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jagaloon

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 2, 2014
31
1
NH
I just got a "new to me" dual cpu 5,1 mac pro tray. Upon inspection it looks like on one side it's been sprayed with silicone or some type of lubricant. It was stated that it was in working condition prior to purchase and of course none of this was visible or evident prior to sale.

It's only on one side and I'm not sure if I should be concerned, or not, or if I can even clean this with 99% iso alcohol, or if it's even worth doing at all? I've got a few other products by a company called Chemtronics that I use to clean PCB's and the like.

If I rub the material/gunk with a Kimtech kimwipe it does come up and leaves the board very shiny leading me to think the seller may have tried to clean it but gave up or perhaps the previous owner did prior to the seller obtaining it? The residue leaves a dry silicone feeling on your hands, for those who have ever worked with an aerosol silicone spray, you will know what I'm referring to.

You can see from the photos where I had cleaned up some of the surface goop. I'm not feeling too confident on this one honestly but I'll venture forwards for science :)

I've not plugged it in yet to test that it works, just trying to see if this is "normal" for the dual cpu boards given their age/use? I know that over time these boards and their contacts can age and look burnt or corroded, that's not the case here, it's just really, really dirty in one location.
 

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jagaloon

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 2, 2014
31
1
NH
Quick update: I pulled the single cpu tray from my 5,1 2010 MP and noticed the same exact substance in the same location.

Can't be a coincidence, I'm still wondering what it could be from.

Attached below are the pics of my single cpu tray. Nothing was ever spilled on or around the unit but it does look odd. I was thinking capacitor leakage but everything runs just fine.

I'll chalk this up to one of the 5,1's little mysteries.
 

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tsialex

Contributor
Jun 13, 2016
13,368
13,531
Apple used solid caps, these don't leak. The oily goo all over the power plane is from the degradation of the thermal pads that connect the power plane to the heatsink/heatsinks.

The problem with the goo is that over time dirty accumulates there and it can even become conducive, you need to clean it and replace the thermal pads. There is a thread here with everything you need to know about the thermal pads.
 
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