My laptop fan sounds like a jet engine after I tried that compressed air trick

Last week I finally got around to cleaning out my old Dell laptop I’ve been hauling around for like 4 years. The fan’s been loud and hot, so I watched a few YouTube videos and went to town with a can of compressed air. I sprayed it into the vents like they said, and for about an hour it was quiet. But then it started making this grinding noise, like metal on plastic. I opened it up and realized I probably jammed a piece of dust deeper into the bearing or something. Now I’m stuck with this noise every time I use it, and I’m wondering if I need to just replace the whole fan assembly. It’s a Dell Inspiron 15 from 2019, and I saw the part online for like $30 but I’m nervous about pulling it apart further. Has anyone else wrecked a fan this way and fixed it without ruining the whole laptop?

2 comments

2 Comments

janab8225d ago

About 6 months ago I did the exact same thing to my own Dell laptop except it was an older model from 2016. What nobody tells you is that compressed air can actually force dust and debris into the fan bearing if you hold the can at the wrong angle or too close. I read later that you are supposed to hold the fan blades still with a toothpick or something before spraying so they don't spin too fast and blow junk into the motor. In my case the grinding stopped after I carefully took the fan out and used a tiny drop of sewing machine oil on the bearing shaft underneath the sticker on the center hub. I would try that before buying a new fan assembly because it worked for me and saved $30. Just be really careful when prying off that sticker and don't use too much oil or it will drip onto the motherboard.

aliceg6121d ago

That sewing machine oil trick reminds me of when my old roommate tried to fix a squeaky ceiling fan with WD-40 and it just made the whole room smell like a mechanic's shop for a week. Worst part was the fan still squeaked, just quieter and greasier. But yeah, on laptops I've heard people use like a drop of gun oil or even mineral oil if they're desperate, just gotta be gentle with those little stickers.