T43 LCD cover

[garysblim]

Hi:

Does anyone how to replace the LCD cover? (easy?) Mine is some scratches and a small crack near the hinge. It's a 14" btw. Also, does anyone where I can buy one?

Thanks,

Gary

[Johan]

Gary:

First, to do this you will need the "Hardware Maintenance Manual" - links to where it can be downloaded can be found in this post. Also, see the thread: Screen inverter replacement. Fixing laptop backlight problem (which shows how to take apart a T42 LCD). Part numbers can be founds via 14.1" LCD service parts - ThinkPad T40/p, T41/p, T42/p or 14.1 inch LCD service parts - ThinkPad T43/p - the part you need is 13R2569 "LCD Cover kit" which can either be found at eBay or bought via IBM Maintenance Parts. Also, you may try put up a "WTB" (Want To Buy) advertisement at the Marketplace on this forum.

PS: See the advice by Robbyrobot in this post.

Johan

[garysblim]

Thanks! It looks like it's quite involved. I thought I could get away from disassembling the whole LCD unit. Bummer. But thanks though. It's a good reference.

Gary

[VFR_firefly]

You can probably find a complete LCD assembly for the same price or even less than most LCD parts sold seperately. It's not really a hard job to swap the entire assembly. If you take your time it will take about 2 hours for a moderately mechanical person for the first time. For someone with some experience it's a 20 minute job. I usually spend more time setting up and cleaning up my workstation after I'm done when doing a small job like this.

I agree that pulling apart the LCD assembly is a lot of work. It is probably the most difficult and time-consuming job on the T4x series. I'd rather pull the motherboard and replace it than open up the LCD. Not only that, but some of the LCD screen parts are glued together with double-sided tape which makes it hard to get it all apart. Once you have it apart there is the issue of trying to tuck all those darn antenna wires back in and getting all that mess to fit inside. The screen, outside of the protective frame is also easily damaged if you don't know what you are doing. I avoid taking screens apart.

Because of the GPU issue there are a lot of "dead" T4x's out there cheap. Right now there is one for about $12 on ebay with $15 shipping. I'd buy something like that and just swap the entire screen if I had a bad one. I find that there really never is a need to pull apart the screen except to add a bluetooth antenna to those T40's and T41's that didn't come with them when you want to add a bluetooth card (cheap off of ebay too).

[garysblim]

Thanks Jim. That's my feeling too. I think I'm out to pick up a couple of good LCDs at the evil-bay!

[norma023]

was kinda thinking on if you sent me all the parts, I'd offer to do all the repairs for you and send it back.

But after reading that above message, that reminds me what I hated most on the T4x line (from a repair standpoint) and that was tearing apart the LCD panels. So yeah, I'll also recommend getting a complete LCD assembly from ebay and just swap that part out, much easier. Or send all that to me and I'll swap it out for you and send it back.

[underclocker]

Gary-

It's possible to swap the cover without removing the assembly from the base. I've done at least couple of cover swaps in my time. However, there are several screws to keep track of and it does take a little dexterity to properly seat the LCD/ThinkLight cable and antennas.

I'd say go for it. My best advice is to take it slow and take pictures right after you remove the LCD bezel. That way you can see how all the cables are routed. Very important if you want the bezel to fit flush, as it started.

Basically, this is what has to happen;

-remove battery and ac adapter power
-remove all screw covers and screws to remove bezel
-remove bezel
-TAKE PICTURES!
-remove inverter screw and top right hand corner screw
-carefully angle the display to about 75 degrees (toward keyboard)
-unroute antenna wires and begin to remove the cover from the bottom first
-work the top antenna connector loose from the cover and the ThinkLight (it pops out)

I think that's about it, the cover should be free. Then you have to reverse everything - refer to the pictures, it's really hard to remember the antenna routing - if you make a mistake the bezel will not fit on properly and you might pinch an antenna cable.

If the new lid you picked up doesn't have the LCD latches, you'll have to swap them in, don't use too much pressure, they are thin plastic.

Final tip, if the LCD bezel hasn't been removed before, you'll need to separate the 2 - 4 pieces of double sided tape that hold it to the LCD. I use an X-Acto knife or just my fingers, by pulling, but be careful, with the knife it is easy to slip and slash the LCD or your other hand (or both). That is never any fun.

OK, really the final tip, while the cover is off, take the time to tighten all the LCD screws to the hinge brackets - they all loosen over time, some actually fall out. What do you expect after opening and closing the LCD cover thousands of times?!

(Worst case scenario is that in a fit of frustration you freak out and destroy the entire machine. Luckily, working T4x's are now below $200!!!)

I think I made it sound worse than it is, changing an X22 LCD latch is worse and far less satisfying. Avoid that at all costs.

[garysblim]

Thank you all! I bought a the back cover for 6 bucks shipped... So, that can be an interesting project if I have time.

I also see this complete assembly at evil-bay at very good condition for 65 bucks. One catch is that it doesn't have bluetooth which my T43 does. The seller offers to give me the "cable" for the bluetooth. Is it an easy job to swap the bluetooh from my current screen over? Or should I continue my search?

Thanks so much!

[VFR_firefly]

Thank you all! I bought a the back cover for 6 bucks shipped... So, that can be an interesting project if I have time.

I also see this complete assembly at evil-bay at very good condition for 65 bucks. One catch is that it doesn't have bluetooth which my T43 does. The seller offers to give me the "cable" for the bluetooth. Is it an easy job to swap the bluetooh from my current screen over? Or should I continue my search?

Thanks so much!

Is this an April Fool's joke?

[garysblim]

Which part? 6 bucks shipped for the back cover? Ok. it's actually 6.90 shipped. Supposed to be in decent shape. I'll find out when I get it. But for this price, I can't say no.

[VFR_firefly]

Putting the bluetooth antenna in is going to be almost as difficult as swapping the back cover. If you buy a replacement LCD unit and have bluetooth you should buy an LCD screen that is bluetooth ready or you aren't saving yourself any work.

[garysblim]

Thanks Jim. I guess my hunt will continue.

[Brad]

Which screen resolution were you considering for your T43 LCD assembly?

Brad

[VFR_firefly]

I see now that I missed that. He might have a bit of trouble finding one in his price range. Might as well bite the bullet and pull the LCD apart. It's a pain, but it can be done. Like it was said, take some pictures with your digital camera so you can get all those myriad of antenna wires tucked back in. Be careful with the little black sticker barstages so you can stick 'em back on. I lift them off with a fine knife blade and stick them to the side of a pill bottle (which I use as parts bottles too) . It helps to clean the bottle first with some alcohol so you don't get the adhesive all greasy. When you are done just lift them back off with your knife and place them over the screws in the correct orientation. If you are careful they should stick OK and stay there. The older the machine, the goeyer they seem to be. The older thinkpads used to have these monstrosities all over the place but it seems the newer thinkpads use them less. I hates them... Maybe that's why I dislike taking apart the LCD so much

[garysblim]

Thanks Jim for your advise. I probably will do it in the Summer when I get some time to sit down and play around.

Hey Brad, I really don't have any idea what screen resolution... Ideally, I guess I'll get a sxga but will settle with xga if the price is right.

[Brad]

Hey Gary,

If you like your T42's LCD then the harder to find and thus more expensive SXGA+ would probably be what you would look for.

Brad

[garysblim]

Yeah, Brad, I realize it's quite difficult to get a sxga esp. with bluetooth. That's why I will settle with xga with bluetooth if I see one in good shape...

[VFR_firefly]

I find pill bottles are the easiest way to keep parts separated. If you print out the manual pages you need you can put them into a binder or staple them together into a book. Do a little ahead reading and research the procedure you need to do. Write down the FRU replacement numbers into a list in the order you need to take things apart and then label a bottle for each FRU number. Put those screws or whatever small parts inside that bottle. I have some of those little "tab flags" for marking a textbook that are colored on the end and are sticky on the other. Sort of like mini post-it notes for books. I write the FRU on the sticky tab and then put it on the pill bottle. If there are any larger parts I'll flag them with a tab too with the FRU number on it. This way I know what is what when I go to put it all back together. On a machine that I've done before it's not as important but the first few times I take apart a laptop that I'm not familiar with I do this. It really saves more time than it takes because it takes the guesswork out of it. The Thinkpad manual is a no-brainer as it guides you step-by-step, screw-by-screw and if you can follow a comic book you can do the work they are showing you.

I used to use a muffin tin for this and sometimes still will but you never know when you are going to get stuck in the middle and need a part that will take a few days to get, or need to stop for other reasons. With the pill bottles you can just pack it all away into a box and put it on the shelf and nothing will get lost. Even if it is days or weeks later with the labels on the bottles and the larger parts will save you by showing you what goes with what.

Check off the list as you put things back together so you know what to do next and work backwards until it's all back together and so you don't miss anything.

When I'm combining parts machines into one good unit I'll color-code these parts so I don't get the parts too mixed up and I also mark the parts I know are bad so I don't put them back into the good machine! There is nothing like the feeling of power you get when you make something that was dead run again. It's almost like playing god.

[garysblim]

Wonderful tips, Jim! Thanks! I think I have some pill bottles sitting around. Yeah, I agree it's best to print the manual out and read it before starting (I made enough mistakes in the past fixing stuff without reading ahead... ).