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In this post I explain how to replace a noisy or failed cooling fan in a Lenovo ThinkPad T61 laptop.
This guide might work for some other Lenovo ThinkPad models. If it works for you, please mention the laptop model number in the comments after the post.
The cooling fan is a part of the heat sink assembly. If the cooling fan fails, the whole heat sink assembly has to be replaced.
It’s possible that you can separate the fan from the heat sink and replace it separately, but in this guide I’m replacing the whole assembly.
Let’s remove the cooling fan assembly and replace it with a new one.
Turn off the laptop, unplug the AC adapter and remove the battery.
STEP 1.
Remove four (red) screws securing the palm rest.
Remove one screw (yellow) securing the keyboard.
STEP 2.
Lift up the palm rest.
STEP 3.
Place the palm rest upside down so you can access the touch pad cable underneath.
STEP 4.
Disconnect the touch pad cable from the motherboard.
By the way, both memory modules are located under the palm rest. If you are replacing or upgrading memory modules, you don’t have to follow the guide any further.
A Lenovo ThinkPad T61 laptop can take up to 4GB RAM total. You can install up to 2GB memory module into each slot. You should use DDR2 PC2-5300 or PC2-6400 memory modules.
STEP 5.
Lift up the keyboard and place it upside down.
STEP 6.
Disconnect the keyboard cable from the motherboard.
In order to disconnect the cable simply lift up the the connector, same way you disconnected the touch pad cable.
If you are replacing the keyboard, you don’t have to follow this guide any further.
You can find a new replacement keyboard by the Lenovo FRU part number printed on the label. In my case the keyboard part number is 42T3209.
Need a new keyboard for your Lenovo ThinkPad? Search here.
STEP 7.
Remove three screws securing the speaker cover.
By the way, the CMOS battery is located under the keyboard.
STEP 8.
Remove two screws securing the speaker cover on the bottom of the laptop.
STEP 9.
Remove the speaker cover.
STEP 10.
Remove four screws securing the cooling fan assembly brackets. Remove both brackets.
I would recommend taking a close up picture of the lower bracket, so you know how the wires are routed. The picture will help you to rout wires correctly when you assemble the laptop back together.
STEP 11.
Remove two screws securing the left speaker.
Disconnect connectors shown by two arrows.
Move the left speaker with cables to the right side, so you can get to the cooling fan assembly.
STEP 12.
Disconnect the cooling fan cable from the motherboard.
Remove four screws securing the cooling fan assembly.
STEP 13.
Lift up the cooling fan assembly as it shown on the picture below.
STEP 14.
Remove the cooling fan assembly from the laptop.
If you are replacing the failed cooling fan assembly with a new one, most likely the heat sink already has thermal grease pre-applied.
On the other hand, if you are installing a refubished cooling fan assembly, you’ll have to apply thermal grease on both chips shown below.
You can search for a replacement cooling fan assembly by the Lenovo FRU number from the failed fan.
The FRU number is printed on the label. In my case, the FRU part number is 42W2460.
You can find a new or used cooling fan assembly here.
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October 11th, 2012 at 11:13 pm
chris,
Try calling SparePartsWarehouse (google it). They sell genuine Lenovo parts and probably can help you to find the right one.
October 8th, 2012 at 7:45 am
How can I find out which fan part number I need for me T61 model #765912U?
I have tried many IBM and Lenovo 800 numbers without getting anywhere (other than to another 800 number!)
Thanks for the instruction, I look forward to using it soon!!!
September 29th, 2012 at 6:38 pm
I’m adding this as a bookmark right now. It was SO helpful! I love doing things like this on my own and the guide you have assembled has helped me with one more problem that I have.
August 11th, 2012 at 2:39 pm
Thank for this post. Went to computer shop and they said it was $100 to fix. Went back home, took
it apart following instructions and everything works perfectly. Thank you
July 24th, 2012 at 10:24 am
Thank you for the great instructions.When I kept getting “fan error” on my screen yours was first website I happened upon,followed directions to having fan removed but because of my recent job loss do to lay off I ended up disassembling the fan cleaned it out really well used a touch of special lube that i use on my airbrush’s,reassembled everything in reverse of your disassembly instructions plugged it in and “VIOLA” booted right up no more noise and working great! My women is so happy,so thanks again for the great directions,pics and great tips ie.. Taking pics of inside before you start removing components prior to removing fan! Thanks again. Jeff
July 21st, 2012 at 1:17 pm
Just replaced the fan on my T61 following these instructions. Once fan assembly is taken out, removing old fan was non-issue. I had to bend two sides of new fan holder (silver metal plate round fan) to raise the fan over the assembly bed a little, so that it doesn’t hit bottom. Worked out just fine, no more noise and laptop is quite cool.
Thanks so much for detailed picture of every step!
July 11th, 2012 at 7:40 pm
Thank you!
July 9th, 2012 at 2:25 pm
Thank you!
The fan replacement without assembly is a nightmare. You have to bend the copper pins back and forth, and won’t match properly anymore. Blades of the fan can also easily give noise if fan not placed precisely into the copper surrounding. Even though I was careful, it still gives noise sometimes if tension changes on the chassis.
July 3rd, 2012 at 10:10 pm
Is it possible to put a grease to fan rotor (or somewhere there) to cure noise (I mean Lenovo T61 fan noise)?
June 15th, 2012 at 8:37 pm
Just wanted to say thanks for this tutorial. My fan went out, I did a search and found this page. I printed it out for my husband to use to replace the fan and he had no problems whatsoever with following the instructions and getting my laptop running again.
You did a great job with all the detailed pictures showing every screw, etc. Thank you very much!