drive automatically removing issue. He never cared to take it for repair. He just give it tight slap at the back and it just works fine.

[@DIYNorth]

@@johnme60 That is a strange problem

[@railgun517]

omg "I've got this Be Quiet! fan that's new, so I didn't bother oiling it", but that's the exact one I'm having problems with! I tried to oil it before but it looked like there was no access to the bearing. But now that I've seen you pop out a plug, I'll see if mine can be popped out too, but it looked like it was just permanently sealed. The noise is getting unbearable. Either way, thanks for the video!

[@DIYNorth]

If it's new they will probably warranty it. Just go on the be quiet web site and look up the warranty process.

[@railgun517]

@@DIYNorth Thanks for the reply, yeah, I'll look into it if there really is no way to oil it. Since these came with the case, it would be quite a hassle to RMA the whole case, so oiling would be preferable.

[@DIYNorth]

@@railgun517 I've rma'd a single fan. They just asked to send a picture of the fan, or video, then they just mailed me a new one. Different company though, but no need to send anything in when I did it. Lianli fans are what I had...also not serviceable

[@railgun517]

@@DIYNorth oh wow, so it's not too strange for fans to be unserviceable, I see. Thanks for telling me about your experience, I think I'll try it too, then!

[@cruizera2194]

very helpful. Debating on doing this on a gpu fan. Its that or order another from china. Same process?

[@DIYNorth]

I actually have a Dead GPU in pieces already so I took one of the fans apart. I would say its different and in fact isn't exactly "serviceable". There was a normal foil sticker just like the case fans, then there was another sticker type thing that is probably a dust seal. Under all that it was kind of like the the case fan with the rubber insert, but instead of being a rubber insert it was solid plastic and molded to the fan casing. So I took a drill and utility knife to that piece. After all that I was able to get to a point that I could drop some lube into the right spot. I had to man handle the hell out of it to get it to that point though and I'm pretty sure it is now worse than it was before. That test dummy fan was out of a Zotac 1060 Amp. I have a feeling that all brands are different. If you need a fan for a Zotac 1060 Amp I can send you the one that I didn't just take a drill to.

[@cruizera2194]

@@DIYNorth thanls man, u saved me the experiment! Mine is msi mech 5700 troublemaker. Fans still run but a bearing is wearing out. First replacement from China didnt fit, 2nd should be here by Feb if fan lasts that long. Thx for videos, always helpful to me.

[@dextermorgan4172]

I just bought a new prebuilt pc and I noticed while the pc was running there was small droplets of oil around the fan casing. Is it a bad bearing allowing oil to leak out or is it possible there is just too much oil in the fan from the factory and its just leaking out??

[@DIYNorth]

I sometimes see seepage around case fans. I dont think it's a major problem. As long as it is functioning well I would just wipe the lube off and keep using it.

[@dextermorgan4172]

@@DIYNorth so do you think its just excess fan lube or something and that it will eventually stop?

[@DIYNorth]

@@dextermorgan4172 I guess it depends on how much lubricant is coming out. Just a small seepage is probably fine, but if oil is dripping g out then that's different. I had a lani li fan die and all they asked for was a picture of the fan and they mailed me a new one. If it's really leaking you might be able to get a new fan sent to you.

[@dextermorgan4172]

@@DIYNorth it was just a few droplets. I wiped it and I'll have to see if it comes back

[@DIYNorth]

@@dextermorgan4172 that's what I would do. But like I said when I had a bad fan they just took my word for it and they sent me a new one. So in my experience the RMA process on a fan is very easy.

[@MaximumDIYGarage]

Any tips on how to clean the dust off the fan blades?

[@DIYNorth]

I usually just hit them with compressed air and call it a day, but I have also used electronic parts cleaner and or rubbing alcohol with some paper towel and Q-Tips to do a better job.

[@Eduardo1007]

Different sized clean paint brushes also help!

[@tcappuccino]

Today I used virgin olive oil and cool silent..

[@DIYNorth]

Interesting option with the olive oil. I'm interested in how long it lasts.

[@djstressofficial6359]

Hey I have the be quiet pure wing 2. I wanted oiling it but I couldnt find any cap on it. Do you know any way to oil those ones?

[@DIYNorth]

Sorry for the delay. I wanted to go home and check out my Be Quite Fan (Mine is the Wings version). What I would say first is that your fan has a three year warranty, if it is acting funny I would recommend doing an RMA. I RMA'd a Lian Li fan and all I had to do was take a picture of the fan, and they just mailed me a new fan. The process couldn't have been easier. As for getting into the back of the fan, I agree when I pulled off the sticker there is not really an opening, on mine there are a few small slits that are where the hole should be. I have seen videos of people cutting that out with a knife or carefully drilling it out. I've never done that but it would definitely void the warranty. If its under warranty and is not working well, I would just RMA it. If it isn't under warranty and it isn't working I would try to open up the back and see if I could fix it.

[@BuioPestato]

nice

[@DIYNorth]

Thanks for watching

[@raul1899]

I've seen poeple take the entire fan out and clean the motor. I saw fan motors with a lot of dust... And it was making the fun noisy.

[@DIYNorth]

it's possible to do in some cases.

[@RevanceZeno]

Is it normal that the fan oil is leaking out the sticker?

[@DIYNorth]

That sound like too much oil. I would just wipe it down.

[@Theprince92]

Can use grease instead of oil?

[@DIYNorth]

I'm not sure. Grease might be too thick and heavy. The machine oil is very light. I personally would not use grease unless I found one designed specifically for this purpose

[@sefron4467]

Will this get rid of the rattling noise from my fan

[@DIYNorth]

It might.

[@ashborndesoul]

what's a name oil for lubricating Computer Fan in your video

[@DIYNorth]

I think that i put a link in the description. It's just sewing machine oil from walmart. Singer makes it....there are other brands as well.

[@gg-gn3re]

silicone lubricant or PTFE will work the best for these light applications. You can get them for 3d printers or you can get garage door lubricant which is usually silicone as well

[@BravoSixGoingDark]

I'm angry that my *Corsair CO-9050017-WLED Air Series AF140 fans* does not have a hole at the back of the sticker for Lubrication. This is so frustrating.

[@DIYNorth]

Are they new (ish) They might have a warranty if they are acting up.

[@BravoSixGoingDark]

@@DIYNorth Both AF140s are a few years old. I bought them in *6 December 2019* via Amazon. The fans began to rattle in the summer around June of 2023 this year. I did tried to oil the fans from the side vent (there's a small gap), it worked for a few months, but the rattle noise came back again this week in Sept. 😢

[@DIYNorth]

@@BravoSixGoingDark that sucks. I'm sure they are put of warranty

[@BravoSixGoingDark]

@@DIYNorth Update: I resolve the issue today, I manage to pry open the back by wriggling the outer sides of the fan with my left / right hand ring finger and middle finger. Out came the fan with a loud pop sound. Nothing broke, phew. Oiled the inner bearings, insert the fan back, fired up my pc to test it, rattle noise is gone for now.

[@DIYNorth]

@@BravoSixGoingDark sometimes aggressive action is the key to success

[@khaledalomrei928]

Does razor oil work? please reply

[@DIYNorth]

I honestly don't know. There are probably a lot of different razor oils available and some may work and others might not.

[@AintPopular]

how long will it last after oiling

[@AintPopular]

basically how long will it work

[@DIYNorth]

Two of the three still work fine. One of them I replaced with a new one that I had.

[@billjones642]

Can I use baby oil?

[@DIYNorth]

I would definately not use baby oil. I would use only a machine oil.

[@mardy3732]

Where would be the lubrication point, mine just has solid plastic. 👍

[@DIYNorth]

If there is no rear access then it likely does not have the capability to be lubricated without damaging the plastic.

[@mardy3732]

@@DIYNorth Apparently it's possible to pull the fan blade out but the sheer force required made we worried I was gonna break the thing.

[@tezzball]

hopefully this fixes my squeaky fan

[@DIYNorth]

It might but it may not

[@whatif8741]

Could I used silicon lubricant?

[@DIYNorth]

I'm not sure. There might be a suitable silicon based lubricant. My understanding on this is that you want a light machine oil because its a part that is always in motion. If the silicon lube is made for that type of application it might be fine to use. The craft / sewing section of Walmart generally has sewing machine oil for a couple bucks. That would be my go to move.

[@gg-gn3re]

Yea, but you can have ball or sleeve bearings. silicone / PTFE is best for ball bearings, the mineral oil type is probably better for sleeve bearings as it is more sticky. The "light machine oil" will be mineral oil type. PTFE should be the best but it is also most expensive. You can get some for 3d printer etc I just use silicone based

[@AldoApachi-]

But my fans don't have the opening on the back. It's a whole thing

[@DIYNorth]

Some can not be serviced. I also had a solid backed fan go bad but it was under warranty and they sent me a new one.

[@jbol2454]

I have a QUR0912VH Delta fan and there is no rubber grommet underneath the sticker just a plastic groove with 4 holes in it? It doesn't look like an oil port though, I believe there is a microchip board beneath?

[@DIYNorth]

Some fans are not made to be serviced in this manner. I have seen videos of people cutting or drilling a small hole in the back of the fan, but I have now experience in this to say if it is really a good idea.

[@jbol2454]

@@DIYNorth Hi thanks for the reply, I actually found the solution on another video. This type of fan I have is a pressed on design, in other words you have to pull the fan off gently, you then regrease the spindle and press it back on with some moderate force.. drilling these will destroy them I believe..

[@tcappuccino]

Hi Dude, haveyou tried vazelina?

[@DIYNorth]

I have not. I'm not even sure what that is.

[@tcappuccino]

@@DIYNorth ok sorry, English its vaseline - petroleum jelly

[@DIYNorth]

Oh, I think it would be a bit thick. The machine oil is actually pretty light.

[@tcappuccino]

@@DIYNorth From my experience, its quite ok, but obviously better is machine oil

[@gg-gn3re]

@@tcappuccino vaseline sounds like it'd be terrible to use lol. Unless you're operating the fans extremely hot then maybe it loosens up a bit

[@yeetdepilot6685]

It does NOT want to open

[@DIYNorth]

some fans have solid backs and can't be opened

[@yeetdepilot6685]

@@DIYNorth nah bro, i heated the knife and drilled right trough it

[@DIYNorth]

@@yeetdepilot6685 well yes, but I wouldnt say that is "opening" it. I'd call that creating an opening.