Oh Fate - how cruel ye are (broken hinge)

[Dan K]

I hope JPE doesn't mind if I comment and expand on his comments . . .

JPE <listmail at acedsl.com> wrote:
>It is pretty straight forward.
>1 Remove the bezel by prying it off. It is glued on, but will come off. 
>Someone had a recent post on doing it efficiently.
See my previous posts about (making and) using a thin stiff plastic tool 
(TSPT) slid around the bezel's seam.

>2 Remove the screen, there are two screws that hold it in on either 
>side. Disconnect the flat wire cable at the back of the screen and fish 
>the two wire power cable thru.
I'm not sure the cables need to be disconnected. Can't hurt of course, 
and dealing with the display-with-cable-still-connected surely increases 
the chances of cable damage. If handled with care, not removing the LCD's 
wide LVDS cable greatly simplifies the whole operation.

If one does want or need to separate the display from the 'Book . . . To 
allow the LVDS cable connector (the big one) to get out of the back of 
the 'Book, it's best to be able to swing the internal hinge mounts up and 
away from the rear opening. To do that, one must strip the entire 'Book 
down, including removing the logic board. Yikes!!

However, as JPE notes, you can disconnect the LVDS cable from the back of 
the LCD instead, if you've got the bezel back off far enough to get at 
it. Just don't try to pull the cable out from a slightly opened bottom 
edge, it's taped in place to the back of the LCD itself and you may 
damage it if you pull on it too hard. You really need to be able to get 
that tape loose, either by getting your hand up in there or maybe using 
some sort of long, _softish_ (as in _not_ your biggest screwdriver!) to 
pry it loose. Putting it back though will probably require finger-access 
anyhow . . .

There are two other cables, the inverter cable and the sleep light cable. 
Both of those can be accessed to disconnect from the 'Book by removing 
the case bottom. In the pre-DVI TiBooks the inverter cable can be a pest 
to replace, so carefully note where and how it's plugged in before you 
pull it out. I just grab its wires from the KB side and pull it loose (to 
the left, as seen from the front.) The DVI TiBooks are different, the 
inverter cable connection is easily accessible by removing the power-in 
board.

>3 Get the old hing off any way you can. This is the hardest part. I use 
>careful brute force with a small screw driver.
Use your TSPT between the hinge parts embedded in the rear bezel, worked 
great for me with _no_ damage to any part involved.

>4 Use a dremel tool or similar to clean off the old glue
Better to use a non-marring plastic (an old credit card?), or wood tool, 
to avoid scratching or denting anything.

>5 I use a 2 part epoxy to set in the new hinge, holding it in place 
>with clothes pins. let it cure for 24 hours with out moving it to 
>ensure a strong bond
That oughta work fine, just be reeeeeel careful to avoid squeeze-out (or 
clean it up right away), tolerances are very very tight and extra epoxy 
in the wrong places will prevent things from properly going back together.

>6 reassemble
>7 I use contact cement, applying to both bezel surface and receiving 
>end on screen, allow to dry then assemble
Here my concern is also about tight tolerances, contact cement on both 
surfaces is rather thicker than thinner. It might be possible to use 
thinned contact cement, an old technique I've used when regluing 
leatherette to camera bodies. I haven't tried it, but this area might be 
a good place to use some a two-part epoxy or acrylic adhesive, or even a 
one-part adhesive like Duco (household cement.)

Dang it, I really gotta get a page up, the details are sooooo much 
clearer with a few simple pics.

Dan K

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