Ozzuneoj wrote on 2024-10-17, 21:44:

Is there any way to remove this fan? I have taken off my fair share of video card fans, but I cannot seem to find any way to rem […]
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Is there any way to remove this fan? I have taken off my fair share of video card fans, but I cannot seem to find any way to remove this one from the heatsink (I do not want to remove the heatsink). I don't want to pry too hard on it because it DOES work, and the card is basically pristine... but it makes quite a bit of noise and oiling the bearing (which is accessible from the top) doesn't improve things.

On one hand I am thankful that it isn't one of those stupid designs where the screws are coming up from the bottom of the heatsink (I checked) so that you have to remove the glued-on heatsink to replace the fan, but I am afraid that the fan just doesn't come off at all.

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Any suggestions? Or, if anyone has a picture of one of these with the fan removed from the heatsink that would be fantastic, as I cannot picture in my mind how it is attached.

looks like it wasnt made to come apart, those 4 pins would have been punched to prevent the top plate from coming off the only option to remove it would be to drill out the pins with a slightly larger drill bit, which i wouldnt do with it attached to the card, as its a bonded heatsink i wouldnt try to remove it either, if i really had to replace the fan i would remove the fan as a whole, first you want to remove the disc just under the sticker that keeps the fan attached to the shaft, if you can get that off, then i'd cut the three legs with a pair of snips, then cut each of the fan blades in half also with snips and pull it out as a whole, then for a new fan you'd have to glue/bond a new one to the top plate.

DudeFace wrote on 2024-10-18, 01:28:

Ozzuneoj wrote on 2024-10-17, 21:44:

Is there any way to remove this fan? I have taken off my fair share of video card fans, but I cannot seem to find any way to rem […]
Show full quote

Is there any way to remove this fan? I have taken off my fair share of video card fans, but I cannot seem to find any way to remove this one from the heatsink (I do not want to remove the heatsink). I don't want to pry too hard on it because it DOES work, and the card is basically pristine... but it makes quite a bit of noise and oiling the bearing (which is accessible from the top) doesn't improve things.

On one hand I am thankful that it isn't one of those stupid designs where the screws are coming up from the bottom of the heatsink (I checked) so that you have to remove the glued-on heatsink to replace the fan, but I am afraid that the fan just doesn't come off at all.

The attachment 20241008_162744 (Custom).jpg is no longer available

The attachment 20241008_162801 (Custom).jpg is no longer available

The attachment 20241008_163038 (Custom).jpg is no longer available

The attachment 20241008_163152 (Custom).jpg is no longer available

Any suggestions? Or, if anyone has a picture of one of these with the fan removed from the heatsink that would be fantastic, as I cannot picture in my mind how it is attached.

looks like it wasnt made to come apart, those 4 pins would have been punched to prevent the top plate from coming off the only option to remove it would be to drill out the pins with a slightly larger drill bit, which i wouldnt do with it attached to the card, as its a bonded heatsink i wouldnt try to remove it either, if i really had to replace the fan i would remove the fan as a whole, first you want to remove the disc just under the sticker that keeps the fan attached to the shaft, if you can get that off, then i'd cut the three legs with a pair of snips, then cut each of the fan blades in half also with snips and pull it out as a whole, then for a new fan you'd have to glue/bond a new one to the top plate.

Yeah, that's pretty much what I was thinking with regard to those pins that are visible from the top. What a stupid design.

Unless someone else has any other suggestions, I will probably just put this thing in the "needs parts" box until I stumble across one of the alternate heatsink designs for this card so I can keep it looking basically original. It's too bad, because the card works great and the fan is cooling it decently, but it just sounds like nails on a chalk board. I actually like the way this fan and heatsink design look too. Very unique. If they had just used screws instead of whatever abomination this is, it would be fine.

I wonder if somehow forcing\injecting a thicker lubricant into the bearing would help more than the machine oil I normally use.

Ozzuneoj wrote on 2024-10-18, 01:41:

Yeah, that's pretty much what I was thinking with regard to those pins that are visible from the top. What a stupid design. […]
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DudeFace wrote on 2024-10-18, 01:28:

Ozzuneoj wrote on 2024-10-17, 21:44:

Is there any way to remove this fan? I have taken off my fair share of video card fans, but I cannot seem to find any way to rem […]
Show full quote

Is there any way to remove this fan? I have taken off my fair share of video card fans, but I cannot seem to find any way to remove this one from the heatsink (I do not want to remove the heatsink). I don't want to pry too hard on it because it DOES work, and the card is basically pristine... but it makes quite a bit of noise and oiling the bearing (which is accessible from the top) doesn't improve things.

On one hand I am thankful that it isn't one of those stupid designs where the screws are coming up from the bottom of the heatsink (I checked) so that you have to remove the glued-on heatsink to replace the fan, but I am afraid that the fan just doesn't come off at all.

The attachment 20241008_162744 (Custom).jpg is no longer available

The attachment 20241008_162801 (Custom).jpg is no longer available

The attachment 20241008_163038 (Custom).jpg is no longer available

The attachment 20241008_163152 (Custom).jpg is no longer available

Any suggestions? Or, if anyone has a picture of one of these with the fan removed from the heatsink that would be fantastic, as I cannot picture in my mind how it is attached.

looks like it wasnt made to come apart, those 4 pins would have been punched to prevent the top plate from coming off the only option to remove it would be to drill out the pins with a slightly larger drill bit, which i wouldnt do with it attached to the card, as its a bonded heatsink i wouldnt try to remove it either, if i really had to replace the fan i would remove the fan as a whole, first you want to remove the disc just under the sticker that keeps the fan attached to the shaft, if you can get that off, then i'd cut the three legs with a pair of snips, then cut each of the fan blades in half also with snips and pull it out as a whole, then for a new fan you'd have to glue/bond a new one to the top plate.

Yeah, that's pretty much what I was thinking with regard to those pins that are visible from the top. What a stupid design.

Unless someone else has any other suggestions, I will probably just put this thing in the "needs parts" box until I stumble across one of the alternate heatsink designs for this card so I can keep it looking basically original. It's too bad, because the card works great and the fan is cooling it decently, but it just sounds like nails on a chalk board. I actually like the way this fan and heatsink design look too. Very unique. If they had just used screws instead of whatever abomination this is, it would be fine.

I wonder if somehow forcing\injecting a thicker lubricant into the bearing would help more than the machine oil I normally use.

i wouldnt use machine oil or anything thicker, try this stuff
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Servisol-701-100UK-S … 0/dp/B000KEB6WW

apparently its now been discontinued, and looks like it made by someone else, servisol super 10 is the original, i suppose get it while you can

DudeFace wrote on 2024-10-18, 06:06:

i wouldnt use machine oil or anything thicker, try this stuff https://www.amazon.co.uk/Servisol-701-100UK-S … 0/dp/B000KEB6WW […]
Show full quote

Ozzuneoj wrote on 2024-10-18, 01:41:

Yeah, that's pretty much what I was thinking with regard to those pins that are visible from the top. What a stupid design. […]
Show full quote

DudeFace wrote on 2024-10-18, 01:28:

looks like it wasnt made to come apart, those 4 pins would have been punched to prevent the top plate from coming off the only option to remove it would be to drill out the pins with a slightly larger drill bit, which i wouldnt do with it attached to the card, as its a bonded heatsink i wouldnt try to remove it either, if i really had to replace the fan i would remove the fan as a whole, first you want to remove the disc just under the sticker that keeps the fan attached to the shaft, if you can get that off, then i'd cut the three legs with a pair of snips, then cut each of the fan blades in half also with snips and pull it out as a whole, then for a new fan you'd have to glue/bond a new one to the top plate.

Yeah, that's pretty much what I was thinking with regard to those pins that are visible from the top. What a stupid design.

Unless someone else has any other suggestions, I will probably just put this thing in the "needs parts" box until I stumble across one of the alternate heatsink designs for this card so I can keep it looking basically original. It's too bad, because the card works great and the fan is cooling it decently, but it just sounds like nails on a chalk board. I actually like the way this fan and heatsink design look too. Very unique. If they had just used screws instead of whatever abomination this is, it would be fine.

I wonder if somehow forcing\injecting a thicker lubricant into the bearing would help more than the machine oil I normally use.

i wouldnt use machine oil or anything thicker, try this stuff
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Servisol-701-100UK-S … 0/dp/B000KEB6WW

apparently its now been discontinued, and looks like it made by someone else, servisol super 10 is the original, i suppose get it while you can

I have used 3-in-1 oil to lubricate computer fans for more than 20 years and it usually does the job unless a fan is in really bad shape. I have had the same bottle (similar to the one pictured) the whole time... it lasts forever 🤣 . Lately though I've been using some 5w20 (blend) engine oil I had around. I put it into a precision applicator bottle so I could get oil in tighter places.

Anyway, thanks for the suggestion. I feel like the stuff you suggested would be much too thin for a worn or dry bearing though. It looks like it is more intended for low-wear situations like potentiometers and switches. I have something similar to that already (Deoxit D5) but I haven't tried using it on fans before since it is so thin. I guess I could give it a shot and see what happens.

yeah i wouldnt use 3-in-1 thats more for mechanical lubrication we have it here in the UK, same with engine oil i wouldnt use that either, putting either on anything electrical wont do it any good, the stuff your using is too thick it will likely just stick to the copper coils inside the fan, dust wil stick to it and gum it up, that deoxit looks like the same stuff as super 10, definitlely go for the deoxit, the deoxit will provide a thin friction free layer of lubrication, before that might be a good idea to use electrical contact cleaner like the one i posted here
Re: Favorite Cleaning Solution for Circuit Boards (the really dirty)
its the same stuff used for cleaning a mass air flow sensor on your car not sure what the equivelent is in the states but should be easy to source, any dirt inside the fan bearings will run straight out, and this stuff dries/evaporates without leaving a residue so you can spray the whole thing till its dripping and not worry about getting it all over the gpu as it wont leave a greasy residue, then lubricate it with deoxit for best results, deoxit says its a cleaner but also being a lubricant if you sprayed it till its dripping in the same way, it will just make the whole thing a greasy mess.

I'd freeze it to weaken the epoxy gluing it to the core and then look at the bottom.
I'm expecting screws up from below.

myne wrote on 2024-10-18, 07:51:

I'd freeze it to weaken the epoxy gluing it to the core and then look at the bottom.
I'm expecting screws up from below.

As mentioned, I already checked for that. There is just enough room to see under there without removing the heatsink.

myne wrote on 2024-10-18, 07:51:

I'd freeze it to weaken the epoxy gluing it to the core and then look at the bottom.
I'm expecting screws up from below.

thats another option, we use to use this freeze spray at work to remove glue from pcb's
https://www.electronelec.co.uk/store/Servisol … eeze-It-170-201

works well on standard glue from a glue gun, it makes it pop right off, the thicker rubbery stuff was a lot tougher, had to use this spray and cut at it with a knife, wasnt as easy,
may have to use a thin blade, same type for de-lidding cpu's to remove that heatsink theres always the risk of damaging nearby components, or the chip itself

when it comes to removing bonded heatsinks from cpu's, i clamp the cpu in a vice and twist the heatsink off with an oversized wrench.🤣 havent ruined one yet, wouldn't risk that with soldered chips tho.