Can I use extra olive virgin oil to lubricate a CPU fan?

[silenceee]

So my CPU fan was making a tractor like noise. It's a silent quare pro:





I opened it (the orange thing) and extracted the acual fan, it was full of shit. I cleaned it with the vacuum cleaner. The screws seem to be OK.
I also tried booting without the orange cover just in case that was vibrating, its not the problem. It's still making noise.
If I slow the speed of the fan with speedfan at say 50% the noise disapears. Sometimes even at such low speed the noise comes back randomly.

My last hope is that the problem is it needs lubrication. Thing is, I don't have any other oil except of what I use to eat (extra olive virgin oil). A drop of this will work?

The actual fan inside the orange thing is this one:

http://www.amazon.com/SUNON-9225-KD1209 ... B00JUUVHIA

Im considering just replacing it, it should be cheap. What one should I replace it with?

Im saving for an actual full MOBO+CPU+FanCPU (like the new Noctua) upgrade but im a budget now so im saving, I need to fix this for now.

Thanks

[edh]

I would use sewing machine oil as it doesn't risk shorting anything and is totally clean. However, is it worth it? If a fan starts suffering from dust ingress then it may already be past it anyway. Replacing the fan is a better long term solution. It's just a 92mm fan so it might be better to just replace the fan anyway as they aren't too expensive in general. If you want a decent one buy a Scythe or a Noctua or similar but there's a massive choice out there if you're not too fussed.

[lodestar]

A lubricant specifically designed for fans such as Liquid Bearings is probably a better idea and not too expensive. Normally only sleeve bearings can be lubricated, if you run a finger nail across the hub label and can feel a circular filler then it can be treated. After peeling back the label and removing the filler a drop or two should be sufficient.

However replacing the fan is likely to be a better proposition. The current fan has a top speed of 2400 rpm. Any 3 wire 92mm fan of around this speed would be a suitable replacement and might be a better financial proposition than risking $7 on lubricant which might or might not work. For example the Nanoxia 92mm which has a top speed of 2200 rpm and is priced under $10.

[frenchie]

It'll work as a temporary solution. The olive oil will get sticky quickly, especially when heated, and you will end up with a bunch of goop in your fan. So for a few weeks, it'll work. Spend a few dollars and invest in a new fan in the meantime.

[silenceee]

Hi there, my mom as a sewing machine and there was a bottle with some oil, i didnt had much hopes but tried, i put it in the middle thing under the sticker, mounted it and... still noise.

But after some hours, it dissapeared. I woke up today, booted and no noise again. For some reason for now its working... lets see how much it lasts without noise.

If it does noise again just once, im buying a new fan. Whats the most silent fan of that size?

I need to keep this silent for at least a year. Then in a year I will get a fully new MOBO, CPU and Heatsink+fan (the NH-D15 probably, or whatever is the most silent option at the time).

[DanceMan]

I used sewing machine oil to revive a laptop cpu fan and it worked well. On this fan the blade assembly came out easily exposing the motor shaft. I oiled the shaft, put it back in and spun it, removed it and wiped the shaft clean several times to clean all the dirt and dust out. Any cooking oil or 3-in-1 oil is the wrong oil for this application.

[Lucky Luciano]

Vegetable oils are not good because they gunk up. My favourite is bicycle chain oil.