Comments on: How to replace fan in Lenovo ThinkPad T61

By: louis

louis — Mon, 14 Sep 2015 10:58:09 +0000

Thank you very much for this great repair guide. It worked perfectly for me. Thanks again from Switzerland. louis

By: asanka

asanka — Wed, 20 Aug 2014 05:54:52 +0000

thanks….your data is very use full to me.

By: William

William — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 22:16:32 +0000

This page has also helped me many, many, times and I keep coming back. The company I work for purchased a lot of these in 2008 and retired them in 2012. I have done this about 20+ times and it’s always good to have pictures. We sold them to the employees and every now and then someone will ask me to replace their fan and all I charge is a lunch. Never had any issues or problems. Cheers!

By: Nathan

Nathan — Tue, 24 Jun 2014 20:52:52 +0000

To all who are attempting to try this:

Please be aware that by doing some of these repairs yourself, you might void your warranty. Lenovo may not be so happy that you are doing your own repair job.

Correct methodology for sure, but Lenovo can’t help you if you mess up.

Probably late for a lot of people, but for future reference:

if you hear beeps, write down the numbers (Ex: 4 beeps, pause, 2 beeps = 4-2) and Google them.

If you are getting “fan error” it’s either not turning due to no power or it’s a lemon (or it’s not installed correctly). Try reseating it again.

If you cannot find your number, Google your machine’s first four numbers of the PRODUCT ID (often, for T61, it’s 6480, 6465, 7662, or 7659) and find what fan it is based on that type. Simply saying T61 is not specific enough because there are different models, and what works in one might not work in another.

Hope you got the use out of the article I did! Thanks for the writeup!

By: Harry

Harry — Sun, 08 Jun 2014 15:55:14 +0000

Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge!

Kind Regards from Germany
🙂

By: The Chief

The Chief — Wed, 01 Jan 2014 18:16:41 +0000

Nice job! I use my laptop in the fire and ems field. Mine is an R series and this guide was very useful in repairing my laptop. Great pictures and instructions. I’m no genius and it only took me about 45 minutes to complete! Thanks for the help!

By: Roger Chick

Roger Chick — Mon, 14 Oct 2013 06:06:35 +0000

This is wonderful i am so pleased, my God bless you for this Great guide

By: LM

LM — Sat, 03 Aug 2013 18:35:19 +0000

Good presentation. The sticker is missing from my fan. Can anyone tell me (since it looks like the fan in the photos) if the FRU number is the same or if there were several similar but different models?

By: Kees Torenvliet

Kees Torenvliet — Wed, 26 Jun 2013 02:15:27 +0000

Great article, and very informative pictures! I had previously replaced the fan on my R61, which is very similar to the T61. I obtained a used fan from a local computer store. The fan was very similar, but not totally identical. This was because the replacement fan came from a scrap T61.

I noticed that the T61 fan fit just fine, even though it was just a bit different. I should also note that you might want to use new thermal compound, as I find that the original stuff has usually hardened enough that it would most likely not make good and thorough contact with the chips that need to be cooled.

Also, I should note that the T61 fan uses much more copper in the heat pipes/conductors. The original R61 fan mechanism used aluminum.

I have also restored the operation of a fan on a T40 by judiciously blasting the fan holes on the laptop with compressed air. This was in an automotive shop, so the air was at 120 psi plus.

Thanks again for your writeup.

Kees

By: Manny

Manny — Wed, 29 May 2013 22:21:29 +0000

Good, clear instructions. Thanks! Also, thanks to the folks that commented about repairing, in lieu of replacing, the fan!