PSU fan bearings going bad

I have a PSU whose fan bearings are going bad. Every now and again it produces a loud screeching sound for 5 to 10 minutes, then returns to silent running.

 

I've looked at videos describing how to replace the fan, but am confused. It looks way more complex than I think it ought to be. I suppose the connectors differ from those used on case fans. In my mind, I should just be able to snip the two wires on the current fan (including its connector), snip wires on a spare case fan to get rid of its connector, and solder the old fan's connector to the new fan's wires. Total time: 1 minute.

 

That seems way simpler than desoldering wires from their contacts on both the old and new fan, then soldering the connector from the old fan to the contacts of the new fan. Total time: 10 minutes.

 

Is there some reason for going through all that?

PSUs aren't really designed for end-user servicing.

How old is the PSU? Corsair's PSUs typically have a long warranty. Opening it does, naturally, void that.

Do you know if Corsair offers cross shipment replacements? (i.e. they mail out immediately with a credit card number in case I don't return mine, and I return mine). That way, I'm not without a computer for the two weeks (minimum) it'd take to return, have it repaired, and returned to me.