Diseased fan

[NewSith]

My cpu fan started coughing. The obvious reason is that the magnets started to graze the edges. So the question is - does it make sense to oil the thing? If yes - what sort of oil is best to use - seedoil, lube or some sort of special greasing designed for the matter?

[Rbstr]

Is it a standard box-type fan or something weird?
If the former, just buy a new one.

I wouldn't use a seed oil because that could go rancid...I'd imagine something teflon or moly disulfide based would be the best idea. I wouldn't use graphite because of the conductivity.

[Ailos]

Components that go inside your PC are typically made either with self-contaning lubrication systems (things like sealed water cooling pumps), with low-friction parts such as PTFE(teflon) washers and bearings (higher quality fans), or simply aren't designed to be lubricated during their lifetime (pretty much everything else).

If your magnet is grazing the edges of the blade bases, lubricating it won't help. Whatever was holding those magnets in place (probably a bearing of some sort) reached the end of its lifetime, so they will keep eating away at the plastic even if you add lube. Plus, any kind of lube that wouldn't present conductivity, dust, or other issues is probably going to cost $10+. That's more than your average 120 mm fan, so just buy a new fan.