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Fix the Red Ring of Death! (without towels!)

Step 7The Fun Begins: Screws, Washers, and more screwyness!

The Fun Begins: Screws, Washers, and more screwyness!
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  • screws_washers.JPG
  • screws_taped.JPG
So far, we've prepped the heatsinks and the motherboard case for these 5MM screws. Now we get to make sumtin of it!

With the case sitting flat, fan hole in the back on the right, take note of where you need to stick these screws. the 4 holes on the left X are for your GPU, the 4 holes to the right will be for the CPU screws.

Now put the 5x15MM screws in the GPU screwholes, screwheads on the outside, so that they come into the case. Put tape over the heads to keep them from falling back out, as shown in the second photo. Now put the 5x20MM screws into the CPU screwholes, and tape them just like the GPU screws. This tape is very important, so don't take it off until I say so! Ha ha.

Lay the case flat again, and all the screws should be poking up at you, as they are in the main photo. Place 3 or 4 5MM washers on each of them, the idea being to get them level with the motherboard standoffs. Use a straightedge to check. If they come up too short or too high, the motherboard will get warped, and you won't be fixing anything.

Now the fun begins. You gotta get the motherboard back in the case, with the goal of getting the screws into those orange holes that the X-Clamp posts went through. All while you try to keep those washers on the screws! If they fall off at any point, you'll have to take the motherboard out, put them back on the screw(s), and repeat. So try not to do it, eh?

Tilt the case onto it's right side(where the hard drive connector would be), so that you can reach the screws underneath. Angle the back of the motherboard into the case, and push it all the way to the rear of the case. Lower the board until it gets held up by the rear CPU screws you installed(they should be the CPU screws if the screws were taller than the GPU screws). Now, untape one of those rear CPU screws, and point it into it's hole. Give it a few twists to hold it in place, and thread the other one in. Now, while carefully holding the motherboard and those untaped screws, lower the motherboard until more screws hold you up, and get them into their holes. Don't let those washers fall out!

When it's all said and done, you'll have screws poking through those holes. Tape the heads back to the case so they don't fall out. Now press on the motherboard around the screws, it should be solid at each screw. If not, you'll need to get back to those washers and pop another one on.

But if it's all nice and immobile, throw two washers onto each GPU screw, one onto each CPU screw, and head to the next step!
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35 comments
Mar 13, 2012. 3:44 PMorion883 says:
Fix worked flawlessly. It ended up taking me a little longer than I had originally thought it would, but that's because I really didn't know what I was doing and was watching some TV while I did it. The problem with the washers overlapping was easy to solve by grinding down the edges. I had a few trial and error moments, but this tut brought my box back from the dead! Thanks!
Nov 18, 2011. 12:55 PMgjohnson17 says:
Hi there,

I just recently acquired a older 360 (Zephyr) that had been hacked badly, and thanks to your indepth article, I was able to restore it perfectly ( so far). I don't know how long it will last, but Im hopeful, as I did it as per the instructions. Mine took almost two minutes to overheat though, if that matters.

I wanted to say thanks so much for the article, as without this exhaustive work you have done, I doubt I would have been able to get mine to work . The clincher for me, was the washers. The hacked job ( when I got the console) had 3 washers on each gpu and cpu, but fixing that as per instructions worked perfectly.

Thanks so much.
lee
Feb 12, 2011. 4:51 AMsave_the_turtles says:
My screws and nuts didn't fit, so I just reused the clamps. I somehow got it to work with just taking it completely apart, applying the paste, and reassembling. I would NOT recommend this. Somehow it magically worked after I completely gave up and resembled.
Aug 27, 2010. 9:22 PMRSHastingsIV says:
I've noticed that the #10 machine washers are far to large. They overlap on the 2 pairs of screws closest to each other. On the four screws for the GPU, they overlap various circuits on the circuit board leading to a guaranteed short. However, the #10 nylon/fiber washers have a smaller diameter and solve both problems perfectly. (unfortunately now I need to head back to Home Depot to get more #10 nylon washers.)
Dec 26, 2009. 4:01 PMOblivionNoob says:

I was wondering why  the screws are different sizes if you could please explain that would be great

Aug 27, 2010. 9:17 PMRSHastingsIV says:
The screws are various sizes because the two heat syncs they are holding are different sizes.
Nov 29, 2009. 6:22 PMros46 says:
Help Needed...

Hey, I have done everything to this point...BUT...can someone please explain this part to me -->

"Lay the case flat again, and all the screws should be poking up at you, as they are in the main photo. Place 3 or 4 5MM washers on each of them, the idea being to get them level with the motherboard standoffs. Use a straightedge to check. If they come up too short or too high, the motherboard will get warped, and you won't be fixing anything."

What are the motherboard standoffs? How do I make sure the washers are level with the motherboard standoffs?

Thanks for the help
Apr 5, 2010. 6:28 PMandybb311 says:
the motherboard standoffs are located where the screw holes are in the metal case that fasten to the motherboard from the underside. 

THIS STEP IS VERY IMPORTANT.

If you do not line up the washers to the top or even slightly higher, you will get all kinds of errors and freezes.
what i think happens is the mother board has room to warp concaved and then other components on the mother board ground out on the GPU heat sink fan by slightly touching the metal.

i noticed this one day by how warped my mother board was after it had been working fine for 15hrs of game play...about a week before the freezes began again.

i applied (4) 5 mil nylon washers and (1) 5 mil metal washer inbetween the metal case and the mother board. once you install the underside screws once again, the mother board now is slightly up higher at the xclamp screws than the rest. 6hrs of gameplay so far and no freezes or RRODs. The fans even run very quite now too
Aug 2, 2008. 5:45 AMjquest says:
i don't know if it was only me but the #10 washers were too big that they would over lap each other when i tried the washers on the inside screws. when i say inside screws i mean the the 4 screws that are closest to each other. what i had to do was get #8 washers and drill through them slightly to get them to fit the 5mm screws. the #8 washers is just slightly smaller than 5mm maybe about 0.5 mm.
Mar 20, 2010. 6:37 PMbretterism says:
 i noticed the #10 washers were too large also. what i ended up doing was going back to home depot and i found the #10 nylon washers fit great. they weren't as wide as the machine washers.
Dec 26, 2008. 12:06 PMencerspay1 says:
actually in order to fix this problem, I took a grinder and took off about 1 mm off of one side of each #10 washer and it ended up fitting very nicely. It takes a lot less time and effort than trying to drill bigger holes in #8's.
Jun 18, 2009. 4:11 PMcrd22 says:
I also had to grind the side of 8 washers in order to solve this overlapping problem. This should be made known in the main instructions, as reading these comments is very helpful.
Dec 26, 2008. 12:07 PMencerspay1 says:
Plus, you need the same thickness so using #10's all around are more effective. Nobody likes a warped motherboard.
Sep 5, 2009. 2:43 PMgoombaslayer says:
I put nuts onto the screws so that they stayed in place..will that work? or did i screw this whole thing up lol. havent put everything together yet so i dunno
Mar 1, 2010. 3:30 PMnicholas95 says:
(removed by author or community request)
Mar 1, 2010. 3:33 PMnicholas95 says:
just followed these steps very carefully and put back together and had to tighten  screws slowly and its like we have a brand new x-box 360      3/1/10
Mar 1, 2010. 3:34 PMnicholas95 says:
i did use the nylon washers though
Dec 20, 2009. 5:05 PMRex131 says:
 Alright, someone please help - its starting up, then getting red rings, then as the fans speed up it goes to 2 quadrants only (upper left, bottom left), then the fans stop and the 2 lights still blink. I'm using #10 washers, but left them off one of the 2 screws that are close together. any help?
Jan 11, 2010. 8:45 PMaustinoliveira says:
 Dude, I had that problem until today, my part came in the mail!!!! That is a whole different type of rrod. the 2 rrod is the heat sinks aren't good enough.  All you have to do is buy the XCM core cooler v2 from amazon for around $35 and install them, and it will fix your whole system. BTW the fans are as loud as the disc drive, but it fixes your xbox 360 perfectly fine.
Jan 9, 2010. 3:44 AMmmanz001 says:
 i JUST made the mods on my xbox, and im still having problem with it. but i do know that the two lights (1 & 3) mean that your box is overheating, which is why the fans turn off. i got passes that step by tightening the screws and now it will power up for a minute then flash the red ring of death. i am stuck at this point and am getting frustrated and desperate. any help would be great.
Nov 12, 2009. 3:41 PMS33K5 says:
Help needed: ASAP

I"m currently repairing two Xbox 360's at the moment.

1.) I have not expand any holes, although, once the Xbox has begun to over heat it starts to cool off. I then try and reboot and still I am hunted by the RROD.

2.) I have tighten the screws very tight, to the point where you can not. I have also tried to loosen and then re-tighten to not the very same affect. 


Note: I have followed all instructions carefully and exactly.  I have only placed one nylon on every screw. The fan is unplugged and the hard-drive is not intact during over heating. I used  #10-32 X 1/2" screws for the GPU and #10-32 x 1 screws for the CPU. I have used thermal material remover and purifier to clean both GUP and CPU chips.

Is there a solution toward this?
Nov 11, 2009. 8:18 PMhermiker says:
You are supposed to put two washers on each screw between the  gpu heatsink and the motherboard, and one washer on each screw between the cpu heatsink and motherboard?  I tried this and my xbox now switches between red lights on 1 and 4 to red lights on 1 and 2.  Any ideas?
Sep 8, 2009. 12:12 PMpmi82 says:
Thanks to you also. My stepson's 360 is back working and he was amazed. The differences I did was also grind the #10 washers I got from Home Depot where they overlapped in the center. Since they overlapped the MB circuit wire runs I used electrical tape on the sides of the washers touching the MB (16 total). I also used Radio Shack silicon based thermal compound instead of the silver kind and it seems to work fine so far. I also took the cpu heatsink with me to Home Depot to test the threads of the screws before I bought them.
Aug 27, 2009. 2:54 AMNorcal2500HD says:
Thank you for this...Just fixed my sons first 360. The one thing I did different was this.... Before installing and taping the screws, I removed the fan unit. With the tape side down and screws up, I installed the motherboard. After the MB was in, the fan unit snapped right back into place......No more worrying about washers falling off the screws when its on its side......
Jul 9, 2009. 3:56 PMmiker1 says:
The problem i had was every #10 washer i found had too much diamter causing it to overlap sensitive portions of the MB. It would have shorted. I could see this being easy to do. The washers in the tutorial are less wide than anything i could find. Instead i used one synthetic washer at each point that touched the motherboard. Then metal washers after that. Worked like a charm. I was very skeptical about this, but low and behold my xbox is woking
Jun 12, 2009. 6:56 AMbotzalso says:
I have a different heat sink then the one pictured(no "x" bracket) I assume the same directions apply just use shorter screws?
Jun 2, 2009. 6:36 PMmymanesbetta says:
should i use rubber washers or is metal fine? i have seen rubber on other videos but i wanted to see which is better...thank you
Jun 2, 2009. 8:27 AMOnda says:
Does it make a big difference if I used longer screws? (40 mm =P) I drilled through the smaller heatsink.
May 21, 2009. 9:09 AMccordoba069 says:
can you fix the red rings without changing the x-clamps?
May 30, 2009. 2:01 PMJeff123 says:
i guess you could re-use the x-clamps and just tighten the heatsinks the xbox might work again but then you have the same problem(RRoD) because it is the same faulty parts.
May 29, 2009. 2:27 PMCrakur says:
no, you have to take the x-clamps off, otherwise you couldnt get the heatsinks off, i've found the best way is to use needle-nosed pliers, after you get one off, just press down on the one you got off, and the other one will pop right off
May 20, 2009. 10:07 AMcterry511 says:
thanks!! I looked all over the web trying to find this info.. Why didn't I come here first.
Apr 19, 2009. 5:08 PMmooseman419 says:
I used #10 nylon washers ( a little more expensive, but not much more) and they fit perfect on each screw and didn't touch each othter
Jan 11, 2009. 8:05 PMZ0n3d0ut says:
thanks for the tut. had to make a few mods along the way.i have the arcade edition and ended up using #10 lock washers and bending them together, only reason is when using both the #10 and # 8 washers both turned out to be touching something that it wasn't supposed to be touching, also had to use 1/2 inch machine screws all around, but all in all my 360 is working again, so thanks.
Nov 7, 2008. 11:20 AMRandomHero34 says:
The recommended "machine screws" is misleading, what you actually want is bolts. Threading is drastically different.
Nov 28, 2008. 12:16 PMBlackoutXIII says:
There are two thread pitches for a #10 machine screw: #10-32 UNF (fine thread - 32 threads per inch) and #10-24 UNC (coarse thread - 24 tpi). If you buy the fasteners from Home Depot, they're probably called "machine bolts" and if you buy them from an industrial supplier, they're called "machine screws".
Jun 22, 2008. 12:13 AMneoncyber says:
Thanks Dr. Prof for saving me time with the amount of washers you used (4) under the mobo. It definitely was the perfect amount, as all the I/O components matched up properly with the case.

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Author:Jake Turner(Jake Turner)
Where to start... I get bored and reach for either a soldering iron or a keyboard. I have a short attention span. I love working with electronics, eating pizza, and making all sorts of things. I've be...
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