I did a complete tear down of my late 2007 MacBook Pro due to a noisy fan. Wrestled out the fan and took it apart. After applying some V4M to the fan axle I am happy to say that it is quiet as a mouse. Got the idea from David who told me that a drop of V4M on a Q-Tip and then applied to the inner threads of a Novus container will silence it when unscrewed. Thanks for the great multitasking lubricant guys.

Lubrication hints from Area 51

Is the fan axle mounted in a ball bearing or in a bronze bushing? If it's a bronze bushing, a steel shaft on the bronze bushing is self-lubricating, and if it is noisy, is just needs cleaning. Do not put lube on a bronze bushing as the lube will attract more dust/junk/etc, which is what was causing the noise in the first place. If it's a ball bearing mounted shaft, then V4M is just the thing (if you can get the lube inside the bearing). If the fan shaft is on neither a ball bearing or bronze bushing then you've got very low quality fan unit that should be replaced with a real one...

db

You just should have fed it some salmiakki.

Janne... No. My daughter's reaction to the new candy after tasting all of it was a very heart felt "Why do the Finnish hate candy so much?"

DB, Here are some pictures of what the innards of the fan look like.

This is the blade assembly itself, I applied a thin application on the steel post (Red Arrow):


I also put a pin drop in the axle hole seen here:


After cleaning all the blades I put the laptop back together and used a program to manual adjust the thermal controlled fan up to its maximum RPM and left it for 5 minutes to allow the V4M to set in. Still maintains its whisper quiet nature.

Oh, here is what the fan looks like assembled:


I figured the MacBook Pro was almost 5 years old and out of warranty. I don't want to spend anymore than needed, so if I can quiet the damn thing using just what I had laying around then what harm could it do.

You won't hurt it, but it is a bronze bushing. Best fix is clean the shaft and bushing (and everything around the bushing) with a 90% or better isopropyl alcohol. Clean entire interior of case, especially the entire airflow path, reassemble, and you're good to go!

db <- who would like to invent a 100% anti-dust prevention device for forced air electronic cooling, then, we wouldn't have these problems ever!