[ltp] Re-use the existing screws ?

[Helen Borrie]

At 05:20 a.m. 28/02/2014, Joerg Bruehe wrote:
>Hi!
>
>
>It seems I have to replace the CMOS battery in my trusted R51 (bought in March, 2005). Thanks to the Thinkwiki, I found the relevant documentation, including the Lenovo "Hardware Maintenance Manual".
>
>That manual contains a note that screws should be used only once, because of their nylon coating to protect against loosening from vibration.
>
>What are your experiences with the screws:
>- Should I buy and use new ones,
>- should I re-use the current ones and apply some sealing
>  ("Loctite" comes to mind"),
>- or should I re-use the current ones and just make sure they are
>  tightened properly?

Don't use any sealant!  Aaaargh!  Buy a kit of screws so you can replace any that have lost their coating, as de-coated screws will RUST and get stuck.  

That said, I have recently done some running repairs on my two T42 boxes and my T60 and T61.  Lenovo Australasia was unable to supply the screw kits for these old models so I picked one up on eBay for $5 US, free postage.  Here's the TinyURL: 
http://tinyurl.com/kpqpph2  The R-series screw kits are the same as the T-series.

I can vouch that this guy posted the screw kit the same day;  it was on my desk within a week;  and they are genuine Lenovo screws.

And +1 to the advice to use jeweller's screwdrivers.  That is from my own bitter experience of wrecking screws by using general-purpose screwdrivers in the past.  Add a magnifier to that tool-kit and inspect all the screws that you remove.  Discard any that are showing metal or rust in the threads or on the screw-heads.

Helen