Failing 2009 MacPro Fans (yeah mine too)

[handheldgames]

The NOISE generated by the 2009 MacPro is bad enough. To add insult to injury, both intake and exhaust fans have started to fail in my 2009 MacPro. They make an annoying "wobble" noise that overpowers 2 other PC's running in my office. At 1st I thought one was bad... But I had to win the lottery again and win 2 bad fans.

While I considered hooking up a couple low-noise PC fans with a manual speed control, I found a deal I could't pass up. Original OEM Fans for $4.00 each.

Time for the tear down and install. Should be fun.

[handheldgames]

The problem is fixed!! The fans work great in the MacPro.... AT $4 each, it was a steal, too bad the minimum order was 5 units... LOL. Guess I have a supply when these fans blow out....

No more chatter from the MacPro and it goes back being the quietest Machine in the office... Sweet!!

[ListedFirst.com]

Originally Posted by handheldgames

The problem is fixed!! The fans work great in the MacPro.... AT $4 each, it was a steal, too bad the minimum order was 5 units... LOL. Guess I have a supply when these fans blow out....

No more chatter from the MacPro and it goes back being the quietest Machine in the office... Sweet!!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand the website for the OEM fans? :-)

[minifridge1138]

Could you tell me where you got them?

Mine are still going strong, but it never hurts to have spares on hand.

[beto2k7]

website please?

[handheldgames]

Here ya go folks: http://www.excesssolutions.com/cgi-bin/item/ES5358

I can confirm that the MacPro has no issues controlling these fans. The only difference appears to be a slightly longer power cord.

[DeeEss]

Cool, thanks i's good to know. Glad you got it sorted.

Curious to know what on earth does a wobble noise sound like?

[ValSalva]

Are these newer fans about as loud as the properly functioning original fans or (hopefully) a little quieter?

How hard was it to replace both the fans?

Thanks for the link

[handheldgames]

Originally Posted by DeeEss

Cool, thanks i's good to know. Glad you got it sorted.

Curious to know what on earth does a wobble noise sound like?

Every time the rear fan makes a revolution, it made a small audible noise. It came across like a small idling engine probably adding 10-20 db to the sound of the fan. Was much louder than a stable fan of the same noise.

I trouble shot the issue by stopping the rear fan temporarily with my finger. In doing so, I discovered the front fan was making about 25% of the noise that the rear was contributing.

Installing the fans was a pain in the ass. Anyone attempting this needs to get rubber fan mounts as some will break when changing them out.

This is definitely a repair job only to do in the case of bad fans. As I had 2 go bad, there is a HIGH likelihood that there are many bad units out there. Considering the number of people who complain about the 2009 MP noise, it's worth a quick check to see if you have the issue.

I would recommend that if you have Apple Care, use it on this one. Otherwise pick up a couple fans. They usually retail at $40-70 each!!!

Should also mention: I use Fan Contol to slow the input and exhaust fans to 600RPM. http://www.lobotomo.com/products/FanControl/index.html
This makes the machine whisper quiet, with an idle temp od 31.5 (c) This is not SMC FanControl.