macdan
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Apple's PowerBook G3 Series (Wallstreet, etc.) has a well-earned reputation for breaking hinge clutch housings. I disassembled some broken Wallstreet 14" display hinges and examined the failure. The clutch housings fail when repeated flexing causes the housing to expand and crack open. The only cure (so far) has been to replace the entire hinge with a new Apple part or with an aftermarket item, either homemade or purchased from such vendors as MCE. The hinge assemblies of each of the three screen sizes are of different designs and are not interchangable between the various screens models. However the clutches themselves appeared to be very similar, if not identical, among the different models. I suspected one could swap clutch housings between hinge models. So to test my hypothosis, I acquired (cheaply, of course) a damaged 12" display with an intact hinge clutch. I removed the clutch from the 12" hinge and installed it onto one of my 14" display hinges. It fits and works just like the original. The biggest advantage to this approach is that 12" display hinge assemblies are much cheaper than those for the 14" displays. Those prices may go up however if knowledge of this technique becomes widely disseminated :-) |
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I removed the clutch from the 12" hinge by driving out its central pin from the hole at the hinge's opposite end. I put the 12" hinge's mounting tab into a vise and hammered a small nail through the hole and the clutch assembly popped right out. I removed the hinge pin from the 14" hinge by grabbing it with ViseGrips and pulling. It's important that you do not wiggle the pin around sideways, be sure to pull it straight out. You need the replacement clutch's pin's splines to fit tightly into hole. |
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Once I had the replacement clutch in hand I carefully pressed it into the 14" hinge assembly. Be sure the pin's splines are going into the old pin's spline slots in the hinge end. You don't want to bugger up the 14" hinge assembly. Once pressed in by hand, I then used a small hammer to tap the outer end to fully seat the clutch pin. Be certain you tap/hammer on the pin end and not the housing, no need to crack that right away. |
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2004.05.16 - new page