Loose screw... What should I do?

[karatekidk]

Hi all. I have owned a MBP 13" for a month and loving it. So this is what happened this morning...

I upgraded RAM by myself and found one screw on the back panel loose after finishing the upgrade. It's not totally loose; still staying, but doesn't get tightened.

Am I being too picky? Should I just suck it up and move on?

Thank you very much for your input.

 

[Gav2k]

If it's not getting any tighter it's stripped. You have two choices. Take your ram out and take it back or keep it. If you take it back you risk getting a refurb.

 

[heliuscc]

You've stripped the thread

Try using some threadlock to sort it out, aluminum is soft and easily stripped out

 

[rgarjr]

yeah try some loctite and if it don't work, forget about it.

 

[Kronie]

They make thread repairing compound for stripped threads. Any autoparts store will have it. Smear in the putty, screw in the screw, wait for it to dry and unscrew.......new threads! Its designed for much bigger bolts than the tiny screws of a MBP but there is no reason it wont work, just use less.

 

[karatekidk]

Thanks for all the input, guys. I just brought it to a local "mac store" and asked one of experts. He said the hole is stripped and suggested I have it sent to Apple to get the top case replaced. He "assumes" applecare would cover but no guarantee.

Anyway, just to get the ball rolling, I am leaning toward getting it sent to Apple. I personally can't believe the amount of hustle. I mean, how can I make a mistake unscrew a tiny screw and screw it back in? I have owned some ibooks and PBs and done ram upgrade many times...

Do you think Applecare would cover it? Anyone who has similar stories?

Thanks!

 

[sdsvtdriver]

dude, just put some locktite on it and call it a day. why go through all that over a screw?

 

[phixiuz]

dude, just put some locktite on it and call it a day. why go through all that over a screw?

indeed...

 

[Azathoth]

You do know that there's a technique to screwing screws back into soft materials (plastic, aluminium etc)? Screw the screw in softly and slowly in the reverse motion, the moment you feel a slight 'click' then start screwing in the right direction, this avoids stripping the threads.

Other options (for stripped threads) are to use a tap and die set and a larger screw.

 

[m85476585]

I don't think AppleCare will cover the top case since you stripped it out yourself. It will probably cost several hundred dollars for them to fix it, too.

Personally, I would go with a DIY repair, but I don't think they will like that if you ever have to bring your computer in for repairs. They might make you pay to fix it and void your Applecare if you don't.

 

[Cloudane]

Is anything falling out? If not, I wouldn't bother unless you have OCD or something. It'll cost a lot of $. (or £ or whatever)

 

[andrew upstairs]

Did you put each screw back in exactly where you took it from? If no, that could be your problem. Different sizes are used.

 

[karatekidk]

Thanks for all the questions. The store person called me the day after I checked it in and said there was no problem. He said the problem was actually the screw (???), not the hole. They put another screw they had at the store, and it was just fine.

I was a little perplexed... but alright.

 

[Cloudane]

Was just watching a programme about 80s technology, and all the studying and confusion you had to go through to get it to actually work.

To think that nowadays, people get perplexed over a screw

 

[Sun Baked]

To think that nowadays, people get perplexed over a screw

And to think I thought it was a mental issue instead of a hardware issue.

 

[Cloudane]

It could be, although I wasn't originally going to be that cheeky