WD-40 or silicon spray?

[prochobo]

It's a Zalman 7700CU that's making more noise than it should. I can tell something is not lubricated right. So, WD-40 or silicon spray? If anyone has any better ideas, I'm all ears.

 

[Jeff7]

3-in-1 oil should do the trick. But I've heard that it might be mildly corrosive on plastic. I recall sewing machine oil being recommended as being gentler.
I'm pretty sure that WD-40 is not a good idea though.

 

[Trippytiger]

WD-40 is not a lubricant; don't use it. Dry graphite might be something to consider.

 

[zagood]

Try contacting Zalman for a replacement fan, or modding your own 120mm fan on there.

-z

 

[prochobo]

Originally posted by: zagood
Try contacting Zalman for a replacement fan, or modding your own 120mm fan on there.

-z

I think some lube will do the trick, but if worse comes to worse, I will. I really hate dealing with RMAs unless they ship to me first and I'm not much of a modder

 

[zagood]

Whatever you do, just make sure you get access to the bearings themselves, most fans you just remove the sticker. Replace the sticker or at least cover it with a decal, you need to keep the dust out.

Try to find out what type of lube Zalman uses, and get something similar to that.

-z

 

[Jhhnn]

You want a drop of non-detergent oil into the bearings, and you'll probably have to remove the fan from the sink to get at them. Either sewing machine, electric motor or hairclipper oil is generally fine...

 

[Zap]

Jhhnn is describing mineral oil. I've had good luck with just some multipurpose household oil (like 3in1). Don't use WD-40 because it is too thin. It's more of a solvent with oil in it than a lubricating oil. To oil a fan, you'll have to get at the motor spindle. That is usually covered by a sticker and a rubber plug under the sticker. It is usually on the side of the motor that doesn't move, not the side that the blades are molded onto. That means you'll have to remove the fan from your heatsink. Oiling a fan will extend useful life and reduce noise, but it is not the same as a new fan. I'd suggest RMAing it.

 

[prochobo]

Hey thanks a lot guys. I'm gonna take a look at it tomorrow and try some 3 in 1 oil.

 

[zagood]

Good luck, make sure you tell us how it goes.

If it doesn't meet your expectations, from what I understand Zalman doesn't require you to RMA your full heatsink. I believe they charge shipping for just a replacement fan.

Of course I could be wrong.

-z

 

[prochobo]

Alright, I got silicon spray since I can use that for other things as well. Anyways, removing the sticker on the fan doesn't reveal the bearings. I tried to spray some on the side of the fan into the crack though. Turns out, I guess that fixed it, but my case still sounds like a sharpening stone. It's not ANY of the things in the case. It's like all of them put together in this crap Antec P-160. It drowns out the lows, but kinda amplifies the highs as soon as I close the side.

 

[zagood]

With your case open, go through all your fans one by one, and press your finger lightly against the spinning middle. If the sound quality changes, you'll have found the culprit. Be sure to check your video card fan as well.

Remove the finger guard on the power supply also and check that fan the same way.

From your description, I'm thinking that it's vibration transfer from the fans to your case. Try a) decoupling the fans from the case with silicon grommets and b) checking that your case sides mount firmly to the chassis. If one of them is loose it would make a pretty annoying sound.

-z

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

-z the PSU finger guard does not have to be removed.

Shut the rig down, insert a thin something non-cunductive to stop fan rotation,
power-up the comp. If the noise is gone, source found. Pull out the thin something.
Then consider changing out the PSU's fan.
If the PSU's fan is bad, the replacement should not be of a lower spec.

...Galvanized

 

[prochobo]

I did that to all of the fans/hardware inside the case. Like I said in my last post, not any one of them cause the noise. Everything put together is pretty quiet, till I put the side back on the case. It then amplifies high frequencies which result in the combination of all of the hardware inside the case, and becomes very annoying. I'm gonna get some thinner foam tape to help with that since putting a few small strips on the bezel made an audible difference.