[Found the right stuff] Axle Grease for fan in HP Pavilion Laptop

[jpanhalt]

It has been mentioned that mineral oil and vegetable or similar (glycol) oils may not mix.   It's possible not enough olive oil remains to make a difference, but miscibility can be easily tested.  Hydraulic fluid has been mentioned.  That comes in both versions.  DOT 3, 4, and 5 are glycol based.

[PwrElectronics]

Nobody has yet mentioned "zoom spout" turbine oil.  Made for motor bushings and so on.  I have had mixed luck with it on worn out stuff though.

This thread is a little amusing to me.  Years ago the fan on my old tower PC's graphics card wore out the bearings and would vibrate and buzz.  No replacement to be found.  It was a custom molded thing that attached to the heatsink.  Didn't want to spend $$ for a new graphics card.  So, I took apart a laptop PC that was found in in the bin at work that had busted hinges and IT had removed the drive, etc.  Got the fan out of it and used hot glue and some cardboard to make a duct and mount for it to fit on the graphics card heatsink in place of the bad fan.  That used laptop fan ran for many years when that PC was my daily driver and it still going fine on the occasional use now.

[BrokenYugo]

but honestly does anyone here expect results for a fan? I only ever grease intermittent motors. Something continuous IMO needs replacements because its just not gonna last at all. Power tool or manual OK, I can maybe live with that. But imo its guaranteed that this wont work for more then a few months. A fan on a welder that kicks on once in a while, OK.

But for a continuous computer fan I have a feeling you will be disappointed.

Come to think of it I'm not sure I've ever successfully applied lubricant to a loud PC fan twice. The first time might get you months, perhaps 10s of months, but when it acts up again that's more or less the end of it. That said I don't think I've tried anything heavier than 15w40 engine oil.

[madires]

Some time ago I put some (I think) hydraulic oil in
a laptop fan (don't remember which bearing type).

Be careful with hydraulic oils. Some are toxic.

[BrianHG]

Hi Everyone,

     After WD-40-ing the fan April 9'th, I can say it lasted until today.

     Also, it is not that the bearing is loose, it is the fan bearing is getting sticky.

     I'm still awaiting the Aliexpress replacement fan, so I just applied the 'Lucas White Lithium Grease' I purchased.

This stuff: Lucas White Lithium Grease

I can say the stuff's viscosity is perfect for small electronic plastic gears and bearings.  It has the consistency similar to a thin mayonnaise.  It will stay where you put it and it wont slow down fan bearings like a thick sticky 'Vaseline' type of grease.

I'll report how long this stuff lasts in my fan...
(Man, the fan is now so quiet.  I don't mean slower as you can tell RPM by pitch, I mean just soooo quiet and smooth sounding.  The previous WD-40 temporary fix had a cold metallic mechanical metal-on-metal sound to it.)

[BrianHG]

  It's been 30 days with the Lucas White Lithium Grease, no problems, that's 3 times as long as the failing WD-40.

[coppercone2]

[coppercone2]

It has been mentioned that mineral oil and vegetable or similar (glycol) oils may not mix.   It's possible not enough olive oil remains to make a difference, but miscibility can be easily tested.  Hydraulic fluid has been mentioned.  That comes in both versions.  DOT 3, 4, and 5 are glycol based.

I got 2 weeks from a bad mother board fan when I used whatever sandwich oil they had at the little sandwich place nearby. and IIRC then it jammed up, instead of just spinning loud. So it got quiet instead of screech after the oil and then 2 weeks later it was quiet because it halted. then I played games in tiny windowed mode on low res without the fan for another month before I got scared and replaced it

it dries up gummy like a cast iron pan I think and really gunks it up.


BTW WD40 is the oil you use for its original purpose, water displacement. after you wash something, rinse it in alcohol, drench it in WD40, let that drip off and expire, then add a viscous oil. I think the WD40 actually DOES get rid of some water in like a pliers hinge. It's like a rinse


I thought that basically they used it for this: hosing down pressurized thin stainless steel tanks used for liquid oxygen for rockets. I imagine those tanks might get some dew on them in the morning, so you have someone spray it down with the oil on a humid day to get rid of the water droplets. Solvent evaporates too cold and makes more condensation, I have seen this on PCB. Thats why you bake PCB after flux remover with alcohol or whatever in a can. So it can't evaporate too fast, it can't absorb the pressurized thing that might make it evaporate and cool down, and it can't absorb water like solvents would (hydroscopic) and it must wick very well to get into small cracks and stuff where water can accumulate and start rust corrosion, and it needs to be cheap if its actually a water remover, which is why I think it was so hard to get WD40 working right if the story is true at all. And it has to evaporate quick enough to  allow you to add a proper sealing oil to the surface.


But even if you have a nicely sealed tank, if you see dew on it, the smart thing would be to rinse it off... they could not just assume that a egg shell LOX tank would be OK because it was greasy when it had condensation on it.... that is a flaming disaster waiting to happen... I assume they tended this thing like Emperor Vitellius' stomach LOL