T40 LCD Replacement Questions

[westpost]

I have a T40 (2374-9CU) with a broken SXGA+ LCD. It was damaged by someone told not to touch it, who nevertheless tried to close the top without realizing that there was a screwdriver in the way. That cracked the screen. I bought a factory new replacement LCD off ebay. It says FRU PN 11P8348, IBM PN 93P5570, Samsung PN LTN141P4-L02. Hopefully that's the right part.

According to the Hardware Maintenance Manual, to replace the LCD I have to first remove all lots of other components, including the hard drive, keyboard, palm rest, mini PCI adapter, keyboard bezel, and bluetooth card.

After searching this forum high and low, I have the following questions.

1. Is it really necessary to first remove all those parts? Are there any shortcuts? I want to do this the right way, but taking apart half the machine seems like overkill.

2. What tools exactly will I need? For example, is there a special screwdriver for tamper resistant torx bits? What size screwdrivers?

3. My wifi card has not been working since my computer was damaged. Maybe that was related. It simply will not power on. I suppose I will try to re-seat it once I get inside. If I cannot get it to work, is that part easy to replace, and if so, what is the best replacement part? My T40 came I think with the standard Intel a/b wifi module. It was always a little flaky in my opinion. Is there a newer one that supports g and/or n?

Thanks in advance for any advice. I really appreciate it.

[Brad]

Welcome to the forum!

Sorry to hear of your cracked screen.

I have replaced the LCD without removing anything in the lower part of the ThinkPad and have seen onsite technicians do the same.

A #00 philips screwdriver and something flat to remove the screw covers is all that is required. I use an exacto knife to gently remove the screw covers. I have seen them removed with a flat screwdriver. I would suggest careful removal if you need to reuse them.

There are wireless antennas in the LCD assembly. I don't see how this would be affected by the cracked LCD. The wifi card is a MiniPCI card located under the front palmrest. Just a few screws on the bottom should allow access.

To be sure please check the hardware maintenance manual for your ThinkPad. I would have another computer open to the manual as you are working. If this is not possible print out what you need before hand.

Brad

[frgtn]

I have replaced the LCD without removing anything in the lower part of the ThinkPad and have seen onsite technicians do the same.

Can you explain a bit more how did u manage to do that? I haven't figured out a way to disconnect the video cable without removing the panel above the keyboard. And to remove that one palmrest had to go since some screws for topmost panel were under it.

As for the wifi card, check if it's firmly plugged into the socket and both Main and Auxilary antennas are properly connected to the card. If you're gonna buy a new one i've seen a lot of people on the forum using Atheros a/b/g card. I was considering buying it as well since i've got Intel a/b card as well.

[aaa]

Can you explain a bit more how did u manage to do that? I haven't figured out a way to disconnect the video cable without removing the panel above the keyboard. And to remove that one palmrest had to go since some screws for topmost panel were under it.

There are no screws on the top side. They are all on the bottom. The upper panel has a teeny plastic tab that goes under the palmrest, but I don't think you need to remove the palmrest to get it out. Most likely have to remove the keyboard first though.

In any case, you probably need to remove the palmrest anyways to get to the wireless card.

[richk]

I have taken many apart, and I replace the panel by just removing the LCD bezel. At that point, you can remove the screws that hold the hinges to the lid. You can then get enough space to unscrew the panel from the hinges one side at a time and disconnect the cable from the back of the panel. Having said all that, taking it apart in the order in the manual, gives you more steps, but the steps are easier if you are not sure how everything fits. If the wireless was damaged at the same time, I'm guessing that you damaged the antenna in the LCD lid. You will see this when you get the lid apart.

[westpost]

The wifi problem seems to have been a software issue. So now I just have to do the LCD replacement.