Repair a Broken Toshiba Laptop Hinge

Intro: Repair a Broken Toshiba Laptop Hinge

Recently I acquired a laptop from my daughter that needed some repair to the hinges. The laptop would no longer close properly because the hinge had broken loose from the laptop lid. The brass inserts pulled out and broke the plastic housings molded inside the lid. It would cost $200 to repair the laptop.It is a couple of years old, so it was not worth paying that much to fix it.

STEP 1: Items Required

Cordless Drill

Drill Index

Hacksaw

3 mm coupling nuts

3 mm short screws

Small Screwdrivers

Vicegrips or vice

STEP 2: Determine What Happened

This diagram illustrates what has happened. It shows how the mount broke and how it should look. It gave me the inspiration on how to fix it.

STEP 3: Remove Garnish

On this laptop I had to remove 4 screws in the corners of the laptop. They had a small sticker on them that had to be popped off in order to access the screw. After removing the screw, unsnap the garnish.

STEP 4: Remove Hinge Screws

Remove the screws from the good hinge. On the bad hinge, I had to hold the brass inserts with a pair of pliers and removed the screws.

STEP 5: Drill Out the Hole and Clean Out the Remnants of the Plastic Housing

I drilled 2 small 3mm holes through the laptop lid located in the center of the Plastic housings that held the threaded inserts. I needed these holes to insert screws through the lid that will eventually secure the hinge. I used a larger drill bit (Around 1/4 inch) and twisted it with my fingers to gently remove the remnants of the broken Plastic Housing. Do not drill into the laptop lid. You may have to use a small screwdriver to chip away any remaining bits of plastic.

STEP 6: Install Coupling Nut

I had a 3 mm coupling nut which I cut with a hacksaw to make threaded spacers to replace the Molded Plastic housing. I cut these the same length as the original housings (About 6 mm long) A 3mm screw attaches the coupling nut to the Laptop Lid. This screw goes a little less than halfway in the coupling nut. You need to leave some threads available for the hinge to secure to. There will be two screw heads showing on the laptop lid. The sketch shows the side view of how the coupling nuts are secured.

STEP 7: Reattach the Hinge

Reattach the hinges. The screws and coupling nut I used were 3mm. This was slightly larger than the original screws so I had to drill the holes in the hinges a little bit larger. The sketch shows the final assembly of the repair. After the hinges are attached, replace the garnish and the repair is complete.

STEP 8: Finished

The repair is complete and the laptop opens and closes like new. The only thing is there are now two screw heads showing on the laptop lid. I can put a piece of Black electrical tape over the screws if they annoy me too much! Good luck with your repair and I hope it works out for you!

Comments

[maschine1122]

See my reply below to David.8. Its possible to do this repair with no disassembly. E.g. You don't even have to remove the plastic bevel / garnish.

All you you need is a power drill and a couple of M3 screws 14mm long together with their corresponding nuts. The trick is to drill 2mm pilot holes from the hinge side through into the case cover. You'll be using the bottom two screw holes in the bezel / garnish. Now expand the pilot holes to 3mm, drill from the case cover side back towards the hinge. Finally fit the screw in from the case side with the nut on the bezel side. If the screws are too long you can file down. If you want to disguise the nuts a dab of black enamel works.

One screw per hinge is all you'll need for this repair.

Btw the lid of the P850 doesn't fit the P855. I know because I bought this and it's bezel hoping it would fix this problematic hinge. :(

[David.8]

I've had the same problem, and apparently a lot of others have as well. There is a class action lawsuit. I found a much simpler way to repair the problem. I got a tube of gorilla glue epoxy, and I just glued it back together. It's holding fine, and if it ever breaks again, then I'll just glue it again.

[maschine1122]

I tried epoxy but it doesn't last long. The trouble is the tension in the hinge.

There's a thin metal strip along side the LCD screen which is attached to the hinge, I believe this is suppose to take the leverage force as you close the lid and direct it to the hinge. On mine Its broken at the point where it attaches to the hinge.

I eventually got around to sorting this, though only after one side of the bezel had snapped. :(
The easiest solution is a couple of M3 size screws together with their corresponding nuts.

First I removed the outermost screws from the hinges. The same screws are also used to retain the bezel. The inner screws on the hinge did not need to modded.

Then in I drilled 2mm pilot holes from the hinge side towards the case. Then from the case side using the pilot holes, I drilled 2.5mm followed by 3mm holes. I left the brass grommet / insert in place, so no need for the connecting nut.

Finally it it was a simple matter to feed the screw from the case side, through the reattached bezel and retain with the Nuts. Allowing for the bezel, the screws should be no more than 15mm (actual 14mm including the head of the screw). The screws were originally much longer but were easy to cut with pliers and file down with a metal file.

It took about 15 minutes to sort once I had all the bits. The key component was of course the M3 x 15 size screws c/o eBay. Both hinges are now sorted for the price of a couple of screws. I just wish I'd seen this blog before the bezel broke. Its actually possible to do this mod without disassebly, ie without removing the bezel / garnish.

[Hashem_Mehyar]

nice work, but the visible screws is a turn off, I repaired the same laptop with super glue and tissue paper. with no visible signs of repair.

[maschine1122]

Superglue is only a cosmetic fix. The flaw of this laptop is the tension in the hinge, if only the was a way to reduce this.

[gadgetjim]

I am sure that worked well for you. I wanted to make sure that this would not fail again. I know the mechanical attachment will not fail. Besides, I do not see the screws when I am looking at the screen so they do not bother me! I have had some poor experiences with super glue. Thanks for the feedback!

[Sue-denim]

The best way I found to do this was to follow roughly the main parts of this intractable but instead of using the coupling nut as shown look up "Binding Screws" I purchased four 5mm long , drilled the case as shown passed the nut through from outside and fixed the hinge back in place using the screws supplied with the binding screws. it makes a very neat and tidy job and if the nuts are painted with a matching dab of paint they become almost invisible.

here is an example of a binding nut.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/152565395523?chn=ps...

Happy fixing

Sue-Denim.

[Guardian oft]

Yes, these binding screws or Chicago screws work great although 5mm was too long for my Toshiba S55-B5289 so I had to cut them down. I think 3mm would have been perfect. I preferred silver to match the lid but didn't have much choice at the local Ace Hardware with only one selection. Anyway, thanks for posting. Very helpful.

[Rkayefrank]

Dammit. This is brilliant instruction. But I was hoping I could use duct tape.

[gweebles]

Where can I get the 3mm coupler? I have looked at all our hardware/home improvement places and nothing.

[gadgetjim]

Gweebles,
The 3mm coupling nut is from a standoff from a circuit board. I do a bit of tinkering and it is one I salvaged at one time or another. You may be able to get one from a computer repair place or an electronics supply store. You can order them from Newegg.com. They are cheap and free shipping. Good luck and let me know how it works out. I have attached a screen shot that gives the part number and description of the item.

[gweebles]

It worked! You saved me $300 In computer repairs! thank you

[gadgetjim]

I am glad it worked out! Thanks for looking and also the feedback!

[UtsavC]

hey my acer laptop has the same problem
will this technique work on it too.


!!!!!????

[gadgetjim]

UstavC, It will depend on how your laptop is made. I imagine with a little ingenuity you will be able to come up with something similar. You may want to search a few other sites to see if someone else had the same problem and came up with a solution. YouTube has been a good source of inspiration for me. Good Luck and let me know how it works out!

[Magzzee]

My hubby has a Toshiba laptop with this exact problem! Will have to show him this. Thanks so much for the great ible.

[gadgetjim]

Good luck! Please let me know how it works out for you.

[norgumra]

That's cool, I have same laptop with same problem, will have to try this. Thanks for the share.

[gadgetjim]

Good luck with it. I hope it works out well for you!