Max Muller wrote:
Paul in Houston TX wrote:

The correct fan and part number depends on which one is in your machine.
It could be either depending on graphics chip.
I get all my Lenovo parts from Ebay.
Go there and compare fan pictures to yours.
Btw, IBM sold their laptop business to Lenovo in 2005.

That *is* a picture of the numbers printed on the sticker directly
on the fan!

http://i.cubeupload.com/PPtURP.gif

All I'm asking is what are the numbers to look for.


This seller used both numbers in their advertisement.

http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/vb8AAO...5r/s-l1600.jpg

http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/vgwAAO...5v/s-l1600.jpg

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-60Y4981-...ht_3462wt_1122

FRU stands for Field Replaceable Unit.
P/N stands for Part Number (obviously).

One number might be the item you'd see in a
re-assembly diagram. The other number, what
you order it with. If you were ordering from
Lenovo, you'd likely order the P/N, and there
could be additional items in the box like thermal
paste or screws or whatever.

They don't normally waste two numbers for nothing.
The numbers form a hierarchy, with one number
being for a larger group of bits and pieces than
the other.

The fan label in the picture, says it is a Sunon Maglev.
And apparently doesn't use oil, if I believe what
I'm reading here.

http://www.sunon.com/tw/products/pdf/maglev.pdf

The hardest part of dealing with some of these
items, where it appears they already have thermal
interface material applied, is what you do with
the plastic covers. In some cases, it's obvious
the plastic is to be peeled off, leaving the
sticky or greasy material underneath exposed.

However if the pre-applied material has what looks
like two plastic layers, that could be a thermal pad
impregnated with something, and you wouldn't
take the pad apart. So the fun part, is figuring
out what you're supposed to do when you get it.
I already ruined one item like that, by peeling
off a plastic I wasn't supposed to :-) I repaired
the damage I'd caused, with ordinary thermal interface
material (Arctic Ceramique or similar).

This is why Intel put some of its materials in
a hard plastic shell, so that the paste didn't
need a cover (as long as the box it shipped in
wasn't smashed). The plastic shell holding the item,
prevents the paste area from touching anything.
That uses more plastic, to make a shell to cover
the whole item, but it also removes the ambiguity
about what to do with any plastic covering over
the paste itself. There is nothing to remove or
peel off on those.

You generally get one usage from the thermal interface
material. Be absolutely sure you know how to install
it, before letting it "touch down". Practice removing
and installing the *old* assembly, so you know how
to put it on, while making the least mess. If you
have to remove the item multiple times, the thermal
interface material could get smeared all over the
place, leaving insufficient material for it to function
properly as a conducting thermal path.

There are many different kinds of TIM. There are phase
change materials (which are hard at room temperature).
There are greases, pastes, and dough-like materials.
And each has a best-practice associated with it.
The phase change are the worst, because once the
material is deformed, you can't really put it back
together again, and the stuff is a bitch to scrape off.
They screen-print these materials onto the heatsink,
so you get a precise volume of material.

Good luck.
Paul