T4x housing replacement

[yourself]

Hi All,

I am thinking of replacing the housing on my 14.1 T43 ... got a crack in the palmrest(easy fix 91p8684), but the doozy is the USB port area, the plastic in the middle has broken off, and there is a crack.

Is the replacement of the base cover assembly( 26R8414) a doable replacement?

I'm pretty good with technical assembly and disassembly (engineering type) , so with a simple screw driver and a couple of tips, I might be able to do this?

I don't want to have to send my machine to solectron if I don't have to.

Is there a website or online document available for disassembly of the machine, other than the customer replaceable FRU's?

thanks in advance! any help is appreciated!

[jdhurst]

It is do-able, becuase the base of my T41 was replaced. The base is the chassis, so everything must be removed. Mine was done by my vendor in Toronto (for years and years) and the technician who did it was a careful and skilful worker. No problems afterward.
... JD Hurst

[tomh009]

Is this the base housing you need to replace? That is definitely more complex as you will pretty much need to disassemble the entire T43. I have done the top housings myself on both our X31s, but not the bottom, though I have observed it being done on another ThinkPad.

Sufficient care, no rushing, basic tools and an antistatic environment are really the key ingredients as long as you are comfortable with PC assembly and disassembly.

Very detailed instructions are in the HMM:
ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pccbbs/mo ... 9t2393.pdf

[yourself]

yes, I'm looking at the schematics and it is the base assy that I have to replace. Along with the stickers I'm gonna have to transfer with it... ugh.

you are quite right about the ESD awareness, I will be careful of that, don't wanna fry the motherboard for a stupid reason.

thanks for the link I'm downloading as I type this

[yourself]

UPDATE:

I ordered the housing and palmrest from IBM, got the parts, followed the hardware maintenance manual, skipped a couple of the steps that were not needed for just a housing replacement, and now have a brand new housing with palmrest including the fingerprint reader!

Patience, a phillips screwdriver, flathead screwdriver, and hex screwhead was all that was needed for the housing replacement.

used a hairblower and a knife and tweezers to move the stickers over, although the housing did come with Lenovo stickers, I preferred the IBM one.

thanks to jdhurst and tomh009 for your replies!