Creaky Laptop Hinge

[Minachan]

Greets!

My Toshiba laptop that I had purchased a 'long' time ago, upwards to 4 or 5 years I think, has had creaky hinges for a while. I didn't think anything of it, but now one of the two hinges has completely become immovable (unmovable?). In any case, I can't move it. The metal start to bend and the plastic casing on the top has a little iddy-bitty crack in it -- a few cosmestic faults that I can live with. But, I can't close my laptop! It's stuck in the open position.

Model: Toshiba Satelitte 1730
Warranty: Long over due

Having opened the laptop once before because I was curious, I dove in yet again. . . this time further. Now the laptop is in a bunch of peices and I've isolated both hinges -- disconnected them from the actual LCD panel (wow, it's so small!!). It wasn't as scary as working inside a CRT monitor though. . . yikes.

If anyone has any experience with this; how can I lube up the hinges? Right now I've got one one of the hinges submersed in a puddle of WD-40 as a test, that can't hurt it right?

Pictures:
Hinge (It won't move!!)
WD-40 in a cup! Wrapped to prevent evaporation
Laptop LCD screen, it's so tiny!

~Mina.

Thanks for your help!

 

[OneClone]

liquid silicon (silica) one of those lubricants are fantastik. also try graphite shavings from a pencil. that werks wonders as well.

hope that helps.

/CLONE

 

[Minachan]

Graphite shavings!? I've never heard of that one, I'll try that one out sometime. I got impatient and just cut off the left hinge. The laptop looks as it should, I just have to be [more] careful now. But now, at least, I know my laptop inside and out after taking it down to a bunch of parts. Although, having 5+ screws left over can't be good.

Thanks for the suggestion, though, OneClone. Knowledge I will use again should a similar situation surface

~Mina.

 

[Abhi]

Lubricanting it would have been better than cutting it off...

 

[Agamar]

I fixed a Dell with that problem. It actually had already broken the bezel around the LCD. They sent me a replacement hinge and a bezel under warranty.

 

[Minachan]

I did a rather clean cut and kept the other hinge. If, by chance, I do get it lube'd up, can I just tape/superglue/solder it back together? I found some Silica Lub around the house so I think I'll try that when I get home from work today.

Haha, perhaps cutting it was a bit hasty of me. . . it looks and works great right now though. Without knowing it, I fixed my sound issues too. The sound just stopped working one day a few months ago in class. I guess there were some loose flat cables in there. Wahoo, mp3s on my laptop again!

~Mina.