Does it only "hiss" when the fan is on? If it hisses even with the fan not running, it might be a voltage converter making noise.

smeezekitty wrote:

Does it only "hiss" when the fan is on? If it hisses even with the fan not running, it might be a voltage converter making noise.

It only hisses when the fan is running. When the fan cycles on, I can distinctly hear two noises: one is the standard whirring noise that all fans make, the other is the hissing. The whirring changes in frequency as the RPMs increase, while the hissing seems to be constant.

According to a rudimentary search I did, it's a FDB fan, which is a modified sleeve bearing.

Take the fan apart, clean everything really well (sleeve, shaft, lock rings, o-ring, etc) with acetone, make sure it's completely dry, and then use some silicone grease to re-lubricate everything.

The thing about "machine oil" is that it can be anything, and the same goes for any other type of lubricant. A lot of "lubricants" are not meant as long term lubricants, and they also have lubricant adulterants most of the time, which act as water displacers.

The last time I had a roaring, noisy fan, the culprit was that I had actually screwed it too tightly to the case. Try loosening some of the relevant screws and see if that helps.

mockingbird wrote:

According to a rudimentary search I did, it's a FDB fan, which is a modified sleeve bearing.

Take the fan apart, clean everything really well (sleeve, shaft, lock rings, o-ring, etc) with acetone, make sure it's completely dry, and then use some silicone grease to re-lubricate everything.

The thing about "machine oil" is that it can be anything, and the same goes for any other type of lubricant. A lot of "lubricants" are not meant as long term lubricants, and they also have lubricant adulterants most of the time, which act as water displacers.

The oil I used is Ace Hardware's "Household Oil." I've used it on other noisy fans, and always had good results. Strange that it had the opposite effect in this case. Ah well, live and learn.

I just looked up that brand (It's made by 3-in-one, a subsidiary of WD40) ,

It has a hydrocarbon additive, as a "rust preventer".

So it lubes in the sense that if you have a rusty door hinge, it'll fix that and prevent water from damaging it more, but it's not meant for a fan shaft which is in constant motion.

mockingbird wrote:

I just looked up that brand (It's made by 3-in-one, a subsidiary of WD40) ,

It has a hydrocarbon additive, as a "rust preventer".

So it lubes in the sense that if you have a rusty door hinge, it'll fix that and prevent water from damaging it more, but it's not meant for a fan shaft which is in constant motion.

That's good to know. I originally bought it in a last ditch effort to save a dying fan, so I wasn't too concerned about long-term viability. I'll have to shop around for something more appropriate. I prefer to simply replace fans wherever possible, though. I keep the oil around for hard-to-replace units.

3-in-1 blue bottle electric motor oil maybe?

Mockingbird's silicone grease idea is interesting as well. I got some Dow Molykote 44 to fix up N64 sticks. Plastic safe. Cheap little tub on ebay.

I switched from oil to vaseline,it takes longer until the fan starts making noise again.

I've had really good luck with sewing machine oil. I've yet to be told it's bad for PC fans. It definitely doesn't have that hydrocarbon smell that 3 in 1 oil does. You can get a bottle of it for under $5 at walmart (if you can live with the shame of going there 🤣 )

I've had a similar experience with an old Dell Dimension 4100. The only fan in the system is a 92mm unit that does double-duty as a CPU cooler and case exhaust. When I got mine, it was barely spinning at all and making funky noises. I used good ol' 5W30 machine oil on it. 🤣

After lubing the fan, it's spinning much more freely. However, like your fan, it is also making a loud grinding noise. The next time I take the case apart, I'm going to put a few drops of shredder lubricant in the fan. I'm assuming that shredder lube is probably the same thing as the official "machine oil" or "sewing machine oil" that you can buy.

I would just replace the fan, but this unit has a thermal sensor built into it so that the motherboard can throttle its speed. While I haven't really looked for a replacement yet, I'm sure it will cost more than the typical cheapo case fan.

Nahkri wrote:

I switched from oil to vaseline,it takes longer until the fan starts making noise again.

How do you get the vaseline into the fan's parts? If you're just packing it in with your thumb, how can you know it isn't getting into other places that it shouldn't? Do you use a hair dryer to heat it up or something so that it will become more viscous?

Does petrolatum damage plastic? When I was reading about lubricating N64 joysticks, the silicone grease was specified over other options for that reason.

Never thought to try the stuff in a PC fan though. The Dow Molykote 44 Light is similar to petroleum jelly in viscosity.

KT7AGuy wrote:

I've had a similar experience with an old Dell Dimension 4100. The only fan in the system is a 92mm unit that does double-duty as a CPU cooler and case exhaust. When I got mine, it was barely spinning at all and making funky noises. I used good ol' 5W30 machine oil on it. 🤣

After lubing the fan, it's spinning much more freely. However, like your fan, it is also making a loud grinding noise. The next time I take the case apart, I'm going to put a few drops of shredder lubricant in the fan. I'm assuming that shredder lube is probably the same thing as the official "machine oil" or "sewing machine oil" that you can buy.

I would just replace the fan, but this unit has a thermal sensor built into it so that the motherboard can throttle its speed. While I haven't really looked for a replacement yet, I'm sure it will cost more than the typical cheapo case fan.

I have a Dell Dimension B110 with a similiar annoying ass fan + shroud assembly. This is what it looked like:

Wanna know what I did? I threw the entire fan + shroud out and mounted a normal fan on the CPU. Hah!

fyy wrote:

Wanna know what I did? I threw the entire fan + shroud out and mounted a normal fan on the CPU. Hah!

I considered doing that, but the folded-fin S370 HSF is really quite substantial. In the case of fan failure, I believe it would still cool the CPU enough to limp along and not damage anything. What's weird is how hot the Dell heatsink gets. I have another system with a Coppermine 1000 that doesn't seem to get anywhere near as hot.

Take the whole thing apart, clean spindle and sleeve with brake cleaner or similar, then fill it right up with thick grease, and reassemble. Either silicone grease (can recommend Servisol) or the standard yellow bearing grease should do. Or molykote maybe.

KT7AGuy wrote:

How do you get the vaseline into the fan's parts? If you're just packing it in with your thumb, how can you know it isn't getting into other places that it shouldn't? Do you use a hair dryer to heat it up or something so that it will become more viscous?

I take the fan apart,put vaseline on the fan's shaft,ofc i don't put a lot of it,then i assemble it back and put a bit of sticky tape on the back of then fan so dust can't get inside.

Nahkri wrote:

I take the fan apart,put vaseline on the fan's shaft,ofc i don't put a lot of it,then i assemble it back and put a bit of sticky tape on the back of then fan so dust can't get inside.

I really like your idea and I'm going to try it out in my Dell's fan.

I've got a tub of waterproof grease that I use on my motorcycle's clutch lever and other joints. It's even thicker than vaseline. I wonder if this might work even better.

Seems to me the main concern is whether it will destroy the surrounding plastic it will come in contact with.

Plastic safe suggestions
http://nerfhaven.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=16267