Derf; I had thought about that, but no way to gently get the thing apart! When I got the used one I see the newer one was made in 2015 by the same company that made the old one- Pierburg. The old one was made in 2001. All the numbers were the same except the date, so at least it was made by the same company. I may still work on that newer one to see if I can get at it enough to see what it failed.
I have lubricated a ton of those computer fans, and just like you describe. I kept a lot of them going that way.
I'm with you on those Dirt Devils, too! Wow! Oreck must have used the same motor! You know what? I have an old little vacuum exactly like those hand held Dirt Devils that was made by Montgomery Ward! It was my Grandfather's. I'm 81 so you can see that was a long time ago. Also knowing MW went by the way side years ago adds to its 'oldness'. :-) That thing runs amazingly quiet. It had sort of a light green color and had a nice long cord on it. Of course it used the same belts and bag. Any similarity between that and the Dirt Devil excludes the sound!

A the pea soup green of the 50s.appliances

I saw that reply and was trying to figure that out- "What in the world is he talking about, pea soup green? Then I finally figured out you were describing the color of that little vacuum. That says it pretty good. ha.
Tell you what I think happened to the newer air pump. I think the squirrel cage came loose from the motor shaft. I can reach in the front and move the center of it around in a circle and now that I hacked the other end off, I can tell it does not move the motor's shaft. The front part also rattles. Right now I don't know if it broke or what, but that seems to be the case. I put the "pulled one" I got from eBay on and I can't even hear it run. That's a good 'sound'. :-)