There are probably tiny weep holes over the bearings. A drop or two of very light machine oil on each hole is all you need. Let it work its way into the bearing while you rotate the fan by hand.
If it’s humming and gets warm, it’s either clogged with grease or the bearings have seized up.
Give it a good cleaning, spray WD-40 if needed, and if all else fails take it apart and knock out the bearing ring and replace it. Bearings are relatively cheap.
Keep the WD-40 well away from the fan if you want to have any hope of fixing it. WD will attack any remaining lube in the bushings and prevent you from adding new. Someone suggested light oil, do that. You should be able to find "Zoom Spout" turbine oil at most hardware stores, it's an oil for lubricating motors, unlike some other Water Displacement products that like to cosplay as lube. This paragraph brought to you by Water Displacement products, for when you absolutely, positively have to kill an electric motor.
The likelihood of disassembling a small motor like this, replacing the bushings, (which you're going to source...where?) then getting it back together aligned well enough to spin, as a home gamer, is pretty close to nil. Sorry, that's just how it is. I've rebuilt larger motors successfully, but the little ones just aren't made to be worked on.
Your best bet is to try to source and replace the motor or just bite the bullet and replace the unit. Get it at Menard's if you can, at least you'll get some store credit for other stuff, provided you remember to send in the rebate.
That's the part number for the motor kit, but are there part numbers for sub components? If so, open up the motor and figure out what the problem is. Could be a worn out bearing. If you can replace just that, it'll save you.
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rdcpro t1_iupmnug wrote
There are probably tiny weep holes over the bearings. A drop or two of very light machine oil on each hole is all you need. Let it work its way into the bearing while you rotate the fan by hand.
I've resurrected a number of fans this way.