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rufunky

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 13, 2013
115
2
Boston, Ma
Can someone help me with a part name and possibly a place to get it? It is for a MacBook Air A1466 early 2014. The heatsink screw standoff popped off the board and I have no idea where to get another one other than buying a parts board.

20160820_191138.jpg
 
Maybe you could epoxy the old standoff back in place to the board?
Unless you lost the standoff, and would need another solution.
 
Maybe you could epoxy the old standoff back in place to the board?
Unless you lost the standoff, and would need another solution.
I lost the standoff and I believe they are soldered on but I could be wrong and that could be why it fell off in the first place :/
 
You could try your luck at DigiKey -- they generally have the good selection of such stuff. You'll want to take measurements with a micrometer, and look closely at how it was attached. iFixit says they're 2.5mm threads.
 
I can't tell from the pictures. Does the hole go through the back of the motherboard?

If so I would run a screw through the back. Perhaps a a very flat pan head. Such as one from another laptop. It needs to be long enough to go through the motherboard, heatsink and space. Don't worry if it is too long you can always cut and file it to length. On the back you will also need a washer so the screw head doesn't pull through the board. Unless you can find a screw with a wide enough head. You will also need washers for spacers and a small nut to clamp down on the heatsink.

So it would be setup as the screw going through. Washer > Motherboard > Spacer (washers) > heatsink > nut. If everything is thin enough it should work. Looking a the teardown on iFixit. There are small gaps.

Another option would be to build your own standoff if you are good at soldering. It runs a higher risk due to the heat of the soldering iron. If you can find an appropriate size nut and washer. You could clean up that mount point and solder on a washer and nut. You could also use glue but you'll never get it off again if you align it wrong.

You can try boltdepot and start off with 2.5mm Washers, nuts and screws. Since that is what the Macbook used originally. You'll have to take measurements to find the appropriate ones. I'd buy a variety due to wait times and shipping costs. Each one is so cheap it would be good to have a range of sizes. Say 2.5mm to 3mm, and several shaft lengths.
https://www.boltdepot.com/Product-Details.aspx?product=6827
https://www.boltdepot.com/Product-Details.aspx?product=7365
https://www.boltdepot.com/Product-Details.aspx?product=7363
 
I can't tell from the pictures. Does the hole go through the back of the motherboard?

It is a surface mount standoff with a flange on the bottom and a throughput hole. I'm really hoping someone has a parts board they could grab one off.
 
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