Noisy Fan + Broken Screw + Voided Warranty = FML?

[alala23]

I purchased a 13.3" MacBook Unibody about 3 months ago, and recently -- about a couple weeks ago -- the fan started to make a noise when it goes about 2000RPM. It'd be a grumbling sound, as if something is stuck, but even after opening it multiple times, I couldn't deduce what it was.

So, I contacted a store in a near-by big city which does Apple Warranty and they said I'd have to send the laptop in for a week until they can diagnose the problem, and their last resort would be to actually replace the fan. Since I've replaced a noisy MacBook fan before, and since this is my main computer which I'd have to be without for a week or more, I decided to take the issue on myself and purchased a new fan of the same model from eBay.

When the fan arrived, I unscrewed the back plate, etc., but when I got to detatching the old fan, I found the screws were incompatible with my screw driver, and were fixated extremely tightly (never encountered any screws like these before.) So, I purchased a screwdriver set which included the 2 of the most suggested ones on the Internet: the Torx T6 and Phillips #00. Unfortunately, these didn't work either, but ended up worsening the situation as the heads of the screws got scrapped a little after trying and trying.

So, now I'm stuck with a new fan in a cleanly sealed bag, a noisy old fan which for some reason has strokes every once in a while and becomes extra noisy -- only "silenced" when I hit the back, and screws which I can't remove to replace the fan. And worse, I've voided my Apple Warranty.

Help! Any suggestions? Can I remove the screws with pliers somehow? Drill them? Give it to a computer repair shop?

 

[MacDawg]

Personally, I would take it in and let someone else deal with it now
But that's just me

In situations like this, I just tend to make things worse

Woof, Woof - Dawg

 

[GoCubsGo]

Tough call. I mean you had to have applied a little pressure for it to strip. You'd be amazed at how little it takes. I suggest the plier route. If that fails you may have to bite the bullet and take it in because a failed fan is a receipe for disaster.

 

[alala23]

Thanks for your suggestions, just wanted to provide an update on the issue.

After countlessly trying and trying, I was able to remove 1 screw by basically cutting it in half with a knife so that a regular screw driver could fit in. The problem, though, is that the other two screws are indented about 1cm below surface, so they're basically impossible to get through (tried for 4 - 5 hours).

HOWEVER...

Googling "MacBook fan noisy" for the last time, I found something which has ALMOST fixed my problem (at least temporarily!). Basically, the cause of the noisy fan is the spindle -- the little stick that goes into the motor. You need to clean and lube it, as I did, and the fan is about 99% quieter! Here's an image showing the spindle: http://nofilmschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/fan.jpg. I sprayed some cleaning spray on it, wiped it, repeated 2 - 3 times, and problem solved!

As I said, not sure if this is a temporary fix or when the noise will start again, but for now, the laptop is pin-drop silent and my ears are recuperating after the last 3 - 4 weeks of having to listen to a permanent washing machine!

 

[ilanar]

re: MacBook fan noise

Is there no other way but to open the machine? I have a MacBook and I've tried other solutions that have helped temporarily (resetting PRAM)... but it's SO noisy... I did just try the 'hit the back' and it slowed down for a minute, but I don't like the rpm being over 6000 and the temp 174... It's making me nervous. Do I need to take it in?

Ilana

Googling "MacBook fan noisy" for the last time, I found something which has ALMOST fixed my problem (at least temporarily!). Basically, the cause of the noisy fan is the spindle -- the little stick that goes into the motor. You need to clean and lube it, as I did, and the fan is about 99% quieter! Here's an image showing the spindle: http://nofilmschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/fan.jpg. I sprayed some cleaning spray on it, wiped it, repeated 2 - 3 times, and problem solved!

As I said, not sure if this is a temporary fix or when the noise will start again, but for now, the laptop is pin-drop silent and my ears are recuperating after the last 3 - 4 weeks of having to listen to a permanent washing machine![/QUOTE]