Fab said:
Do *NOT* use wd40. It's too viscous.
Maybe oil for sewing machine.
The best is to replace the fan.
Well, I'd say use an oil for how you want the fan to behave. If you want
the fan to run at maximum speed, and maybe make a little more noise, use a
light oil, and to slow it down a little and make a little less noise, use a
heavier oil. I think heavier grades of oil seem to suit ball bearings
better; lighter grades for sleeve bearings. And make sure you don't get
_any_ dust into the bearings when you do this; any oil will tend to attract
and retain it.
The ideal method is to clean the bearings with paraffin first (_not_
paraffin wax, but paraffin oil - what Americans call kerosene. We call it
paraffin), let them dry out, then blow them out with compressed air, taking
_care_ to make sure you don't get any dust in them, and lubricate them,
running the oil well in. And, for light bearings, which is what these are,
make sure your materials - the oil and the paraffin - are clean! Another
point is that your bearings, particularly ball bearings, are greased. That
means if you just put a light oil in, it will mix with the grease to make
effectively a heavier grade. So if you clean the bearing out, removing any
grease, you need a heavier grade of oil than if you were just to drop the
oil in.
But you'll probably just drop the oil straight in anyway. Make sure you
don't use too much, particularly if the fan blows onto a component, rather
than away from it. And keep things clean - these are very light bearings,
and just a speck of the wrong material can clog them up.
patrickp
