Thinkpads Forum

So, I was changing out my T5270 for a T9300 in my hybrid T60. I noticed a sheer in the frame when I removed the fan.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/y370azr9akieor3/DSC00232.JPG

Then I noticed the lower base plastic was broken around the vga output as well. This explains the flex I had on the left hinge of the LCD.

I am thinking of how to deal with this. I could mod my old t60 frame to hold the 61 board. I could buy a good frame (I see one in market currently). But both of these require full disassembly. If I was going to take it that far, I may as well swap over to a T60p chassis from this 14" one. I am not ready for that step yet.

Could I get by with some JBweld to heal my old chassis? My concern is that the frame was obviously not strong enough, so would the jbweld even work?

JBWeld may well hold it for a while.
I have fixed the same break using "Arctic Alumina" thermal adhesive (AATA-5G), a 2-component glue.
It needs more reinforcement though.
Cut out a small strip from a tin can (not an alu soda can), about 1/3" (~1cm) wide, long enough to reach from the corner screw hole (where you mount the LCD), visible top left on your picture, down to the screw hole to the right/below of your red arrow. make small holes in the tin strip to match the screw hole positions.
All you need is a very short screw that fits in that lower (red-arrow) hole. The screw from underneath has the proper thread.
Mount the fan back in, then place that tin strip on the chassis, put the LCD-hinge in and screw it down.
Put in the other screw.
Done.

very useful advice. Thanks RBS.

Yes. Thank you RBS. The machine is back together now (with broken frame). There are some plastics I want to replace next time I dig into it. Once I get all of those I'll jump in and add the additional support.

I had the exact same thing happen when I first got my T60p. Fixed it with RBS's method and it worked well for a year or so. It did eventually break loose on me again, although I am a little rough with my laptop and travel with it a lot. Ultimately I ended up going on eBay and getting a new magnesium frame for ~$35.

Did you get the one with the new, reinforced design, that's less likely to break?

RealBlackStuff wrote:

Slightly OT, could be this fix (or a similar one) applied to a broken display magnesium cage? I have a broken one from a T500 and while the magnesium frame for the planer is easy to find in Ebay, I cannot find a display cage for a fair price.

I assume the construction might be similar to a T61 lid?
Since the cage will be hidden inside the lid, there should be plenty of room to fill any gaps with JBWeld.
Don't think there's enough room for reinforcement strips, though.
I'd need to see the crack/break.
(A lid costs about $25-30 here in the US, so hardly worth repairing, if it's that bad)

Thanks for the answer! I will open a new thread for this in order not to hijack this one

dr_st wrote:Did you get the one with the new, reinforced design, that's less likely to break?

I was not even aware that one existed. You wouldn't happen to have the FRU# for this, would you? That would be a better solution, though more work on my part.

edit-found 42w3718 here:
http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/detail. ... MIGR-68208

Is that the correct frame?

Sorry, I think I've got it wrong. I didn't notice that we were talking about 14" models.

For 15", the frame was revised during production, strengthening the part next to the VGA port. This is discussed in this thread, and there is a link to a comparison picture.

I do not know if 14" frames were similarly revised.

OP seems to have a 15" T60 with T61 mobo (so-called FrankenPad).
That also needs a 15" T60 chassis, not the 14.1" T61 that you show.
There are 2 versions 15" 4:3 T60 chassis: the old 26R9396 and the improved 41W6360.
See also this thread: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 64&start=0

Very interesting!

I did the replacement back in 2009 or 2010, and eBay doesn't seem to archive purchase history that far back. As far as I can recall, I purchased the "old" design with the weaker frame in that area. Still going strong, but I'll use the proper one if it ever decides to go out on me again! Thanks for all the handy info!

I think I have a good 14" T60p frame if you need one. I'm not to worried about how much I get for it so you're welcome to make an offer. If your lower cover is cracked too I think I can provide that too.