How common is this crack in T2x systems *PICS*

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#1 Post by **rkawakami** » Thu May 03, 2007 6:13 pm

I have noticed several T23s floating through eBay recently with the identical crack in at least two of my own T23 systems:

I'm wondering how common this is and exactly how these cracks have occurred. Since I picked my systems up from eBay I have no idea what has caused the bezels to crack in the same manner. Damage caused when removing the hard drive? Over-torquing the hard drive security screw? System dropped on that corner (front left)? If you know exactly how your system was damage in this area I'd be grateful if you share the information. Thanks!

#2 Post by **AlphaKilo470** » Thu May 03, 2007 6:17 pm

I've never seen a crack in that spot before but I'm guessing if you put just enough pressure on the side of the computer, the crack will form as a result of the weak point creaked from the hard drive opening being stressed.

Website · #3 Post by **tfflivemb2** » Thu May 03, 2007 6:38 pm

My T21 has a crack on the other side, quite similar to this one...

I will upload a picture later, since I have to go back to work shortly...

#4 Post by **JaneL** » Thu May 03, 2007 9:16 pm

Yes, and it just broke. It's a weak spot.

x3ss · #5 Post by **x3ss** » Thu May 03, 2007 10:49 pm

i hve a similar crack in the same spot.
it was a small crack exactly on the corner but streched out to the hole for the lid lock after a few hard drive removals and lid open/close cycles.
another crack that i have on my keyboard bezel is on the same side but ner the Esc key.
a friend of mine has a crack near the right arrow key where the thin plastic of the bezel joins the palmrest.

i belive that these cracks appear because some screws are tighter than others and this creates pressure points along the bezel [it being the only plastic main piece in a titanium alloy sandwich]
i've also found that opening the lid puts imense pressure on the whole case, specially on the plastic bezel.

bye for now, gotta go to work

aMadUrchin · #6 Post by **aMadUrchin** » Thu May 03, 2007 11:12 pm

I have the same crack, smaller tho

#7 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Fri May 04, 2007 12:15 am

One locally bought T23, and one T23 off eBay both had the same crack. The eBay one also had a crack near the 'Cursor Right'.
The front left corner cracks both occurred well before I got them (deducted from the 'dirt' in the cracks), so I don't know why or how.

I bought a brand new bezel for my own T23, and put my 'old' bezel (without any cracks) on the eBay T23, then sold it.
The crack in the 'local' T23 I repaired with 'LockTite' and it's still holding after 8 months. (I know because I sold it to a friend of mine).
The secret must be lying in over-torqueing the screw that holds the bezel near that corner.

icebag · #8 Post by **icebag** » Fri May 04, 2007 2:49 am

I have just bought a T20 and a T21 off eBay. Same 'feature' on each of them. (But they were very cheap.)

Cuda · #9 Post by **Cuda** » Fri May 04, 2007 8:44 am

No crack on mine....Knocks on wood

danage · #10 Post by **danage** » Fri May 04, 2007 9:33 am

you can probably strengthen the area with 2-component-glue from underneath and prevent this from happening.

x3ss · #11 Post by **x3ss** » Fri May 04, 2007 11:20 am

yes you can strengthen one area but that will only move the weak point to the next area and you will end up at some point with a 2-component-glue bezel

another minus to this glue is that it makes the glued point verry stiff and may cause cracks near the glued point.

TomKroscavage · #12 Post by **TomKroscavage** » Fri May 04, 2007 3:02 pm

My crack is above the mic

#13 Post by **rkawakami** » Fri May 04, 2007 5:38 pm

As far as I know, the crack in the keyboard bezel next to the microphone or "right arrow" key is normally due to a broken Ultrabay mounting tab. This is the piece that extends from the side of the guide rail to the back of the base and is secured by the topmost screw in that corner. Both this side and the opposite one (above the PCMCIA eject buttons) tend to crack when the lid hinges are tight.

As I'm typing on a system which has this crack, it seems as though the weight of my left wrist is pushing down exactly on this spot. Maybe a hard drive security screw would strengthen this corner (almost all of my T2x systems don't have one)? Cuda, does your system have such a screw?

Cuda · #14 Post by **Cuda** » Fri May 04, 2007 8:31 pm

rkawakami wrote:Maybe a hard drive security screw would strengthen this corner (almost all of my T2x systems don't have one)? Cuda, does your system have such a screw?

The only screw mine has is on the underside and needs to be removed to get the hard drive out, is this what your talking about?

I didn't notice till just now but my T-23 does have the other crack, and it's on both sides.

#15 Post by **rkawakami** » Fri May 04, 2007 8:42 pm

Yes, that's the screw I'm talking about. It's what's holding the hard drive in the bay. Most of the systems that I got came without that screw; only about four or five had them. I'm wondering if the lack of that screw causes the bezel and hard drive to be forced down somewhat when resting the left hand/wrist on the system.

clayton.bigsby · #16 Post by **clayton.bigsby** » Sat May 05, 2007 3:57 pm

The original bezel on my T21 had cracked both at the lower left corner and by the right arrow key/mic. I ordered 3 extra bezels, along with the hinge covers, as backup. One of the 3 bezel is new. The other two bezels were used with one of them having the same crack on the lower left corner.

The tab on my ultrabay cover is broken. Looking at the broken part and where it broke, the tight and tiny bend radius along with the thickness (or lack of) of the aluminum part was really just asking for fatigue failure due to the opening and closing of the LCD lid. Once the tab breaks away free, the stress then gets transfered to the hinge cover and the keyboard bezel.

I don't know what causes the bezel to crack on the lower corner, but the sharp bend on the side also looks like another stress concentrator and would seem to be where the crack would always start from.

Cuda · #17 Post by **Cuda** » Sun May 06, 2007 4:41 pm

How hard is it to get the Bezel off? I might try to repair mine where it is cracked at the keyboard.

joester · #18 Post by **joester** » Sun May 06, 2007 4:59 pm

I have a slightly different crack on my T21 that has popped up in the last few months... To the right of the PIII/WIN98 stickers, I have a spider crack centered over the RAM access door screw. NO, I don't put pressure on that part. Being a 5-finger peek and poke typist, my palms hover over that part of the laptop and rarely touch the laptop itself.
It looks to me as though the RAM screw is a touch too long...
But I know it's not.
Joe

#19 Post by **rkawakami** » Sun May 06, 2007 5:29 pm

@Cuda: The Hardware Maintenance Manual for the T2x has the directions to take off the keyboard bezel. Pull the hard drive and battery. One screw in the bottom and two under the MiniPCI panel (holding the ethernet card) will allow you to remove the keyboard. Then three screws along the bottom front edge and the three along the back (corners and near docking port). Also you will need to remove the screw holding the CMOS (backup) battery.. You can leave it connected if you don't want to bother with resetting the date and time.

@joester: Don't know how that crack got there unless you have a (heavy) pet that likes to sit/stand on your system. I keep finding one of my cats sleeping on the keyboard if I don't partially close the lid.

edit: Corrected "Cuda" mispelling

Rick the Green · #20 Post by **Rick the Green** » Sun May 06, 2007 6:44 pm

No crack on mine and i have the HD locking screw

Rick

TonyJZX · #21 Post by **TonyJZX** » Sun May 06, 2007 11:57 pm

Cuda wrote:

I have lost the HDD retention screw out of both my Ts...

Not big deal as the friction fit is enough.

Btw. I also have the crack as seen above.

How does one affect a repair? I don't wanna buy a case... I just wanna screw or glue it down somehow???

nikki605 · #22 Post by **nikki605** » Mon May 07, 2007 8:02 am

My 6 year old T21, bought new in 2001, does not have any cracks.

(Another knock on wood)

#23 Post by **JaneL** » Mon May 07, 2007 8:19 am

TonyJZX wrote:Btw. I also have the crack as seen above.

Yeah, my T23 had that one, too.

TonyJZX · #24 Post by **TonyJZX** » Mon May 07, 2007 9:12 am

The T23 I have doesn't have any cracks because it's lighter.

The first time I compared a 23 to a T21 the 23 felt cheap as it did seem a fair bit less substantial.

But light = good

less stress on the case.

dsigma6 · #25 Post by **dsigma6** » Mon May 07, 2007 12:59 pm

I've never had a HD screw in my T23's. I take the HD's out semi-frequently, so it got annoying after a while. No cracks here..

Most cracks I've seen are from dissembling and prying at pieces, not realizing there was one screw still in place.

joester · #26 Post by **joester** » Wed May 09, 2007 5:26 pm

Crack was formed by something pushing up from the inside of the PC.

#27 Post by **AlphaKilo470** » Wed May 09, 2007 5:57 pm

Cuda: The ThinkPad T21 I had for a short time last year had the same crack as the one in your keyboard bezel above the UltraBay.

AbsoluteRaleigh · #28 Post by **AbsoluteRaleigh** » Thu May 10, 2007 8:49 pm

The crack! It is more common on the 23s than the 21/21/22s. I’ve seen a few thousand off lease T23s and a good fraction of them had the crack- I’d say 35% of them had it but they were thoroughly used machines...

When the T23s are exported out of the US in qty, some people in other countries actually melt it back into place!

#29 Post by **rkawakami** » Thu May 10, 2007 9:12 pm

Hey Len! Good to see you back here!

I hope you're not going to enter your numbers in the poll

.

WarMachine · #30 Post by **WarMachine** » Tue May 15, 2007 3:13 pm

Hello !

I also have a little crack on the bezel, but not as big as yours.

As it's not a new machine, I don't know why and when and where this have happened.

It's a crack on approximatively 1 little cm, quasi invisible.

It doesn't seem to affect the solidity of the machine.

W.

How common is this crack in T2x systems PICS

Does your T2x system have this keyboard bezel crack?

How common is this crack in T2x systems PICS

My computer....on crack

picture of my crack (even though that sounds soooo wrong)

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