iFixit

Use a spudger to pry the fan connector out of its seat, and straight up off the logic board.

It is useful to twist the spudger axially from beneath the fan cable wires to release the connector.

The fan socket and the fan connector can be seen in the second and third pictures. Be careful not to break the plastic fan socket off the logic board as you use your spudger to lift the fan connector straight up and out of its socket. The layout of the logic board shown in the second picture may look slightly different than your machine but the fan socket is the same.

Remove the following three screws securing the fan to the upper case:

• One 6.5 mm Phillips.
• One 5.5 mm Phillips.
• One 4.5 mm Phillips.