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As counterpoint for the repairability I never liked how hard it is to access the fan assembly on thinkpads. You basically have to fully take the laptop apart to

As counterpoint for the repairability I never liked how hard it is to access the fan assembly on thinkpads. You basically have to fully take the laptop apart to access it. And for the laptops from a decade ago I typically wanted to clean the fan assembly properly every year around springtime. For example for the X220 the fan assembly is removed after the system board, no way around. Before the system board can be replaced, the following components need to be removed: • “1010 Battery pack” on page 63 • “1020 Hard disk drive (HDD) and solid state drive (SSD)” on page 63 • “1030 DIMM” on page 65 • “1040 Keyboard” on page 67 • “1050 Palm rest or palm rest with a fingerprint reader” on page 69 • “1070 Backup battery” on page 73 • “1060 PCI Express Mini Card for wireless LAN/WiMAX” on page 71 • “1080 PCI Express Mini Card for wireless WAN” on page 74 • “1090 Keyboard bezel” on page 76 • “1100 LCD assembly” on page 77 • “1110 Base cover assembly and speaker assembly” on page 80 https://download.lenovo.com/pccbbs/mobiles_pdf/0a60739_01.pdf#889359401 https://download.lenovo.com/pccbbs/mobiles_pdf/0a60739_01.pd... T220 is not better in this regard either. There are other decade old laptops with similar quality service manuals that don't have this issue and the fan assembly can be removed without too much hassle.

jacknews 3y ago
T430 is a piece of cake to replace the fan.
- planede 3y ago
  I don't know, this still looks annoying: https://thinkpads.com/support/hmm/hmm_pdf/t430_t430i_hmm_en_0b48304_03.pdf#872539146 https://thinkpads.com/support/hmm/hmm_pdf/t430_t430i_hmm_en_... Granted, you don't have to remove the display at least.
  - jacknews 3y ago
    No idea what that process is - I have a few t430s and have replaced each of their fans at least once. It's just a case of remove the k/b and top bezel, maybe one of the speakers (can't remember, but it's just a single screw anyway) and then the heatsink/fan. No need to remove the screen and all that other stuff in the manual. takes 15 mins max.
- ragingrobot 3y ago
  I have a 220, it is a PITA, I have taken it apart to repaste it. And yes, taken it apart. Even the display had to come off. However, I have two others - X1s - and they are a piece of cake. Just remove the bottom panel and the fan is right there.
- agumonkey 3y ago
  but T4xx have always been easier due to form factor
plg94 3y ago
I recently had to replace the fan because the motor died, and agree, that's a really big hassle. If you want to unscrew/remove the whole fan from the motherboard, you have to lift off the whole heatsink assembly from the board+cpu, meaning you also have to re-apply thermal paste every time you clean the fan. Far from ideal. But the most difficult part was finding a screwdriver for the VGA port (it screws into the case).
f1refly 3y ago
I actually replaced the fan on mine a few years ago and it's not hard at all. From that list: * Battery pack is just clipped in the back * Hard disk is removable with an extra maintenance hatch * DIMM can stay where it is * Keybord is fixed with five screws on the back * palm rest is fixed with another three screws, remove it in the same step as the palm rest * backup battery is not applicable for the x220 * pci cards can stay where they are * keyboard bezel clips out * lcd assembly can stay where it is * base cover assembly and speaker assembly can stay where they are A better manual would be: * remove battery from the back * remove ssd from its slot * unscrew + remove keyboard and palm rest with keyboard bezel (this is pretty much one step trust me) * unplug all five cables * unscrew motherboard * take motherboard (to which the fan is attached) from case and do what you want with it X220 maintenance is a 10 minute job for disassembly and reassembly combined.
cyrialize 3y ago
I 100% agree! I made a post earlier in the thread about this. Cleaning the fans on my T530 was so tough! You basically have to take apart the entire computer from the keyboard down to the fan. The MBP Unibody 2012, which came out around the time of the T530, is way, way easier to clean the fans of.
numpad0 3y ago
I believe the way ThinkPad HMMs(Hardware Maintenance Manual - I'm sure it's an intended pun) works is you start from the first page until you hit the problematic part, and it ends with the CPU or "system planar" and all the parts around it. It's a carried over culture from IBM probably.
yummypaint 3y ago
I've gotten by taking a hose from a vacuum cleaner and partially covering and uncovering the intake and exhaust holes in quick succession. It makes enough turbulence to clear most of the dust and hasn't broken anything yet.

jacknews 3y ago

T430 is a piece of cake to replace the fan.

planede 3y ago
I don't know, this still looks annoying: https://thinkpads.com/support/hmm/hmm_pdf/t430_t430i_hmm_en_0b48304_03.pdf#872539146 https://thinkpads.com/support/hmm/hmm_pdf/t430_t430i_hmm_en_... Granted, you don't have to remove the display at least.
- jacknews 3y ago
  No idea what that process is - I have a few t430s and have replaced each of their fans at least once. It's just a case of remove the k/b and top bezel, maybe one of the speakers (can't remember, but it's just a single screw anyway) and then the heatsink/fan. No need to remove the screen and all that other stuff in the manual. takes 15 mins max.
ragingrobot 3y ago
I have a 220, it is a PITA, I have taken it apart to repaste it. And yes, taken it apart. Even the display had to come off. However, I have two others - X1s - and they are a piece of cake. Just remove the bottom panel and the fan is right there.
agumonkey 3y ago
but T4xx have always been easier due to form factor

plg94 3y ago

I recently had to replace the fan because the motor died, and agree, that's a really big hassle. If you want to unscrew/remove the whole fan from the motherboard, you have to lift off the whole heatsink assembly from the board+cpu, meaning you also have to re-apply thermal paste every time you clean the fan. Far from ideal. But the most difficult part was finding a screwdriver for the VGA port (it screws into the case).

f1refly 3y ago

I actually replaced the fan on mine a few years ago and it's not hard at all. From that list: * Battery pack is just clipped in the back * Hard disk is removable with an extra maintenance hatch * DIMM can stay where it is * Keybord is fixed with five screws on the back * palm rest is fixed with another three screws, remove it in the same step as the palm rest * backup battery is not applicable for the x220 * pci cards can stay where they are * keyboard bezel clips out * lcd assembly can stay where it is * base cover assembly and speaker assembly can stay where they are A better manual would be: * remove battery from the back * remove ssd from its slot * unscrew + remove keyboard and palm rest with keyboard bezel (this is pretty much one step trust me) * unplug all five cables * unscrew motherboard * take motherboard (to which the fan is attached) from case and do what you want with it X220 maintenance is a 10 minute job for disassembly and reassembly combined.

cyrialize 3y ago

I 100% agree! I made a post earlier in the thread about this. Cleaning the fans on my T530 was so tough! You basically have to take apart the entire computer from the keyboard down to the fan. The MBP Unibody 2012, which came out around the time of the T530, is way, way easier to clean the fans of.

numpad0 3y ago

I believe the way ThinkPad HMMs(Hardware Maintenance Manual - I'm sure it's an intended pun) works is you start from the first page until you hit the problematic part, and it ends with the CPU or "system planar" and all the parts around it. It's a carried over culture from IBM probably.

yummypaint 3y ago

I've gotten by taking a hose from a vacuum cleaner and partially covering and uncovering the intake and exhaust holes in quick succession. It makes enough turbulence to clear most of the dust and hasn't broken anything yet.