Replacing fan on my T23

[winslow]

As stated in prior post my T23 has been giving me the "fan error " message. Since I have to dismantle the unit to clean it properly I decided to just replace it. I would appreciate anyone who has exprerienced this to give me some pointers, maybe some things to be careful about as I have never been into a computer this deeply before. I am mechanically inclined but would appreciate some "hindsight"from some of you that have done it before.
Thanks in advance.

[Jax184]

The T2x series is the easiest laptop I've ever had the pleasure of working on. It's Very simple. There's only 4 different sizes of screw you will encounter while working on it, (5 if you count the hard drive coin screw,) and they're pretty difficult to mix up. Just note where the silver screws come from; though they look like the short brown ones, they have different threads and must not be mixed up.

I don't remember if you can get away with removing the cooler without removing the palm rest first.
If so, you need only remove the keyboard and then the heatsink.
If not, you'll also need to remove the plastic strip above the keyboard followed by the palm rest.

One of the keyboard screws is hiding beneath the MiniPCI slot cover. Once both screws are out, lift the keyboard at the bottom beneath the mouse buttons and give it a tug straight up. There's no ribbon cable to fiddle with, just a plug on the underside of the keyboard and a matching one on the motherboard.

Remember to clean the thermal paste from the CPU and new cooler with 99% isopropyl alcohol, then apply new paste. You might get away with reusing what's on there, since the T23 uses a non drying goo, but it's better to replace it.

It's easier to connect the CMOS battery before the palm rest is put back on, so make sure it's socketed before hand.

While you're in there, you might consider resoldering the inductors that come loose so they don't become a problem later on.

[winslow]

Do I need to use the same type of thermal grease when I install it or is there some compatible brand to look for. I read the procedure in the hardware maintenance manual, seems easy enough to do.
thanks again

[Jax184]

Any brand will work. Arctic Silver is generally considered to be the best, but ordinary white thermal paste is good enough.

[tfflivemb2]

You do need to remove the palmrest first, and I think that that is the trickiest part. I have picked up a number of T23, and the palmrest almost always seem to be broken. The weakest spot appears to be on the right side, next to the arrow keys. Be very careful when removing the palmrest, because some areas are pretty thin. Also, be sure to remove ALL of the necessary screws. I think that that is half the problem with the palmrest breaking.

As for the actual replacement of the fan...you will see that it is VERY easy.

[winslow]

Received the new fan today, put it in and system is up and running. Many thanks for the advice and instruction. The HMM was a big help, was viewing it on my G41 as I was performing the surgery on my T23. Maybe my imagination but it even sounds quieter.

[Harryc]

Congrats on the repair. Another T2X lives ... my favorite series.