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Screw Driver to tighten case?

M

minnus

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 12, 2011
347
0
My case has been noticeably creaking as of late (during pickup or palm resting). I am hoping to tighten the screws. I know that ifixit is selling one for $13, but $13 seems a little excessive for a one/two time use tool - can anyone recommend anything else - be it a cheaper alternative or a more expensive but more practical (like a kit) solution?
 
minnus said:
My case has been noticeably creaking as of late (during pickup or palm resting). I am hoping to tighten the screws. I know that ifixit is selling one for $13, but $13 seems a little excessive for a one/two time use tool - can anyone recommend anything else - be it a cheaper alternative or a more expensive but more practical (like a kit) solution?
Click to expand...

Those screws are the new ones Apple is using with rounded ends. The drivers for those screws are almost impossible to find anywhere else. I think $13 is a pretty good deal. Who knows... maybe you'll upgrade the SSD one day.

Also, remember that if the screws have worked themselves loose now, they'll probably work themselves loose again sometime soon.

My 2010 MBA creaks too, btw. I haven't investigated buying a driver to tighten it up yet, but maybe I will now...
 
Just check eBay for macbook air screwdriver.

I got mine for 3 or 4 $ from Hong Kong, and it's the same as ifixit ( from the Best 8800C set ).
 
Mine is creaking too. Just slightly annoying- at least at this point, so I wonder how many people are experiencing this issue? :confused:

I was going to stop by one of the stores and see if a simple screw-tightening would fix this, but I guess not...
 
It is very weird, since having personally handled 3 MBAs, they all start out rock solid. Over the course of a a week though, the body starts creaking...then more and more frequently.
 
miles01110 said:
Tightening the case screws isn't going to eliminate the creaking anyways. Unless the case is noticeably loose, don't even bother.
Click to expand...

My experience has been different. I've had both a 2010 and a 2011 MBA. I bought one of the ifixit drivers when I had my 2010 MBA. Both creaked at one point until i tightened all of the screws. That eliminated the creaking for me on both devices.
 
Exact same issue here. Very annoying.

Tightening the screws alone didn't work for me.

There are some that claim that removing the cover and re-aligning it will help. A minor mis-alignment can result in noises.
 
I wonder if the Five-point star bit (1) 5/64'' from this kit will fit?

http://www.harborfreight.com/hand-t...iece-screwdriver-set-with-tweezers-97517.html

I have different 24-in-1 kits from this site that I got a while ago for like $10. It doesn't have any 5-point bits though...

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Actually it looks like the MBA screws are pentalobe 1.2mm, so the 5/64" will not fit.

I wonder if the T4 or T3 Torx would fit?



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I think this is the best choice right now: http://www.ebay.com/itm/180724730627

It's dual purpose. It has a dual-sided pentalobe bit with 1.2mm for MBA and MBP, and 0.8mm for IP4.
 
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