PowerBook 160 help (broken hinge mount)

[JRL]

So I dug up my PowerBook 160 and found out that the hinge is already starting to separate.

Is there anything I can do to hold the hinge together?

[MacJunky]

If it is just one of the plastic screw posts(with metal threaded insert) you could attach/sturdy it up a bit with some strong glue. Probably might be a good idea to coat on the sides of and around the other posts with some glue as well.

Either way, you really want to stop moving the hinges and fix this as soon as possible because more damage will result in leaving it.

If all else fails and you _really_ have no other option then you can put a bolt+washers through the whole thing. It is not the best choice though because you damage the exterior plastics.

[JRL]

Alright, I opened the lid of my PowerBook 160 and it opened up just fine. However, I cannot get the screw covers below the LCD out. How can I get them out?

[joshc]

I assume you are speaking of what Apple refers to as the "Clutch Covers". From the service manual:

Before you begin, remove
the following:
•Main battery
•Display bezel

1 Cover the keyboard with
a clean cloth or sheet of
paper.

2 Using a T-8 torx driver,
remove the four display
mounting screws.

3 Remove the display
from the housing and
EMI shield.

4 Place the display face-
down on the keyboard.

5 Pull off the three clutch
covers.

6 Using a T-8 torx driver,
remove the six
mounting screws from
the left and right
clutches.

7 Remove the left and right
clutches from the
display housing.

[JRL]

Alright, thanks wackymacs! I was talking about the screw covers that cover the bezel screws though.

[MacJunky]

You can try the tiniest flathead screwdriver you have.
This is what I use:


A needle or pin would probably work just fine too. Be careful with those however as if you poke it in too high you could rip through and damage the face of it.
prolly be fine though.

[JRL]

Alright, I checked the screw posts and everything seems to be fine, no obvious loose spots, etc. What should I do now about the hinge casing gap? It's not that big, but I'm just a bit worried.

[JRL]

Can anyone please help? I would appreciate it VERY much! ^_^

[Osgeld]

detatch, fill with putty epoxy, tighten, clean, let dry?

[MacJunky]

Alright, I checked the screw posts and everything seems to be fine, no obvious loose spots, etc. What should I do now about the hinge casing gap? It's not that big, but I'm just a bit worried.

Did you actually remove the outer casing of the back/top of the lid(what you see when it is closed), or did you just remove the inner plasticwith the hole for the LCD?

[JRL]

Just the inner lid.

[MacJunky]

The screw posts/mounts/whatever I am talking about are on the inside of the outer lid. Little threaded brass rings embedded into plastic posts. The plastic holding the rings tends to break.

[JRL]

So that causes the actual hinge break? If that's true, I will take a look into it as soon as possible.

[MacJunky]

Well, it is not so much a hinge break as it is a hinge mount break.. but people call it a broken hinge.
Still though, check to see if this your problem or not, you might have a different issue.

[JRL]

Alright, thanks!

The gap seems to be not that big anymore after I tightened it up a bit.

[JRL]

Could it just be that the hinge screws loosened up BTW?

[MacJunky]

Possible but check anyway. You will be able to tell if they are loose or not in the process.

[LCGuy]

If you tighten up the screws, just be very careful that you don't tighten them up too much. If you overtighten them, the brass rings that the screws go into will break free of the old and weak plastic, and you'll have just ruined that display back panel.

[LCGuy]

With this being such a common issue on PB1xx series machines, and with it being something that will happen to just about every PB1xx series machine one day, I'm stickying this topic.

[JRL]

Alright, thanks!

[tomlee59]

Common problems include stripped threads and cracked/detached posts. I will defer to our resident chemist, equill, but I've enjoyed some success with reattaching detached posts using acetone as a solvent and simply keeping the parts pressed together. No doubt there are better ways (and the correct solvent is a function of the type of plastic being bonded), but that's one method that has worked for me in the past.

[Osgeld]

Acetone works well at melting abs plastic, its a common way to make glue for abs plastic, grind some up melt it in acetone, when applied the acetone will evaporate leaving solid plastic behind give or take 80% of the original plastic's strength

[ryan55]

One of my hinges were off and i looked at it. One tip for anyone trying it, GET THE SCREEN AT A GOOD ANGLE TO GET TO THE SCREWS!!! After you expose the hinge screws, when i tried to move the back to make it easier, another one snapped. Now i have to rebuild another one. Quick question, are all 4 hunge screws suposed to be in, mine only had 2 . I'm gonna try the acetone fix from the post above probably, or solderding iron, if i get it done, and find the camera, I just might make a writeup with pics.

[MacJunky]

are all 4 hunge screws suposed to be in, mine only had 2

Compare the front with the back. Take note of where the screws you initially removed were.

[JRL]

Alright, so I've finally got some more time to take a look at the issue.

So if I'm not mistaken, the actual problem is the threaded brass rings breaking free from the plastic casing, right? I'm assuming that those plastic casings are the ones that need to be strengthened.

Thanks!