My laptop fan is showing signs of old age in that it will start making loud rattling noises every now and then, that die down after a while. Lubricating it only temporarily helps (I think the problem is mostly with the bearings in these cases, right?). The common advice seems to be just to replace it. I would happily do that, but I can't find the exact model I need* (MF75120V1-C220-A99) and the manufacturer tells me they don't have parts for a laptop 1.5 years old so I'm on my own.
My idea is now to keep the "casing" and replace only the fan itself, i.e. I would make cuts at the red lines in the attached picture, do the same to the replacement fan and glue it into position in the old casing.
Here's a couple of questions I have concerning this:
- Is there an easier/a better alternative I'm overlooking?
- Can I replace this 5.5V fan with a 5V fan? (This is the first time I've ever seen a 5.5V fan, I believe.)
- How can I make sure the new fan is powerful enough? Will just going by the nominal 2.75W be enough?
- Are there any other specs, apart from its dimensions, that I should pay attention to when choosing the replacement?
*I could pay a dubious Chinese retailer 20 bucks hoping that I'll get a new fan of the correct model some weeks later, but I don't really want to do that.