Mounting Front Fan in Antec Sonata III

[RabidEmu]

I recently bought an Antec Sonata III 500 case and would like to mount an extra Antec TriCool 120mm fan in the front(As recommended in the case's little booklet). However I can't seem to fit the screws in the case, the screws are too big to fit in the holes should be mounted. I feel like I'm missing something really obvious, but I can't figure it out. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I could be doing wrong?

Thanks for any help offered.

[JustAnEngineer]

The mounting screws for case fans are usually designed to self-tap their way into the plastic fan bodies.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811993009

I haven't had a lot of luck with the silicone rubbery screws, which are very prone to breaking.

[Steel]

The Sonata III has four long screws that go all the way through the fan to normal threaded holes in the drive cage. If you're using the typical large threaded screws that are meant to dig into the plastic, those are the wrong screws.

[RabidEmu]

But those long screws seem to be just a bit too small and the fan just kind of hangs loosely.

[Steel]

I'm not sure what to tell you, I have the same fan mounted in my Sonata III and it fits fine. Do the screws tighten all the way?

[RabidEmu]

I should have been a bit more clear. The screws fit tightly into the case, but they're a little too small for the fan. So the fan wiggles around a bit.

[Steel]

As long as the screws can tighten snugly against the fan, it should keep it from wiggling around. If the screw head is actually going through the fan's mounting holes, then a washer might help. Other than that, I'm out of ideas. Maybe someone else here with a Sonata III will have a better insight.

[RabidEmu]

Thanks for the help, I guess I'll just have to get creative. I think your washer idea should work. Thanks.

[Neutronbeam]

Squeeze in a little liquid silicone in the screw hole? Fills the gap, steadies the screw, dampens the vibration. And that my friends, is all I got.

[NeXus 6]

I've heard of people using rubber bands or twist ties even though it does look a bit cheesy.

I have the Sonata II and didn't bother with mounting a drive cage fan because I found the case does a good job cooling with just the 120mm rear exhaust fan plus the exhaust fan from the PSU. There's also a problem with long video cards because my GTX260 leaves little space for a fan to be mounted.

The only reason I can see for needing that front cage fan is if you're doing extreme overclocking, running four hard drives or have a video card with just a passive heat sink or one that exhausts heat into the case.

[Sargent Duck]

Maybe someone else here with a Sonata III will have a better insight.

Sorry, my Sythe 120 fits perfectly inside with those 4 long screws.

[FuturePastNow]

Buy some silicone/rubber fan mounts and use those. Those are what Antec's designers had in mind when they made the screw holes too small for screws, and the Sonata/Sonata II provides them. Apparently the Sonata III does not.