Thinkpads Forum

My x230 took a nasty spill today at Newark Airport leaving it with a slightly mangled palm wrest and a good dent, a few broken pieces and cracks on the right corner around the USB 2.0 port and SD card reader. The computer itself is still going strong, but it could use some love to be put back in tip-top shape. Any idea on where to order the base cover assembly and cost/difficulty to replace? Seems like everything would lift out easy enough - I have been in far enough to install an mSATA drive in my WLAN slot so not completely afraid of opening up my baby. Thanks folks!

My condolences.
Changing out the base assembly is probably the hardest job you’ll find with a Thinkpad, especially since it’s your first major repair - nothing less than total disassembly.

You should download the x230 Hardware Maintenance Manual and see what’s involved.
http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/detail. ... D=UM014928
There are disassembly videos for older TPs, there may also be some for the x230.

You can get a new base assembly on ebay from China:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/Computer-Compon ... =x230+base
I’ve bought a T43 & T60 base from both of first two sellers with no problems.

There's also a used palmrest (no FPR) on ebay at a decent price:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lenovo-ThinkPad ... 58a6a6700d

With a hair dryer, putty knife and lots & lots of patience the original stickers can be moved to the new base.

Thanks. Found some more damage on the lid today. I will need to tear into it and see what else I need to order. Bummer, and it will be quite the under taking. However, I take a ton of pride in the ownership of my things and like to keep them performing and working well, so there is a certain satisfaction in a) having something fixable b) fixing something and bringing it back to good as new.