Thinkpads Forum

The hinges on my T61p have developed some looseness. By this I mean that when the lid is open, there is about 1/4 inch of play at the top of the lid. I have seen this in non-IBM laptops and read about it, but it has never happened to me on any Thinkpad before this.

Has anyone else had this issue on a T61p? What are your thoughts.
Thanks, ... JDH

jdhurst wrote:I have seen this in non-IBM laptops and read about it, but it has never happened to me on any Thinkpad before this.

Then I guess you haven't owned/used an X2 system. I would consider 1/2" of play to be normal for those; 1/4" would be very tight . Sorry, no experience with a T6x system here....

A while back, I had to send my T60 2623-D6U back to the depot to change the loose hinges.
After about 6 months, the hinges became loose again. The lid now has a half inch play when I move it.
I don't constantly play with the lid or slam it shut.
I am thinking of sending it back again.
I guess it is simply the T60 hinge design that is at fault.
In contrast, I had a T43 that had a tight hinge for as long as I owned it.

Thanks to both of you. My T41 never had any play either and doesn't now (I checked before posting). I have a 4 year warranty on my T61p, so if it gets worse, I shall just have them replaced. Apparently it is a design problem because I do not mistreat my lid either. ... JDH

Yeah, my t61p has about 1/4" loose hinges. Strange how they simply couldn't copy the thinkpad's earlier successes in hinge design. I know the t61 is different than the t43, but still.

ninjaronin18 wrote:Yeah, my t61p has about 1/4" loose hinges. Strange how they simply couldn't copy the thinkpad's earlier successes in hinge design. I know the t61 is different than the t43, but still.

It is because the earlier design was by IBM and IBM knpws engineering and design right down to its socks. Now Lenovo are the designers and cheap and cool are apparently the bywords.

At least (cold comfort) I know I am not alone. ... JDH

My T61's lid is somewhat loose as well but it doesn't bother me because it doesn't wobble or anything like that: gravity holds the lid in place. The hinges themselves feel solid and the lid doesn't slowly slide out of position.

In other words, the hinges do their job and I'm not complaining. I'm picky about displays, noise and keyboards (and even about Thinklights!)... but this? I'd much rather have a somewhat loose lid than an IBM-designed chassis with so much flex that I have to worry about the motherboard when carrying my laptop around.

It is just that when you get used to IBM Engineering for 3 o 4 decades, anything less looks like back-of-the-envelope by comparison. My T61p works great and the lid is stable like yours. Still, it is an eaily spotted defect - something that a first year engineering student would pick up on before they left grade school. ... JDH

I have a t61p 14.1" 4:3 with the same "problem" the hinges imo exhibit an unacceptable amount of play, in a sense wobbly. however adjusting the screen in large degrees feels resistant and tight. I've read that this is not meant to be. I believe that since my friend's t60p doesn't have this problem and it's twice as old as mine. Apparantly there have been two manufacturers of hinges for the t61p: Reel(or Reell possibly) and Kato. People say, Kato has the problem, and Reel is better. Though, there is also a new part number of unknown manufacturer that supposedly fixes the issue
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=65173

lautamas wrote:I have a T61P 15.4" with the loose hinge. I got it replaced yesterday.

OLD Hinge assembly
PART Kato 42W3655
PART Reel 42W3656

NEW UPDATED PART: 45N4181

The technician claimed that this is a new and updated part. Let's cross finger that it would last longer than the last one


Anybody can tell me if their loose screen is the 15.4" or the 14.1" WIDE or the 4:3 14.1"? Thanks

more links:
http://forums.lenovo.com/lnv/board/mess ... ing&page=2
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=71081

eatbuckshot wrote:<snip>.... Reel(or Reell possibly) and Kato. People say, Kato has the problem, and Reel is better.

Reell Precision Manufacturing, I believe, is the manufacturer of X22 hinges that have a tendency to crack.

http://www.reell.com/index.php?page=hinges

My T60 had the same problem for the last year or so. It never got any worse than about 1/2 inch play.
I sent it in last month to get the hinges replaced and it came back perfect. Now let's see how long it lasts.
I have seen a couple other T60's with the same problem.

Unless I completely misunderstand what you mean by "play", I can tell you that I have seen such play (and more), on each and every Thinkpad I owned, from T42 to T60, and also on T61 and even brand new T400 units.

So I think I don't quite understand you.

When I mean play, I mean that I can push the top of the lid or pull it about 0.5cm, without actually applying any stress on the hinges. Once I leave it, it comes back to the original location, so I think it is normal.

Do you mean a more serious case, where the hinges don't actually hold it properly?

First, the play I am talking about is not serious at this point.

Second, I pulled out my T41 and I have it beside my T61, and I have noticed something.

With either machine, at some lid angle (say about 120 degrees), *both* lids exhibit some play. If I pull both lids forward a few degrees, the T41 lid is quite tight, whereas the T61 lid still has some play. Over a range of from 80 through 130 degrees, the T61 lid mostly has play at every position. The T41 lid is loose in a couple of positions but tight through most of that range. I had not noticed the latter before.
... JDH

After nearly 18 months...no complaints, no major play in my hinges. Or those in the laptop. I can wobble it a little, but it doesn't move around on its own and it stays where I put it. If you're worried, bring it into an authorized shop and ask them to take a look, then warranty service it if necessary.

Unless you want to post a video on YouTube <G> none of us can really tell if your computer has hinges that are looser than normal.

dr_st wrote:Unless I completely misunderstand what you mean by "play", I can tell you that I have seen such play (and more), on each and every Thinkpad I owned, from T42 to T60, and also on T61 and even brand new T400 units.

So I think I don't quite understand you.

When I mean play, I mean that I can push the top of the lid or pull it about 0.5cm, without actually applying any stress on the hinges. Once I leave it, it comes back to the original location, so I think it is normal.

Do you mean a more serious case, where the hinges don't actually hold it properly?

that's exactly what i mean except mine wobbles at least 1cm, whereas my friend's would be more along the lines of .5 or less

This wobble is normal and like I said, I've seen it in every Thinkpad laptop (at least T series) to date.

It tends to increase with time, and the distance of the wobble may vary depending on the following factors:

* How old and used the machine is
* How often you tend to open and close the lid
* How gentle you are while doing so

* How often you tend to pick up the machine by the lid. I used to have a habit of doing so, and noticed that with time the hinges developed a lot of play. My friend does it regularly with his T61 and his hinges are much looser than on my T60, even though my machine is a few months older.

* How tight the hinge screws are. My T42 had very wobbly hinges, and then I noticed that one of the screws was missing.

* Luck of the draw. Some hinges may be more sturdy than others.

Overall, as long as the lid only wobbles, but stays in place, and as long as the wobble isn't extreme (hard to define what extreme is), I'd say it's not unusual.

But I do find it ironic how when the issue of the ever growing hinges was brought up, people believed that the huge hinges on the T61p will last better over time. LOL. The only laptop in which I've seen no wobble at all is the X32 with its slim hinges. But I guess it is because the lid of the X series is lighter.

Never had this problem with my 600E, T30, X31 or any of my T4x thinkpads. However, I do have it on a Toshiba Satellite. I also now have 2 T61p 14" (4:3) thinkpads, one of which has the play in the hinges and one of which doesn't (maybe the two different hinge manufacturers?)

It's more annoying than anything else - and, like JDH says, had never seen this with any of my previous thinkpads.

“Play” in the hinges and the lid not staying where placed are two different things. Every machine I’ve ever owned or used had/has play in the hinges to some extent. The screen/lid on the thinkpads I’ve owned stay where placed. Accordingly, not an issue for me.

My T4x machines never had any play, but a T60p has play had to replace the hinges.

I read Ray's post of July 12 a couple of times. It seems we are left with hinges the break (been there) or hinges that develop play (have those now) but no hinge that doesn't do either. ... JDH

I had the same hinge issue, I called the support and got them replaced.
The new hinges are excellent, robust and without any play.

Call the support, such a defect is unacceptable on these machines.

phocean wrote:I had the same hinge issue, I called the support and got them replaced.
The new hinges are excellent, robust and without any play.

Give them time, they will be just like the ones you replaced.

I've actually seen a number of T61 with very loose hinges at my workplace lately.

But I agree, Lenovo will replace them if you ask.

tryed (reel) hinges on my t61 15,4 lcd and solved the problem.

Will Lenovo replace the hinges even out of warranty?

For money, yes.

dr_st wrote:For money, yes.

How much? Or is it cheaper/better to do it yourself considering you can order the most durable hinges possible?

It would be about an hour's labour so you can judge from there. It is a picky job and (in my own opinion) not for the mechanically unitiated. ... JDH

I replaced the hinges on my X40 myself. Lenovo provides pretty good step-by-step information to do this so it's not so difficult but it's takes some time (few hours for me) and one has to be careful about screws and such. But I'd say that a careful person should be able to replace the hinges without too much difficulty.

I also have a T60p and the lid exhibits a bit of play, maybe half a centrimetre or so. It's nothing serious but maybe a bit irritating, especially now when my X40 lid doesn't move at all after the hinge-replacement, so I've thought a bit about replacing the hinges on the T60p as well. My T60p is out of warranty though but if it were still covered by warranty I think it would be wiser to let Lenovo to replace the hinges, even if it would cost a bit more.

My friend has a T43p and the lid on his machine wobbles much less than on my T60p. I also tested few more Thinkpads where I work and the T6x units did seem to exhibit a bit more wobbliness in the lid than the T4x notebooks.

dr_st wrote:Give them time, they will be just like the ones you replaced.

I've actually seen a number of T61 with very loose hinges at my workplace lately.

But I agree, Lenovo will replace them if you ask.

Not at all. Mine were like that from the purchase date, it is a know defect on some models. The new ones are definitely fine.

I have the same problem with my T61 (14.1, widescreen),

I just brought it to the service depot this afternoon to have it checked. Good thing there's an R61i on display (what a shame for Lenovo showrooms in Manila not to display the newer-generation line of Thinkpads, especially that of the T400 and X200 variants). I demonstrated to the service depot guy the difference in the hinge tension on my T61 and the R61i on display; clearly, the hinges on my T61 has become loose enough to warrant a "play" on the LCD screen.

The service depot guy eventually accepted my T61 for servicing (for the same post regarding the said adventure, kindly click here: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=78981). I hope that they get the problem resolved.

The reason I bought a Thinkpad for a hefty premium is that their engineering, I thought at that time, was second to none; I have seen so many second-rate laptops and lament the fact that only a few months of use their screens have sagged like hell. And yet the same thing has happened not only to my T61 but also to others as well, judging from the posts in this thread.

Jdhurst, have you already had your hinges replaced? I hope you already did.

Thanks a lot!