Help - how to remove cooling fan

[xrunner]

How the hell do I remove this fan? It's attached with some sort of system that's seemingly "permanent". I've tried for an hour to see how it can "unlock" but I have not found any way to pull the pins out from the other side - I suppose so that you can't replace the fan yourself. Has anyone seen this before? How do I get the attachment thingies to unlock?

Signed, frustrated

[orion242]

Pull the center pin put and it should pop right out.

[xrunner]

Pull the center pin put and it should pop right out.

No it doesn't. I've already said I've tried everything I can. It will not come out. That is all hard plastic. I can't even see how they put it together. 

[alsetalokin4017]

Looks like a plastic pop rivet. If you look on Ebay you can find many of these, some look like exact replacements for what you're showing. They are not designed to be removable. Just cut the protruding part off with your shear-cutters. You can replace them with small screws, washers and nuts, with a little locking compound like nail-polish or superglue on the nut so it doesn't vibrate loose.

[xrunner]

Looks like a plastic pop rivet. If you look on Ebay you can find many of these, some look like exact replacements for what you're showing. They are not designed to be removable.

Ah OK, well that explains it. I just hadn't run across them before - thanks.