Coolermaster fans leaking lubricant

[Lone]

Hi friends.

Anybody ever experienced fans spitting, what seems to be lubricant, while running? I noticed that there is droplets on the rim of the fan and specs of liquid all over my case. I have checked my AIO and that is definitely not leaking and the evidence kinda points directly to the fans. Just wondering if anyone has experienced this and has a fix other than replacing them?

Thanks

 

[Lone]

Whoops forgot to mention the fans in question are not the ones on the AIO.

 

[∀Z‾soʇɐuɐɥ┴]

Have been running CM fans for years (since around 2011) and never had any issues with fans leaking it's juices at all.
What fans are you using exactly?

 

[BLUE-ANGEL]

Yeah something doesn't sound right. Take 1 of the suspicious fans out and put it inside a tupperware and let it run for as long as you need to see if the fan itself is actually leaking. I also never came across a leaking fan.

 

[Cookie]

lol, I have so many questions!

So there is "lubricant" in and around your PC?

 

[BLUE-ANGEL]

lol, I have so many questions!

So there is "lubricant" in and around your PC?

It's probably NOT what you are thinking...

 

[PaladinLaw]

Pc's just so sexy fans couldn't help but get wet all over 😂

On a serious note, I've only ever had this once, when i bought used fans, and the gent i bought them from sprayed what appeared to look like some kind of q20 type liquid in them.

Let them run at 100% (outside my case) for a day or so and they stopped.

Possibly a similar situation?

 

[Cookie]

It's probably NOT what you are thinking...

Well you never know!

 

[Star_22]

What color is the stuff? If it's dark/light green it's most probably from the AIO.

 

[Lone]

So they are these: Cooler Master R4-120R-203C-R1 MasterFan MF120R ARGB 120mm Case Fan - 3 Pack - Wootware

It started the from one of the fans a while back, on the fan there is a bunch of liquid - i pulled the blades away from the central bearing part and it was where I noticed the (again best guess) lubricant. Now a 2nd one has started doing it.

So on the clear part of my case it looks like very small specs of liquid spread all over. Obviously as the fan is spinning its spraying it all over the case....

 

[Lone]

What color is the stuff? If it's dark/light green it's most probably from the AIO.

Clear from what I can tell. The fans on the AIO dont have any signs of it and I have checked all the tubing. Its happening on the three intake fans on the side of the case.

 

[BLUE-ANGEL]

So they are these: Cooler Master R4-120R-203C-R1 MasterFan MF120R ARGB 120mm Case Fan - 3 Pack - Wootware

It started the from one of the fans a while back, on the fan there is a bunch of liquid - i pulled the blades away from the central bearing part and it was where I noticed the (again best guess) lubricant. Now a 2nd one has started doing it.

So on the clear part of my case it looks like very small specs of liquid spread all over. Obviously as the fan is spinning its spraying it all over the case....

That could very much be because of the Rifle bearing. Rifle bearings have a spiral grove that "pumps" the lubricant through for reduced noise and increased life span.

 

[∀Z‾soʇɐuɐɥ┴]

So they are these: Cooler Master R4-120R-203C-R1 MasterFan MF120R ARGB 120mm Case Fan - 3 Pack - Wootware

It started the from one of the fans a while back, on the fan there is a bunch of liquid - i pulled the blades away from the central bearing part and it was where I noticed the (again best guess) lubricant. Now a 2nd one has started doing it.

So on the clear part of my case it looks like very small specs of liquid spread all over. Obviously as the fan is spinning its spraying it all over the case....

Did a quick search around and while these fans use rifle bearings which are lubricated, the chances of them leaking said lubricant is pretty low.
I would suggest you rma them if you bought them recently.
On a plus note, atleast this won't damage your pc.

I am running the MF120L RGB fans which also has rifle bearings, but never had any leakage with these and have been running them since around 2017.

 

[Lone]

Did a quick search around and while these fans use rifle bearings which are lubricated, the chances of them leaking said lubricant is pretty low.
I would suggest you rma them if you bought them recently.
On a plus note, atleast this won't damage your pc.

Thanks for that, yeh I have contacted Wootware to return them. It's just such a mission and have to get new fans while they evaluate so I was seeing if other peeps had experienced this and had a fix. Yeh i didn't think it would damage anything its just annoying to clean.

 

[Lone]

RPM wouldn't cause this right?

 

[BLUE-ANGEL]

RPM wouldn't cause this right?

Nope, hence the lubrication for the shaft to ensure increased lifespan. This can be a factory defect but NOT the rpm's because the fan is designed for the given max rpm it can run.

 

[∀Z‾soʇɐuɐɥ┴]

RPM wouldn't cause this right?

Mine runs at max rpm constantly as it's attached to my radiator, so no, higher rpm won't cause this afaik.
Basically from what I could find, unless you have a dud, your fans shouldn't be leaking.

 

[Lone]

Yeh I agree its probably just a dud.

 

[Ebrahim Ali]

Happened to me with my Zotac 1070. The fans would spray tiny droplets of oil all over the case. After a while stopped and the fans continued to work as normal.

 

[BLUE-ANGEL]

Happened to me with my Zotac 1070. The fans would spray tiny droplets of oil all over the case. After a while stopped and the fans continued to work as normal.

Must've been a hectic scene at that point and time in the game to cause your GPU fans to get that excited. 😜

 

[Lone]

Happened to me with my Zotac 1070. The fans would spray tiny droplets of oil all over the case. After a while stopped and the fans continued to work as normal.

Hmm good to know it stopped, maybe I should give it a while before replacing them. Thanks for that.