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Macbook air repair and rebuild

T

thumbelina

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 14, 2010
12
0
Hi Everyone.
Not only am I a macrumour virgin, but this is the first time I have ever joined any group on line. You guys seems to have a passion about Apple so here goes.......

I am, or rather I was, a macbook air owner until recently, when my Mac Air decided to see if it could bounce off a hard floor and survive. It Didnt. Broke the screen, and dented the top case in the corner (panel behind the screen) and the upper/keyboard casing on the same corner. It did still work though although a 3rd of the screen was gone. pages loaded quicker on the smaller screen.....

Apple say it's beyond economic repair but $1800 of hard earned savings is hard to write off so I decided to have a go and fix it myself. The new screen, and used case parts are on order and partial dismantling completed. Screen and battery are out and I am holding on for the parts to arrive before further disassembly. ll the electrical parts in the lid and in the keyboard casing seem ok as the denting didnt seem to reach them, presumably backed up by the Air still working.

Does anyone have a service manual for the Macbook air? I am wondering how hard it will be to transfer all the internals into a new case. Am I biting off more than I can chew?
Have a great day
 
X

xparaparafreakx

macrumors 65816
Jul 29, 2005
1,273
1
thumbelina said:
Hi Everyone.
Not only am I a macrumour virgin, but this is the first time I have ever joined any group on line. You guys seems to have a passion about Apple so here goes.......

I am, or rather I was, a macbook air owner until recently, when my Mac Air decided to see if it could bounce off a hard floor and survive. It Didnt. Broke the screen, and dented the top case in the corner (panel behind the screen) and the upper/keyboard casing on the same corner. It did still work though although a 3rd of the screen was gone. pages loaded quicker on the smaller screen.....

Apple say it's beyond economic repair but $1800 of hard earned savings is hard to write off so I decided to have a go and fix it myself. The new screen, and used case parts are on order and partial dismantling completed. Screen and battery are out and I am holding on for the parts to arrive before further disassembly. ll the electrical parts in the lid and in the keyboard casing seem ok as the denting didnt seem to reach them, presumably backed up by the Air still working.

Does anyone have a service manual for the Macbook air? I am wondering how hard it will be to transfer all the internals into a new case. Am I biting off more than I can chew?
Have a great day
Click to expand...

How much were the parts? There might be a few people here with a service manual ;)

Looking at the manual a few times, it looks possible but going to take half a day to do.
 
T

thumbelina

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 14, 2010
12
0
xparaparafreakx said:
How much were the parts? There might be a few people here with a service manual ;)

Looking at the manual a few times, it looks possible but going to take half a day to do.
Click to expand...

Hi, I picked up the screen ( made by AU Optronics) for £130, plus the lid and keyboard for £60 - in USD approx $320.

I hope someone really nice out there can help me out with the manual.....
 
T

thumbelina

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 14, 2010
12
0
Macbook air repair

Does anyone know if I can remove the logic board and heat sink without having to remove the heatsink first? Thanks
 
T

thumbelina

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 14, 2010
12
0
The link is very useful. Thank you Ingouk. It seems now that the heat sink does have to be removed first, before removing the logic board.

I have been kind of hoping that there would be a number of separations/removals that I could bypass seeing as I was doing a complete change into the new casing.

Hoped a thorough read of a service manual would help me work that out
 
T

thumbelina

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 14, 2010
12
0
Airforcekid said:
Might be too late but it would still bring 400-600 on ebay depending on the generation.
Click to expand...

It's the A1304 G2 with 128 SSD. I just figured I couldn't bring myself to write it off, so figured in for a penny in for a pound

Will feel a real buzz to have it in my hands working again.

I'm on a mission to bring it back to life.........
 
DesignerOnMac

DesignerOnMac

macrumors 6502a
Jul 23, 2007
827
65
thumbelina said:
It's the A1304 G2 with 128 SSD. I just figured I couldn't bring myself to write it off, so figured in for a penny in for a pound

Will feel a real buzz to have it in my hands working again.

I'm on a mission to bring it back to life.........
Click to expand...

I have broken down and rebuilt several MBPs and an older iBook with the videos from ifixit.com and was successful each time. I found the videos to be very accurate and complete. You can also print out the pics and the instructions.

Good luck on your quest on your MBA. Just take your time, review the videos often, and/or print out the instructions and you will be just fine.

My older iBook had 58 steps to disassemble. My MBP had 1/2 of those steps to disassemble.
 
T

thumbelina

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 14, 2010
12
0
DesignerOnMac said:
I have broken down and rebuilt several MBPs and an older iBook with the videos from ifixit.com and was successful each time. I found the videos to be very accurate and complete. You can also print out the pics and the instructions.

Good luck on your quest on your MBA. Just take your time, review the videos often, and/or print out the instructions and you will be just fine.

My older iBook had 58 steps to disassemble. My MBP had 1/2 of those steps to disassemble.
Click to expand...

Thanks DesignerOnMac. I have been reading as much as I can. I think the task seems bigger to me because I have got to transfer everything from one macbook air casing, into another. Bit like re shelling a car, but no way am I gonna try that!
 
Scottsdale

Scottsdale

Suspended
Sep 19, 2008
4,473
283
U.S.A.
Check out iFixIt.com. They have some great photos along with basic instructions for teardown.

I have seen all three of the case parts on eBay for less than $200 total.

I have also bought a display by AU Optronics. I bought that brand new on eBay for around $80, so I got a good deal (usually I see it for around $120).

I have found mainboards on eBay and Craig's List. I found a mainboard for the original MBA for $25, which I still have with the CPU/GPU on board. I don't know if it works though.

Sorry you dropped your MBA. That must be frustrating. I wish you the best at getting it running quickly and inexpensively.
 
T

thumbelina

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 14, 2010
12
0
Hi All,

If anyone could help me out with a service manual for Macbook Air Model A1304 with 128 SSD, it would REALLY be appreciated.

Many Thanks
 
N

nph

macrumors 65816
Feb 9, 2005
1,049
214
Is there a different service manual for B? I did a search and thereonly seems to exist one version and that is for Rev A. Anyone knows?
 
T

thumbelina

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 14, 2010
12
0
Hi All,

I'd just be happy to get a service manual for any Macbook Air!

The ifixit guide is great but seeing as I have to change the entire case, a service manual could help me with the things not covered elsewhere.........
:confused:
 
T

thumbelina

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 14, 2010
12
0
Mactagonist, You are a super star! Thank you :D

And Thanks to everyone who offered advice.

I will keep you guys updated how I get on with the resurrection of my Macbook Air.
 
A

agaskew

macrumors 6502
Dec 3, 2009
416
253
I have an Air Service manual here, described thus:

MacBook Air
(original, Late 2008, Mid 2009)
Updated: 31 August 2009
 
T

thumbelina

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 14, 2010
12
0
Hi All
If you have been following this thread, I am delighted to report that my Macbook Air is back to life and up and running and almost looking as good as new, after it's upper case/keyboard change, new top case and LCD replacement :D Thank you DesignerOnMac, Scottsdale, Mactagonist and Agaskew for your advice and posts.

Few pointers to help others who may face a similar predicament:
Be really careful when removing the screen bezel - they do warp much easier than you would expect and the more time and care you take in removal will mean that it will go back easier and look as if it never happened ( I have to find a new adhesive to put mine back and smooth out the ripples)

You don't need to seperate the heatsink from the logic board - on my late 2008, I was able to remove them still attached and that made putting it back easier too and avoiding having to redo the thermal paste (a must if you seperate them)

If you are replacing the lid, check that the lid and case line up perfectly BEFORE you tighten up the hinges.

If anyone out there needs any tips, get in touch. My macbook Air and I are now on intimate terms. In my opinion, an LCD CAN be replaced without a complete dis-assembly of your MBA. I did my case change before the LCD arrived and then just had to slot the LCD into the lid and connect the LVDS cable.

But as has been written above - take you time and you too can do a better job of bringing your MBA back to life than Apple who will happily sell you a new lid and LCD for $800 plus another $600 for the upper case/keyboard. My repair has cost me $300 in parts and I could now cut that down by over $80. And the Apple Service centre told me it was beyond economical repair and told me to buy a new one.

Personally, having fixed my MBA, I havent felt this good since I won an argument with the wife.......
 
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