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MattG

macrumors 68040
Original poster
May 27, 2003
3,864
440
Asheville, NC
Well, what can I do? There's a screw in the battery compartment of my Powerbook that keeps coming unscrewed, and it's actually one of the screws that holds down the palm-rest area (I can tell when the screw has become loose again because I see the gap between the plastic binding and the metal under-part of the computer). Is there something I can use to make this thing stay screwed in?
 

aswitcher

macrumors 603
Oct 8, 2003
5,338
14
Canberra OZ
MattG said:
Well, what can I do? There's a screw in the battery compartment of my Powerbook that keeps coming unscrewed, and it's actually one of the screws that holds down the palm-rest area (I can tell when the screw has become loose again because I see the gap between the plastic binding and the metal under-part of the computer). Is there something I can use to make this thing stay screwed in?


Well I dont know. It doesn't sound too bad...that is you dont appeared to be screwed :p
 

iGav

macrumors G3
Mar 9, 2002
9,025
1
If the screw is tightening and then coming loose then go to your local hobby store and buy a tube of Tamiya Liquid Threadlock, apply a small amount of this to the thread of the screw, tighten up and leave it for a couple of hours. And that should do the trick ;). Threadlock is similar to a weak glue that will stop the screw from working it's way loose, but won't affect you undoing the screw if you ever need to.

If however the screw never full tightens then the screw thread is probably damaged, so you'll need to get a replacement from Apple.
 

MattG

macrumors 68040
Original poster
May 27, 2003
3,864
440
Asheville, NC
iGAV said:
If the screw is tightening and then coming loose then go to your local hobby store and buy a tube of Tamiya Liquid Threadlock, apply a small amount of this to the thread of the screw, tighten up and leave it for a couple of hours. And that should do the trick ;). Threadlock is similar to a weak glue that will stop the screw from working it's way loose, but won't affect you undoing the screw if you ever need to.

If however the screw never full tightens then the screw thread is probably damaged, so you'll need to get a replacement from Apple.
Thanks!
The screw isn't stripped, it just keeps coming loose--from the heat maybe?

I'll pick some of this up.
 

poopyhead

macrumors 6502a
iGAV said:
If the screw is tightening and then coming loose then go to your local hobby store and buy a tube of Tamiya Liquid Threadlock, apply a small amount of this to the thread of the screw, tighten up and leave it for a couple of hours. And that should do the trick ;). Threadlock is similar to a weak glue that will stop the screw from working it's way loose, but won't affect you undoing the screw if you ever need to.

If however the screw never full tightens then the screw thread is probably damaged, so you'll need to get a replacement from Apple.

after I dropped my ibook and broke the logic board (which apple fixed for free :D) I had a similar problem
I used threadlock and have had no problems for over a year
 

MattG

macrumors 68040
Original poster
May 27, 2003
3,864
440
Asheville, NC
poopyhead said:
after I dropped my ibook and broke the logic board (which apple fixed for free :D) I had a similar problem
I used threadlock and have had no problems for over a year
Yeah, I'm thinking something similar happened to me. I had to send this computer back twice for white spots on the screen, and I'm thinking Apple just didn't bother to re-threadlock the screws when they were done.
 

iGav

macrumors G3
Mar 9, 2002
9,025
1
MattG said:
Thanks!
The screw isn't stripped, it just keeps coming loose--from the heat maybe?

the heat might have something to do with it I guess... expanding and shrinking.. but that probably has a minimal impact. It's more likely that just general useage, moving it around and gentle vibrations is causing it to come loose.

I recommended the Tamiya Liquid Threadlock as it's formulated for RC Car use, so it's easy on plastic, so it won't cause any damage should it come into contact with anything. But any similar kind of brand will do the job.

I hope it sorts it though! :)
 
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