Does my MacBook fan need to be replaced?

Question

My MacBook core 2 duo running OSX 10.4.11 is nearly two years old. About a year ago the fan started becoming noisy, and now the sounds it makes are horrendously loud and irregular. A few months back, I took apart my computer, thoroughly cleaned the dust (and one dead insect) from the fan and then put it back. The noise continued unchanged, and now I'm starting to have overheating problems. Every time I run anything that taxes the CPU (like Picasa, VMware Fusion, a complex flash game, or anything with video), the CPU quickly heats up to the mid 80s (celsius), and the computer suddenly shuts off.

What I'd like to know is if simply replacing the old fan with a new one will fix the problem, or could there be something else going on. The fan does still run, and according to iStat it can run at high rpms (like 2000). Since I am currently overseas, a new fan would be quite pricey, so I want to be fairly certain that it will be worth it.

Answer 1

If after cleaqning the fan it continues to make noise then replacement is recommended. The noise may be an indication of a worn out bearing inside the Fan's casing.



Have you tried adding a drop of oil near or in the bearing's casing. This has helped me a few times in the past to rid the noise. If that doesn't work then replace the fan,

Answer 2

The biggest killer of laptops or even desktops is heat; created by dust buildup inside the case. With a desktop, I pop the side off and take it to the garage where I blow it out with my air compressor. Laptops are another story. I worked on my friends and had to disassemble the entire unit to get to a huge hairball just inside where the fan mounts. My friend has 2 long haired cats. Even without pets, dust will build up and ruin a computer. When buying a new laptop, look at the fan and see if it can be removed by taking off accessible screws. On my friend's, the fan would come out only from the inside after removing the motherboard and all other internals. To pay a computer repairman $75 to do a good cleaning on a laptop is ridiculous! Another suggestion is to always place your laptop on a hard, clean surface, not on your lap. The fan will suck all the lint off your pants, block vents and ruin your computer.

Answer 3

I Am Sure If You Go To Either Geek Sqad Or The Apple Store They Will Know What To Do And WIll Be Happy To Help.

Answer 4

My MacBook Pro fans run 2000 at idle ( I just checked). Your should be much higher than that under load. I would replace the fan.

Answer 5

you'll need to take your laptop apart again and reseat the barrings inside the fan. thats whats making the noise. if barrings are destroyed, replace barrings, that will probably be cheaper than purchasing a new fan. i hoped i helped!

Answer 6

it seem likely