Macbook Air 11 Late 2010 Heat Sink Replacement Repair Guide

Difficulty

Difficult

Steps

Time Required

                          40 minutes - 1 hour

Sections

Lower Case
2 steps
Battery
1 step
Solid-State Drive
2 steps
I/O Board Cable
2 steps
Fan
3 steps
Heat Sink
2 steps

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BackMacBook Air 11" Late 2010
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Introduction

What you need

Step 1

              Lower Case

Before proceeding, close your computer and lay it on a soft surface top-side down.
Remove the following ten screws:
Two 8 mm 5-point Pentalobe screws
Eight 2.5 mm 5-point Pentalobe screws
The special screwdriver needed to remove the eight 5-point Pentalobe screws can be found here.

Before proceeding, close your computer and lay it on a soft surface top-side down.

Remove the following ten screws:

Two 8 mm 5-point Pentalobe screws

Eight 2.5 mm 5-point Pentalobe screws

The special screwdriver needed to remove the eight 5-point Pentalobe screws can be found here.

1024

Step 2

Wedge your fingers between the display and the lower case and pull upward to pop the lower case off the Air.
Remove the lower case and set it aside.

Wedge your fingers between the display and the lower case and pull upward to pop the lower case off the Air.

Remove the lower case and set it aside.

Step 3

              Battery

In this step you will disconnect the battery to help avoid shorting out any components during service.
Use the flat end of a spudger to pry both short sides of the battery connector upward to disconnect it from its socket on the logic board.
Bend the battery cable slightly away from the logic board so the connector will not accidentally contact its socket.

In this step you will disconnect the battery to help avoid shorting out any components during service.

Use the flat end of a spudger to pry both short sides of the battery connector upward to disconnect it from its socket on the logic board.

Bend the battery cable slightly away from the logic board so the connector will not accidentally contact its socket.

Step 4

              Solid-State Drive

Remove the single 2.9 mm T5 Torx screw securing the SSD to the logic board.

Remove the single 2.9 mm T5 Torx screw securing the SSD to the logic board.

Step 5

Use a spudger to help lift the free end of the SSD just enough to grab it with your other hand.
Do not lift the end of the SSD excessively.
Pull the drive straight out of its socket and remove it from the logic board.
When reinstalling the SSD, be sure it is properly seated before reinstalling its retaining screw.

Use a spudger to help lift the free end of the SSD just enough to grab it with your other hand.

Do not lift the end of the SSD excessively.

Pull the drive straight out of its socket and remove it from the logic board.

When reinstalling the SSD, be sure it is properly seated before reinstalling its retaining screw.

Step 6

              I/O Board Cable

Use the flat end of a spudger to pry the I/O board cable connector upward out of its socket on the I/O board.

Use the flat end of a spudger to pry the I/O board cable connector upward out of its socket on the I/O board.

Step 7

The following connector has an especially deep socket. Use care when disconnecting it.
While gently pulling the I/O board cable upward near its connection to the logic board, use the tip of a spudger to pry upward on alternating sides of the connector to help “walk” it out of its socket.
Remove the I/O board cable.

The following connector has an especially deep socket. Use care when disconnecting it.

While gently pulling the I/O board cable upward near its connection to the logic board, use the tip of a spudger to pry upward on alternating sides of the connector to help “walk” it out of its socket.

Remove the I/O board cable.

Step 8

Fan

Use the tip of a spudger to carefully flip up the retaining flap on the fan cable ZIF socket.
Be sure you are prying up on the hinged retaining flap, not the socket itself.

Use the tip of a spudger to carefully flip up the retaining flap on the fan cable ZIF socket.

Be sure you are prying up on the hinged retaining flap, not the socket itself.

Step 9

Remove the following three screws securing the fan to the upper case:
Two 5.2 mm T5 Torx screws
One 3.6 mm T5 Torx screw

Remove the following three screws securing the fan to the upper case:

Two 5.2 mm T5 Torx screws

One 3.6 mm T5 Torx screw

Step 10

Lift the fan out of the upper case and carefully pull the fan ribbon cable out of its socket as you remove it from the Air.

Lift the fan out of the upper case and carefully pull the fan ribbon cable out of its socket as you remove it from the Air.

Step 11

              Heat Sink

Remove the eight 2.5 mm T5 Torx screws securing the heat sink to the logic board.

Remove the eight 2.5 mm T5 Torx screws securing the heat sink to the logic board.

Step 12

If the heat sink seems to be stuck to the logic board after removing all eight screws, use a spudger to carefully separate the heat sink from the faces of the CPU and GPU.
Remove the heat sink from the logic board.
When reinstalling the heat sink, be sure to apply a new layer of thermal paste. If you have never applied thermal paste before, we have a guide that makes it easy.

If the heat sink seems to be stuck to the logic board after removing all eight screws, use a spudger to carefully separate the heat sink from the faces of the CPU and GPU.

Remove the heat sink from the logic board.

When reinstalling the heat sink, be sure to apply a new layer of thermal paste. If you have never applied thermal paste before, we have a guide that makes it easy.

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

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                    Andrew Bookholt

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Introduction#

What you need#

Introduction

What you need