Fan lubing...

[LemonHead]

I intend on lubricating a particularily noisy PSU fan, is WD40 adequate for the job?
Thanks
Sean *******

[KAknight]

I don't see why not.

[randy48]

WD40 works good! Or one that uses a graphite base.

[Kruppt]

WD-40 works for a short time, I have found that using a drop of two-stroke oil works great. It is light enough but has a "stick and stay" quality about it. WD-40 dries up or disepates sooner. I lubed one fan that was making a hell of a racket with WD-40 and it ran good for a few months then the squealing would start again. I put a drop of two-stroke oil on it and it has been running for almost three years on my older box, with no problems since. On my new box, I lubed all of them when they were brand new so I wouldn't have to hassle with them later. Hell I don't think they ever wear out as long as you keep them oiled, haven't had to replace a fan yet. Most just replace their fans when they hear that first squeak, not knowing they can pull the sticker and plug and add a drop of oil and their good for another few years http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif

[LemonHead]

Hmm, well this fan aint squeakin. Its GROWLIN baby! It goes grrrrrrrrrr when i start up. this dissipates after a while and i'm left with a gentle hum, but it comes back every so often.

[djurom]

I've seen a lot of CPU coolers that were making growlin sound. I've tryed lubricating them with WD40 but they would start to do that after ~20-50 hours again. In this time it would start and go away for a couple of times. Few months later and it would die. This can be the first warning that your fan is probably ready to be replaced.

[seti]

I've used teflon based lubricants (bike stuff) with success.

[Bovon]

LemonHead, most times when you hear a growlin type sound from any motor, its the center part of the motor (armature) coming in contact with the field core. In the case of a brushless motor, the fields are permanent magnets...either way, this is due to the bearings have worn to a point that the armature is not being held in the center, and it is probably grinding against the magnets a little. Once this happens, oil will not help, only bearing replacement will fix it, which is not feasable with the small case type fans.