Decided to paint my TY-140s because I can no longer fit them inside my case. Before: DISASSEMBLY Behind the label there is a glue seal on the plastic cap which comes off pretty easily, revealing the nylon washer which helps keep the cap pushed against the axle of the fan (more on that later): The next part is where you have to damage the cap; there simply isn't any other way to get it off because it's plastic and it's proerly fused to the frame of the fan. I used my lock knife and got the cap off in about a minute or so: Next step is removing the nylon c-clip. Be VERY careful that it doesn't spring off into oblivion because if you lose it, the fan will not work properly again! And there you have it: a TY-140 in two (or more) parts. ASSEMBLY The only thing I can say here is LOTS OF OIL. The fan has a fluid bearing so make sure you don't skimp on the oil. I used cycle oil as it is high quality and low viscosity; any other low viscosity oil will do as long as you make sure it's not the type of oil that eats plastic for breakfast. After oiling the hole, I oiled the shaft of the fan. Notice it has a small reservoir where the shaft meets the hub of the impeller - make sure this fills with oil but don't let it overflow: After putting the fan together and refitting the nylon c-clip, add a couple more drops of oil before replacing the cap. I sealed the back with silicon before putting a disc of black card to cover it up. It's EXTREMELY important that the cap goes on properly and that it makes a good seal; the last thing you want is the oil getting out, because the fan needs it to operate silently. The finished fans: Unfortunately, after installing the fans, I notice that one of them has a bad scratchy bearing noise which I can't fix. I have taken it apart several times and tried cleaning the shaft before oiling it etc but the noise always comes back. I will perhaps try again with a different c-clip or something but it's not looking good. The bottom line: do this at your own risk! It could be that the bearing was on its last legs because I have been running the fans flat/horizontal which is supposedly bad for these bearings, but who knows. I've been in touch with Thermalright to see what they can do. EDIT Seems I was wrong - I fixed the "faulty" (but not really faulty) fan, and in fixing it I discovered what the purpose of that white washer is. The white washer adds height to the bearing cap, and the cap in turn pushes against the end of the axle. If the axle isn't pushed far enough in, the fan makes a horrible scraping noise; if however it's pushed in properly, the nylon c-clip is engaged and the noise disappears. Presto! So there you have it: when reassembling the fan, make sure the cap is on securely and that it is pushed all the way in!!
Cheers Just be very careful... since dismantling my TY-140s, one of them has a slightly scuffy-sounding bearing which I think is beyond repairing. Thankfully it's not loud enough to hear from more than a few cm away, but the other fan is totally silent and works like new.
Thanks. What I really want is 4 more TY-143 fans. They look great on my red Phanteks PH-TC14PE and haven't been able to use the extra 1200rpm yet as my 920 won't get hot enough to even use stock fans, TY-140s I have on it or the TY=143
