Thinkpads Forum

The inside of my usb connector broke off. It is the little plastic thing with the connections on it that broke off. I guess i must have bumped into the connector while a device was connected The connector pins are still there though

It is on the left side of my T400, there wehere 2 usb slots are available. I would like to replace the connector, since I have only two usb connections left, which is very minimal. I have replaced parts before, with the help of the maintenance manual, but this time I cannot find the part and I am starting to think that I would have to replace the mainboad, if I would like to have this fixed. Please tell me it isn't so

It's just not practical for the DYI'er to replace a USB port. They are surface soldered to the board, and while you probably could get the board hot enough with a heat gun to loosen the part, several other parts would come loose also, and that's the easy part. It is almost impossible to solder the new part on the board without the proper equipment.

It's been awhile, but I've fixed more than one with Krazy Glue. Just use tweezers to insert the plastic piece after buttering it up - carefully. If you've lost the plastic insert, just extract one from a dead motherboard or device. Good luck.

I have used krazy glue. It really sticks! But the thing is that somehow the port is less accessible now. I really have to push hard on the usb plug to jam it in.

You need good equipment to replace them. (I know. I do it) Minimum would be a quartz preheater and a good rework station.

if its hard going in you may need to sand it down.

I've successfully replaced the USB ports on an A31 (fairly certain, but it was a while ago) using a cheap, no adjustment soldering iron. I think it was only four legs on that component, and they were relatively big. I've never been inside a T400 though. I imagine its a little more cramped.

A31 used solder with lead, which melts at a MUCH lower temperature and stays liquid longer.

richk wrote:A31 used solder with lead, which melts at a MUCH lower temperature and stays liquid longer.

Thanks for that information. I knew that the T series started using non-leaded solder around the time of the T4x series. It seems obvious now, but I did not know that the solder had different temperature and fluid characteristics. Now I know not to attempt a similar fix on newer machines!