Thinkpad T21 overhaul (warning: 12 photos)

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berlin · #1 Post by **berlin** » Tue May 22, 2007 1:40 am

my 7 year old T21 needed some repair: palm rest is broken, lcd lid has marks and scratches all over, and the lcd died. So I purchased parts from ebay: Keyboard ($10.58 ), Lcd Lid ($12.99), Screws ($8.00), Palm Rest ($22.90)

T21 800MHZ / 256MB /40GB /// parts from eBay

cleaning the keyboard from ebay /// disassembling the laptop (top broke from handling the laptop the wrong way)

cleaning heatsink assembly /// applying heat compound (I noticed the quality...newer thinkpads now have cheapo parts)

removal of lcd bezel, brackets, locks for transfer to new cover /// ...thought the problem was the inverter but it was the worn out flat lcd cables, parts scavenged from old lcd.

...lcd now working /// ...took me a while to figure out where one tiny part go (circled below)

Spray painted bottom network card and ram cover /// T21 now looking new after 3 hours.

#2 Post by **ryengineer** » Tue May 22, 2007 2:01 am

Wow. Great job, well done.

#3 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Tue May 22, 2007 2:07 am

As they say: there's some life left in the old dog yet!
Nice one!

Purcy · #4 Post by **Purcy** » Tue May 22, 2007 6:04 am

Fantastic job, you did a nice job too of detailing your work in photos. Enjoy your new beauty.

Stargate199 · #5 Post by **Stargate199** » Tue May 22, 2007 6:44 am

I did some refurbishing to my T21 too a few months ago. I could stand to have a new (or like new) keyboard and a new inverter, but it works right now and I'm not complaining.

dsigma6 · #6 Post by **dsigma6** » Tue May 22, 2007 7:56 am

Good work! I have a metal piece like the one you circled partially sticking out the back of my T23.

agarza · #7 Post by **agarza** » Tue May 22, 2007 11:07 am

WOW! Great job you did out there. Congratulations.

WarMachine · #8 Post by **WarMachine** » Tue May 22, 2007 1:25 pm

Well done !!!

Almost like new ! Nice pics !

I sprayed too the back of my 560. It can transform your machine !

W.

#9 Post by **gator** » Tue May 22, 2007 1:48 pm

Fabulous Job, great photos. Thanks for sharing this with us.

#10 Post by **AlphaKilo470** » Tue May 22, 2007 3:59 pm

Great job, that T21 looks fantastic! I'm sure that thing now has many more years of useful life left in it. Actually, reminds me of a similar project I once did with a 760ED a few years ago.

My A21p could go for an overhaul. The lid has scuffs but that's not the big issue. The lid really needs to be replaced because it's warping inward so the center of the screen is closer to the keyboard when closed than the edges. There also lots of scratches on the wrist pad and the keys are shiny enough to double as mirrors.

I recently cleaned the heatsink and applied new thermal compound (Arctic Alumina) and I used an air compressor to get all the dust out.

Dark Savant0 · #11 Post by **Dark Savant0** » Tue May 22, 2007 4:35 pm

What brand and model spray paint did you use?

wogeboy · #12 Post by **wogeboy** » Tue May 22, 2007 8:51 pm

Excellent Job. The paint is a near perfect match---well done

clickpoint · #13 Post by **clickpoint** » Tue May 22, 2007 10:32 pm

yes, i'd be interested in what paint u used!!
BTW .. what was wrong with the LCD?? Just dim?

berlin · #14 Post by **berlin** » Wed May 23, 2007 2:57 pm

Thanks!

From Lowe's Home Improvement $2.50 2 - 3 light coating max, anything more will turn it glossy

The orig paint peeled off from the heat. So I almost tried the BBQ grill paint from Sears, but they ran out of flat black. The strong paint odor will go away after a few days. The lcd was dim, you couldn't see anything.

clickpoint · #15 Post by **clickpoint** » Wed May 23, 2007 3:03 pm

berlin wrote:Thanks!

From Lowe's Home Improvement $2.50 2 - 3 light coating max, anything more will turn it glossy

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v686/ ... 8af8a7.jpg

The orig paint peeled off from the heat. So I almost tried the BBQ grill paint from Sears, but they ran out of flat black. The strong paint odor will go away after a few days. The lcd was dim, you couldn't see anything.

I might have to try swapping out the cable on mine before I try to change the backlight!! Thanks!

00111100 · #16 Post by **00111100** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 9:54 pm

Very, very nice. Your attention to detail is excellent. Another example of T-series longevity and owner iingenuity. Looks like a keeper. Do you have any other plans for it?

Jan_Hoho · #17 Post by **Jan_Hoho** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 11:45 pm

Really good job, thanks for sharing. This makes me want to get a 600 to practice repairing and overhauling.

#18 Post by **AlphaKilo470** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 1:13 am

While this doesn't leave my T20 looking too different cosmetically, I gave it an overhaul recently. I replaced the 6gb Travelstar 4200rpm hard drive with a 40gb Travelstar 5k80 5400rpm hard drive and the 13" XGA screen with a 14" XGA screen which also required new screen bezel and cable. I also cleaned out the inside thoroughly and replaced many of the old screws which had somehow got rust on them. I also have an 800mhz CPU on it's way in the mail to replace the 650mhz CPU currently installed.

The plastics, despite visible wear, still look pretty good on the T20. However, since there is a screw thread broken off and missing from inside the wrist pad, that part might be replaced soon though I've found it hasn't had much impact on structural integrity.

Also, on a side note, when I took the T20 apart, I noticed the underside of the heat sink/fan assembly was polished and very shiny (mirror-like) and a different metal than the rest of the heat sink. I've never seen this on any of the T series laptops I've owned in the past which were all T21s. Another thing I've noticed is that my T20 is heavier than the T21s owned by two friends of mine, even when all units have optical drive, battery, etc removed.

berlin · #19 Post by **berlin** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 12:38 pm

let us know if your new cpu worked. do you plan to sell it?

#20 Post by **Harryc** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 1:06 pm

berlin wrote:let us know if your new cpu worked. do you plan to sell it?

I already called dibs on AlphaKilo470's T20 if he ever decides to sell it. It has sentimental value to me...long story

.

#21 Post by **AlphaKilo470** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 1:25 pm

The 800mhz CPU works just fine and renders a noticable improvement in performance over the old 650mhz CPU. Also, oddly enough, the 800mhz CPU runs cooler in my system than the old 650 did.

awdark · #22 Post by **awdark** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 11:49 am

Might be strange for me to add, but if you want internal wifi on a T20... (Might have a 21 or 22 mobo but its not a 23) The mini pci cards DO work. Right now I have an Atheros card in mine and I have no idea how do use the supposed 108... but hey it works and im happy.

-_-" yeah my internal network doesnt work but my onboard minipci nic was damaged anyways... it used to give that flash error of some sort, then it gave a funny 4 beeps on every startup was uberly annoying so I had yanked it out.

maxinflixion · #23 Post by **maxinflixion** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 11:57 am

Very nice work here. My new (old) T22 is about to get a similar overhaul.

How difficult is it to remove the LCD lid? Mine is all types of mucked up, and I would like to paint it.

**edit** I just took my LCD apart real quick just to see how difficult of a job this would be.

I will NOT be risking a full tear down of this machine JUST to paint that LCD lid. I will pick up a schticker to cover it up... Besides teh flecible nature of the Thinkpad lide material leads me to believe that paint would crack.

Toe · #24 Post by **Toe** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 1:44 pm

Very Impressive!

furiousmonkey · #25 Post by **furiousmonkey** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 4:10 pm

I just replaced the bottom of my T21 800Mhz with a T23 1.13Ghz Board. My T21 had the power on issue, and so I picked up a T23 motherboard and CPU from ebay for about $135 after shipping and handling. I only had one issue attaching it to the upper part of my T21, the left side keyboard does not line up with the T23 motherboard, so I took a pair of cutters and cut down the plastic assembly on the T23 side and it works awesome!

I will send pictures when I have time!

Elias · #26 Post by **Elias** » Sat Jul 07, 2007 4:26 pm

Were you able to do anything about the crack in the right side by the CD drive? I've got the same crack on both the left and right where the plastic gets thin.

I tried to epoxy it last time I had the thing ripped apart, but that didnt hold at all.

gearguy · #27 Post by **gearguy** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 5:03 pm

Yeah... that crap that peels off the panels on the back is piss butt annoying...

You'd think after creating such a robust machine they would have had the good sense to actually just coat the metal panels in some form of plastic rather than juse use that thin rubbery paint they used.

Elias wrote:Were you able to do anything about the crack in the right side by the CD drive? I've got the same crack on both the left and right where the plastic gets thin.

I tried to epoxy it last time I had the thing ripped apart, but that didnt hold at all.

I would actually try melting it back together from the inside with a soldering iron then maybe filling whats left of the crack on the outside with epoxy?

Just don't breath in the fumes from the hot plastic

Thinkpad T21 overhaul (warning: 12 photos)

Thinkpad T21 overhaul (warning: 12 photos)

t21 overhauled to a t23

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