Thinkpads Forum

Hi everybody. This question is gonna be a bit silly, maybe.
I am very happy with my T400 because it is very quiet, but recently has starting to make some noise... it is clearly the fan. I've tried to vacuum and blow the area but it has not been enough, so I decided to open it up and have a look.
I've followed the instructions on http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/product ... MIGR-71505
but after removing battery and the 4 screws of the palmrest I found difficult to take it out... I feel resistance on the sides of this piece, although near the center is clearly free. I'm afraid to break something if I pull tightly... in some videos of internet I don't see anybody having this difficulty... Am I missing something?

In case I had to replace the fan... I've found some on ebay for about 30$ with the heatsink included, and other much more cheaper if you only change the fan itself... Is that possible? I mean to change the fan that is likely to be the faulty piece and leaving the heatsink...

Thanks a lot for your help

Imagine the laptop is in normal position, in front of you. I start from the left side near the keyboard. Lift up. Then work the right side. Lift the portion of the palmrest nearest the keyboard towards you. Once you've got those loose, the front is really not attached at all.

There are snaps. Be brave

Yes and once you get the palmrest off it will be 'easy peasy' the next time around. I also have a suggestion- when you blow the fan area it is not wise to let the fan spin freely at such a high RPM. The bearings are not designed to spin that fast. What I personally do is remove the palmrest and keyboard, stick something in the fan blades, and use compressed air to clean the fan and exhaust fins.

Not sure if you have the hardware maintenance manual. It really helps to have some documentation to refer to and to keep handy in case you ever need visual confirmation pertaining to your T400.

Here is the link to the hardware maintenance manual (or HMM as you will see it referred to as here).

http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/guides- ... MIGR-70069

Good luck

Emerald Girl, you're sharp

Clarifying on the prying, you don't actually have to have the laptop on the table as described. That was just for orientation. When you're working on the left side, hold the machine so you have a good look at what you are prying.

The right side has something more like a hook than a snap. Once you get the left side loose, pushing the palmrest slightly to the right will allow you to disengage the hook without snapping it off.

Reassembly is the reverse. First, push the palmrest forward, and check that all the front catches engage. Then get the right side hook engaged. Finally, on the left, just pushing down should make the snaps catch.

Thanks a lot for the encouraging support
I forced it a bit and was able to disassembly the palm rest properly.
I've cleaned the fan, hopefully will be enough... the fan did'nt seemed damaged...
Best regards