iBook Clamshell Stiff Hinge

[kb3wmh]

I've picked up an iBook G3 Clamshell that works great and is in fairly decent condition--except for one big problem. The hinge is alarmingly stiff, to the point where I don't want to use it at all. Has anyone here run into this? Can I just lubricate the hinge? Or would I need to replace the hinge to fix it?

I appreciate any suggestions.

 

[davidg5678]

I would try to take the Clamshell apart to the point where you can inspect the hinge mechanisms underneath the top case. I think it could maybe get jammed if the "clutch cover" plastic section between the hinges was improperly aligned at some point.

At the very least, taking the top of the Clamshell case off will allow you to have easy access to the hinges for adding some lubricant. (I think a few drops of silicone lubricant or maybe WD40 ought to do the trick.) I imagine that the metal hinges are a lot more resilient than the plastic components around them, so if you do need to apply some force to the hinges to "un-stick" them, I'd try to keep the force confined to the metal areas as much as you can. If you disconnect the screen from the computer and use pliers to manipulate the hinges, this might help take pressure off of the bottom plastic computer housing.

 

[Hrududu]

I've got the same exact issue with a Tangerine iBook. It wasn't always like this, but it developed the unconfortably tight hinge. Did you ever come up with a good fix for this?

 

[ArbysTPossum]

On other laptop types, I've used lubricant of some kind, usually the same stuff I'd use to lubricate disk drives, or keyboard microswitches.

 

[Hrududu]

Assuming my issue is similar to OPs, its not a feeling of general tightness, its as though the hinges are actually binding on something and the standoffs/plastics are stressed enough to feel like it could crack. I think I'll have to open it up and see where something went wrong. Oddly enough it developed this issue all at once.

 

[adespoton]

I had the same issue on a series of 2008 MBPs; eventually the hinges seized up so tightly that they cracked the case. I disassembled one of them to see if I could figure out what went wrong; it seemed to be related to overheating that caused something to shift in the expansion/contraction. I tried a few types of lubricant, but none of it did the trick, as it seems the pieces just are too tight against each other now.

Hopefully that's not the case here.

FWIW, the best lubricant I found was white lithium paste; unlike WD40 or silicone spray, it doesn't go away over time, so as long as your hinge parts aren't physically warping, it should provide years of smooth hinge action.