R32 re-construction project

[lparsons]

I figured this would be as good a time as any to start chronicling my process of rebuilding my thinkpad R32. I promise there will eventually be pictures to go with this monologue. And after that, there will be an assortment of extra parts that will forever be listed as "for sale".

First, the problem I was trying to solve. The LCD case of my R32 developed a crack on the backside some time ago. It had probably been growing for over a year. It started near the "middle cover", and was growing towards the nearest corner of the case. Total crack length would have only made it to about 2 inches had it made it all the way there, but it would have gone around a hinge in the process. I noticed that of course every time I opened and closed the laptop, the crack was a little more exposed from the strain of the movement than it would have otherwise been had the laptop been sitting happily closed.

So I ordered a replacement LCD bezel from ebay. While I didn't know ahead of time this would be important, it fortunately included the hinges that the bezel pivots on. The bezel arrived on a Thursday, and I started on the project that evening., with the HMM as my guide.

The project was going fine until I had to release the four screws that hold the hinge together. The four screws were held in place by lock-tite, or something similar. Indeed, I think that whomever did the assembly on mine may have run out of lock-tite and opted for JB weld instead. The screws were completely immobile. I tried P0,. P1, and eventually P2 phillips heads, and of course they just progressively rounded them off worse.

But I had to make this repair. So I pulled out the dremel and took off what little remained of the screw heads, so I could finish opening the hinge. This of course left the remainder of the screws in the bottom of the laptop, still happily snug in their threads. But I was at least able to separate the LCD from the bottom, so I could proceed with the repair.

I should also mention that I ended up having to cut the left side hinge (from the LCD side) open in order to detach it. This is why I was glad the new bezel included the hinges. This is also why I won't be selling my old hinges - no sane person would want them.

The part from the bottom that still has the screws in it is called "I/O port bracket" by IBM. And once you remove it, the reason for the name becomes clear. I was able to find an R32 in the marketplace listings that was being sold for parts, I payed the seller to send me just this bracket.

I have since completed the repair that I originally set out to do - the LCD is in a non-cracked bezel. Of course the LCD is detached from the system while I await the new bracket, so I'm not really done. But the LCD is back together, and I would like to extend some kudos to IBM for the construction of the LCD assembly. The HMM made it very straightforward, with the exception of a couple screw placements and the proper routing of the antenna cable. Otherwise I was impressed at how well it came apart and went back together. Especially considering the R32 (at least when I bought it) was the "value" laptop from IBM.

More news to follow - tomorrow - once I have the I/O ports bracket and have this all back together. This is unfortunately a race against time, as well. Thursday morning I have a 9:30am flight...

[Harryc]

Good luck with the race. I see a major sense of accomplishment in the making .

[vanaya]

I hope luck is on your side! hopefully you'll be able to take it with you.

[lparsons]

Well I am happy to say I am about 90% complete. I am writing this message from my thinkpad R32 that I have been previously writing about so extensively.

I just had to set the date and time in the BIOS, and after a little hesitation (I presume it was checking the RAM) it came up and seems happy.

The only thing I still need to figure out now is why my optical drive won't go in. It doesn't slide in very far at all, it seems as though the bracket for the drive might be somehow pinched. If I get a chance I'll look at it closer, otherwise I'll just bring it with as is and work with it more later.

Thanks again to everyone who helped with this. Everyone who replied on my last thread was helpful, as was the seller from the marketplace who was kind enough to ship my new bracket quickly enough to get it today so I have all this together for my flight tomorrow.

[lparsons]

With a little finesse, I was able to fit the optical drive in. It doesn't seem to be sitting quite right, but it works as expected. It will be good enough for now - maybe later I'll try to straighten it out a bit.

[vanaya]

Glad to hear that all is well. I would re-seat the cage on the drive, they are flimsy when not screwed so maybe a bit lopsided?