Thinkpads Forum

I had the misfortune to drop my nine-month old T500 model 2242 the other day - forgot it was plugged in. D'oh!

Fortunately it was only from the height of a chair onto a wooden floor. However, the lid was open and the impact broke the right-hand lid latch, and separated the display bezel from the lid frame at the top right-hand corner.

I can fix the separated bezel fairly easily I think, but not the latch. Is it possible to obtain and fit a spare latch? I can't find one in the usual places - eg Lenovo's parts list or eBay... Thoughts welcomed - thanks.

The problem is that the latch assembly comes as part of another assembly (LCD magnesium structure frame assembly) from Lenovo. So in order to get the latch from them you'd have to order the entire Lid assembly. What I am saying becomes apparent if you study the diagram and parts list at this link. This is assuming that you have the 15.4 inch WXGA (1280x800) LCD -
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-71046

On older models, Chineese sellers have just the latch piece for sale on EBay. I don't think you'll find just the latch for such a new machine. The Lid assembly FRU 43Y9736 costs $554 from Lenovo US. Good luck.
https://www-304.ibm.com/shop/americas/w ... PartNumber

The moral of this story to other T500 owners is..don't drop it.

I had one with a broken latch. I looked for some time for options, but in the end, I had to buy the frame