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Loud Fan - WD-40?
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Stoneham, MA, USA
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So I've got an old CoreDuo MacBook Pro. I need to take it apart anyway because the magnet in the screen is dislodged and it's not always sleeping when I close the lid. Also the left fan is making some noise, so I figure while I have it open, should I try to give the fan bearings a squirt of WD40? Will that help or harm it? I know bearings that are packed in grease, you don't want to hit with WD-40 because it's a degreaser. But I really don't know how these little fans work. I'm not going to bother replacing it but if a little squirt will help quiet it down, I'm all for that.
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Wasilla, Alaska
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I just tore apart a fan from a macbook pro, so it's probably not quite like the powerbook, but with this fan there is no way to get WD40 into the place it needs to go.. i.e. the bearing appear to be quite sealed.
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Mac Elite
Join Date: May 2000
Location: I've moved so many times; I forgot.
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WD40 is not a degreaser per se. The WD stands for Water Displacement. So it evaporates after you use it. WD essentially gets rid of moisture and also serves to help clean off parts. So using it on a bearing would be terrible. It would wash away some or all of the grease and leave the bearing drier than it was before. The only time I ever used WD40 anymore is when I want a clean dry surface to be left behind. Otherwise, there are much better products out there, especially for something like this.
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"My friend, there are two kinds of people in this world:
those with loaded guns, and those who dig. You dig."
-Clint in "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"
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Moderator  Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: San Jose, CA
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The first thing you should try, of course, is compressed air. There could be dust or other particles on the fan blades or clogging the vents causing the noise. While you have the machine open, you should shoot compressed air everywhere, not just the fans, to keep the insides clean. It's amazing how much dust accumulates.
Steve
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Celebrating 10 years and 4000 posts on MacNN!
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Administrator  Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: San Antonio TX USA
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No liquid lubricant (or substitute for one, such as WD40) should be used on a fan that doesn't explicitly have "oil here" or other similar markings. Whether a sleeve bearing or a more advanced, roller or ball bearing, that fan wasn't built to be lubricated. Clean the ever lovin' crud out of the fan with vacuum/compressed air and plenty of poking with a very small paint brush. It's probably full of gunk, hair, dust, and other airborne stuff, and once free of the contaminants, it'll be a lot quieter. Or it's completely worn out and you just have to replace it.
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Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
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Baninated
Join Date: Jun 2007
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Just to second this. Do not attempt to lubricate the fan. The fans on these have proved to be prone to wearing out but it's definitely worth using an air duster etc. to remove dust. You can use the free utility SMC fan control on Intel Macs to manually control and measure the fan speed and you should be getting a maximum speed of around 6,000rpm. If it's not getting near this then replace the fan. Although Apple does not allow it's service centers to sell the fans for DIY repair, there are independent specialist Apple parts suppliers like <self-link removed> who do sell them.
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Last edited by Thorzdad; May 2, 2011 at 10:35 AM.
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