I can't tell what type of bearing that fan has. Probably just some cheap bushing in there that's dried out. usually I just take a fine drill bit and drill a hole straight into the shaft (from the top center of the fan housing) and put a drop of synthetic motor oil in (or whatever good lubricant is floating around in the shed), then just wind it by hand and power it on externally for a while to make sure nothing spits out.. cover your hole and put it back in the system.

Can't hurt to try since you need a replacement either way 😈

Never disassembled one of those, so can't be sure, but judging from the way it looks, the rotor shaft is probably just pushed down in the bearing, and logically you should be able to pull it out and expose the bearing, with moderate force.

Without knowing the bearing type, it's impossible to decide the best lubrication method, but generally, a self lubricating sintered bronze bearing can be regenerated by putting it in motor oil or something equivalent at about 200 deg C for a while, and then let it cool down to room temperature before removing it from the oil. The same method might also work well with a ZZ ball bearing, some oil should seep in past the dust shields and relubricate the bearing when it cools down. Considering the way the fan seems to be built, I'd guess there's a ball bearing inside.

Edit: there's no label on the rotor to remove and check what can you find behind?

kaputnik wrote:

Never disassembled one of those, so can't be sure, but judging from the way it looks, the rotor shaft is probably just pushed down in the bearing, and logically you should be able to pull it out and expose the bearing, with moderate force.

Without knowing the bearing type, it's impossible to decide the best lubrication method, but generally, a self lubricating sintered bronze bearing can be regenerated by putting it in motor oil or something equivalent at about 200 deg C for a while, and then let it cool down to room temperature before removing it from the oil. The same method might also work well with a ZZ ball bearing, some oil should seep in past the dust shields and relubricate the bearing when it cools down. Considering the way the fan seems to be built, I'd guess there's a ball bearing inside.

Edit: there's no label on the rotor to remove and check what can you find behind?

No, the label was on the top, no label on the rotor side. I've tried popping the fan off with moderate force, but it's not giving so far. I may just force it in the name of knowledge. 🤣. I really don't need to fix this fan, I've got plenty of spares. Just didn't want to force it if someone knew of an elegant solution.

Don't gloss over my solution. it's given a year or two of extra life to many fans before that were frozen stiff and burning up. You can even just rub into it with a knife or small flathead if you really don't care for it 😀. Dead center where the label was.

What have you got to lose!

Anyway I won't continue pressing my stupid fix, just works for me hehehe.

@BeginnerGuy - no, I wasn't glossing over your solution. 😀 Definitely holding onto it as a latter resort, since it involves permanent modification.

clueless1 wrote:

@BeginnerGuy - no, I wasn't glossing over your solution. 😀 Definitely holding onto it as a latter resort, since it involves permanent modification.

Thanks, guess I just want to be noticed today. I see you noticed me in another thread already.

that's 200% more notice than I thought I'd get and 100% more notice than I noticed I was noted.

BeginnerGuy wrote:

I can't tell what type of bearing that fan has. Probably just some cheap bushing in there that's dried out. usually I just take a fine drill bit and drill a hole straight into the shaft (from the top center of the fan housing) and put a drop of synthetic motor oil in (or whatever good lubricant is floating around in the shed), then just wind it by hand and power it on externally for a while to make sure nothing spits out.. cover your hole and put it back in the system.

Can't hurt to try since you need a replacement either way 😈

I revive old, seized up fans the same way - remove the sticker and the cap, fill it with synthetic oil, put the cap back and glue a piece of thin plastic on top to prevent leaking.
No problems so far!
Regarding the stock HSF, it looks like you can pry off the cap with a small flat screwdriver.