Here you can see some pictures of my T61 14.1" widescreen fitted with a 9-cell compatible replacement battery.

Same issue on a T61 with the Advanced Mini-Dock. I will try to disable those ports to see if this still happens.

My LCD hinges on a one-year old T61 got loose too, even if I mostly used my thinkpad as a desktop. They now have a "dead-spot" of about 2cm in moving.