Thinkpads Forum

I have an aging W500 with a broken internal hinge. I have purchased 2 sets of used hinges on eBay and both of them *seem* to be too stiff to me. I can't turn them easily with my bare hands. If I used rags I can turn them...but these things are awfully stiff. What I don't know is if they are TOO stiff? How stiff are brand new ones? Both sellers stated that they were working hinges pulled from working machines. I haven't tried to install them yet...I thought I would see if any of you had any good advice! Thank you in advance.

In my experience they are most likely normal.

It is difficult to get good leverage to make them move easily with your hands.

Brad

Turning hinges by hand should be quite difficult, although normal for decent hinges. New hinges tend to be quite stiff when installed, but tend to "break in" after a week or two and feel "normal".

Thank you both very much! I appreciate it. I didn't want to install these things and have them snap the frame. I'll give it a try next chance I get.

Speaking of snapping the frame- is your frame intact around the fan area? I had a T500 which I was sure had zero problems until I went to clean the fan (with the keyboard off) and noticed that the thin bit of frame that runs atop the fan exhaust area was missing. I am fairly certain that at some point in the future that I would have wound up with a broken hinge and plastics around the left hinge area. Really wish Lenovo had put more thought into that area when designing the frame

Now that you mention the frame, I'm not 100% sure. Guess I won't know until I crack the case. I sure hope I don't also have that to contend with!

If the ridge is broken, but otherwise still there, the best way to fix it is using JB Weld, plus putting in a new "link" parallel to the break.
Unfortunately the picture links in this post are no longer working, but the description should give you enough of an idea.
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=103507

Thank you very much! I hope to not need this but...it is great to have in case I do.