Air pump loud buzzing

[Pylor]

I've had a whisper 40 air pump powering a sponge filter in my 29 gallon tank for a little over a year now. I'm unsure of what causes it, but after ~6 months it developed a sometimes-there loud vibration/buzzing noise. If i touch it with my foot or press down on it, it'll stop for 10-30 seconds before it gradually comes back. I had it on carpet in my older apartment, but now it's on laminate. Strangely enough, putting it on ceramic tile seemed to help atleast alleviate the noise. I could always buy a new one, they're cheap, but I'm curious if anyone has any suggestions on how to possibly fix this one.

 

[IllusionX]

They are just made to vibrate.
Have you tried putting a small carpet under or a piece of foam? Or even better, hang it up with an elastic or elastic rope.

 

[Pylor]

I agree that they're designed to vibrate, they need to in order to pump the air. But this "vibration" isn't the normal near silent humming, this is a loud buzzing that sounds like someone shoved an electric razor against the inside of the plastic shell. It didn't matter what the pump was on, it was on very thick, fairly high pile carpet at my apartment and it still made the noise. Like I said, it also goes away for awhile if I hit it or press my foot on top of it.

 

[IllusionX]

They are very simplistic inside. If you are able to open up your, if you are handy enough, you can check out what is loose inside.

With time, things can become loose..