WD Spider with Slight Filter Discoloration

[Jared]

What do you guys think... I've got a 500GB WD SPider family drive model WD5000AACS-00ZUB0. It clicks, somewhat randomly (not a real steady click) and eventually spins down. Inside the platters look good from what I can see, the heads all look fine (even took them out and inspected). However I notice a slightest bit of discoloration toward the bottom of the air filter. So I'm thinking that possibly there's some slight scratching on the bottom side of the bottom platter.

What do you guys think, worth an attempt at headswap or lost cause?

 

[pclab]

In these cases, I advise the client of the problem, and if he wants me to continue and no success, he have to pay the parts.

 

[LarrySabo]

I would think air turbulence in the channel that leads to the filter would mean the bits could have come from any platter, if that's what's in there. It would be interesting to cut it open and examine the interior of the filter under a microscope. Did you examine the heads under a microscope?

Like pclab, I leave it up to the customer, and they pay for parts, whatever the outcome.

 

[Jared]

Yeah, that's actually the approach I already took. I told him I'm not optimistic about it, but he wants to try anyway. There is quite a bit of space between the platters, so I could inspect all but the underside of the bottom one.

I haven't checked the heads under the microscope yet, but that may be revealing.

 

[hddguy]

Most modern WD drives (but maybe not all) do not have a concentric alignment and its possible to remove platters individually without affecting issues such as alignment - practice against a non important but fully operational dummy drive to check it

 

[Jared]

I always assumed that was the case, as I know they all have servo data on them. I've just never been brave enough to try on a client drive, and finding time to test on other drives is tight.

 

[LarrySabo]

I recently had a drive whose filter contents looked darker in the bottom half but inspecting one from a known-good drive showed that it was perfectly normal. I'd be concerned about the platters being replaced off-centre if I removed platters just to check for contamination/damage. I don''t know how much free play there is between the hub and platter holes, nor how much is tolerable.