VPCZ-1390X fan problem

Here is the Youtube link to the video of the underside of the mainboard/heatsink, which speaks for itself:
Sony Vaio VPCZ-1390X fan rattling - YouTube

An initial rattling kicked in about 6 months after buying the notebook and was bothering me by itself. It is consistently there when the notebook is held in any position but horizontally, and is especially problematic if someone is trying to work while another one is trying to sleep (it is enough to annoy you on a silent night even without the sleep scenario, especially given that the speakers are such crap and cannot suppress any noise).

That rattling is audible at around 40' of the video. At 1", it is followed by a new, extremely loud whiz that wasn't there when I shut down my computer at night.

The only thing I can think of is that it started snowing tonight and it was very cold. Nothing else changed.

Where do I go from here? Can I replace the fan?

 

The fan bearing is broken. Replacement of the fan is possible but quite pricey when you buy the parts from sony.

 

I didn't want to mess with the thermal paste and further disassembling, so I used a thin, pliable, hairy metal (an interdental pick!) dipped in oil to reach every part of the fan I could reach from the outside. Must have moved 10+ drops of oil in various parts of the fan. Even the slight rattling is gone for now.

Problem temporarily solved.

 

I have the same noise as woodsielord since 3 months ago. Anyone knows the price estimate for a new fan? The noise is very bothering but I don't want to repair it if it cost too much since the laptop is still functioning. If it's to expensive, I'll just fix it when the fan is broken.
woodsielord, if it doesn't bother you, can you please make a video or picture pointing which part of the fan i need to oil and what kind of oil I have to use. Thanks very much.

 

Sorry for the late reply abangbejad. I disassembled the mainboard to flip it over (it practically means removing everything except the screen), reached through the blades of the fan, got under and inside the round wheel that is the center of the fan, and oiled everything I could reach. Since oil is not conductive, I didn't hold back.

I used a standard oil bought from a hardware store. I'm sure there are more targeted ones, this plastic bottle just says oil on it

 

Just wanna give feedback on my experience:

Low constant noise on the fan, started 5 months ago. Usually was only when computer is cold (as soon as it heats up a little the noise stopped).

Then one morning last week I wake up, turn on my Z13, and it is making an awful noise, like a drill going through a wall. I immediately turn it off.

Turned it back on 10 min later to do a data backup, and waited 1hr for the backup to complete. The noise kept going until the PC was hot, afterwards it stopped.

Sent the Vaio in to Sony for repairs on monday. Came back today. Fan replaced. All good. All free.

FYI I'm in France, which is why the Sony support is so good (sent 2 Zs back for repars, 5 buisness days every time, UPS comes to pick it up and bring it back at home). I've heard the sony services are not as good in NA.

Hope I helped.

 

anybody have the model # and so on for this fan?
I was wondering how much CFM its rated for

 

Thanks a lot woodsielord. I think I'll try it this weekend. I already got the video to dissamble the Z, hope I can do it right.

killer626, your symptom was the exact same symptom as my Z before I got the weird noise. It was spinning mad before it got warm enough. As for sony support regarding hardware repair, their service is also very good in my country, although expensive. The reason I love sony's product is because their service and design, although from pure design perspective, I don't really like the current vaio line up.

 

@abangbejad : Let me give you the best advice anyone gave me before I opened my Z for the first time: photocopy the back of the Z, and when you take your screws out just place them in the right place on the photocopy -- voila! easy to rebuild.

Good luck changing your fan, I have to say it's been a month since the switch my computer is running fresher and quieter than ever.

 

MCF-528PAM05

Rattling finally came back, oiling didn't work, and I had to replace the entire cooler/fan unit. That's when I saw the part number. I think this number belongs to the fan only, but Sony service refused to remove just the fan

 

sorry''Sony service refused to remove just the fan''

what a point?

Sony has bulletin for replacement of FAN for vpcz1 series - for better designed

 

Really? Where can I find it?

 

nowhere there are internal sony order, let contact sony and complain for overheting and ratling

or buy one here Original New CPU Cooling Fan For SONY VAIO VPCZ VPCZ1 Series | eBay

 

My 2 cents here. Just yesterday I took apart my Z11 and lubricated the fan. It's actually not as difficult as you may think it is. The fan on my unit is held in place by magnets. If you're able to remove the motherboard (you'll need to disconnect all the cables) and look at the fan, you'll see the top part is metal (I'm assuming copper) and underneath holing the fan motor is plastic. The trick is to cut the tape that is holding the plastic bottom to the heat conducting metal then carefully scrape off the plastic bits appear to be holding the plastic bottom to the metal top part. (I'm sorry I don't have pictures to share, but if some has photos, I can pin point where to open up the fan).

Once you have the fan separated from the heat conducting metal, you can lift off the blade spindle easily and rid it of dust. Get some good lubricant and place on drop into the hole where the fan spindle sits. Re-assemble carefully and you should have a brand new sounding fan.

I chose to open it up myself cuz my friendly Sony service center wanted to charge me US$200 to replace the fan and their 3rd party technicians wanted US$100 if open up, clean, and lubricate the fan (no parts replacement).

Save yourself some money people!

Feel free to PM me for questions on lubricating the fan.

Cheers!