XFX GeForce 9600GT graphic card very loud

I have a problem with my graphic card (XFX GeForce 9600GT), the fan on it spins faster and then slower in intervals, and I don't know if it's dust that;s causing the problem, because the fan was never cleaned, and it's already over 7,5 years old. I worry that if I remove it I might break it, so your advice would be appreciated. Should I even bother with the fan? I already removed the metalic cover and the avg temperature is 4-5 degrees lower now, but it's as loud as it was before.

Can you remove the fan, without removing the heat sink?
If you can, after removing the fan, clean all with a small paint brush

Megahertz07 said:

Can you remove the fan, without removing the heat sink?
If you can, after removing the fan, clean all with a small paint brush

I think there are 3 screws under the blades. I don't know how to reach them.
Here they can be seen on the picture:
http://static.nix.ru/autocatalog/xfx...2245_draft.jpg

I don't know if I need to remove the entire hat sink before removing the fan. I did remove the metallic cover, but those screws, I simply can't reach them there's not enough space between the blades and they're curved so I guess I'd need to remove the heat sink too.