Difficulty

Easy

Steps

8

Time Required

                          5 - 10 minutes

Sections

4

  • Access Door
  • 2 steps
  • Battery
  • 1 step
  • Lower Case
  • 2 steps
  • Fan
  • 3 steps

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Introduction

What you need

Step 1

              Access Door
  • With the case closed, place the Unibody top-side down on a flat surface.
  • Depress the grooved side of the access door release latch enough to grab the free end. Lift the release latch until it is vertical.

With the case closed, place the Unibody top-side down on a flat surface.

Depress the grooved side of the access door release latch enough to grab the free end. Lift the release latch until it is vertical.

1024

Step 2

  • The access door should now be raised enough to lift it up and out of the Unibody.

The access door should now be raised enough to lift it up and out of the Unibody.

Step 3

              Battery
  • Be sure the access door release latch is vertical before proceeding.
  • Grab the white plastic tab and pull the battery up and out of the Unibody.

Be sure the access door release latch is vertical before proceeding.

Grab the white plastic tab and pull the battery up and out of the Unibody.

Step 4

              Lower Case
  • Remove the following eight screws securing the lower case to the chassis:
  • One 3 mm Phillips screw.
  • Three 13.5 mm Phillips screws.
  • Four 3.5 mm Phillips screws.

Remove the following eight screws securing the lower case to the chassis:

One 3 mm Phillips screw.

Three 13.5 mm Phillips screws.

Four 3.5 mm Phillips screws.

Step 5

  • Using both hands, lift and remove the lower case off the upper case.

Using both hands, lift and remove the lower case off the upper case.

Step 6

              Fan
  • Use a spudger to pry the fan connector straight up off the logic board.
  • It is useful to twist the spudger axially from beneath the fan cable wires to release the connector.
  • The fan socket and the fan connector can be seen in the second and third pictures. Be careful not to break the plastic fan socket off the logic board as you use your spudger to lift the fan connector straight up and out of its socket. The layout of the logic board shown in the second picture may look slightly different than your machine but the fan socket is the same.

Use a spudger to pry the fan connector straight up off the logic board.

It is useful to twist the spudger axially from beneath the fan cable wires to release the connector.

The fan socket and the fan connector can be seen in the second and third pictures. Be careful not to break the plastic fan socket off the logic board as you use your spudger to lift the fan connector straight up and out of its socket. The layout of the logic board shown in the second picture may look slightly different than your machine but the fan socket is the same.

Step 7

  • Remove the following three screws securing the fan to the upper case:
  • Two 5 mm Phillips screws.
  • One 7 mm Phillips screw.
  • The longer of the three screws belongs in the upper left corner of the fan.

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

Two 5 mm Phillips screws.

One 7 mm Phillips screw.

The longer of the three screws belongs in the upper left corner of the fan.

Step 8

  • Lift the fan out of the upper case.

Lift the fan out of the upper case.

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

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                    Walter Galan

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Jon Bukovsky - Apr 22, 2017

Reply

This doesn’t look ANYTHING like my A1278. You should check that not every A1278 is the same.

Carl Hauschke - Apr 24, 2017

All Non-Retina 13" MacBook Pros and the Late 2008 Aluminum MacBook have the same A1278 Model Number (I guess due to the almost identical chassis).

azza malik - Jan 2, 2019

Reply

Bonjour. j’ai bien réalisé toutes les étapes mais l’ordinateur ne redémarre plus et l’écran s’allume mais reste “sombre” (pas d’apparition de la pomme non plus)…

J’ai réinstallé les anciens ventilateurs mais le problème persiste (initialement, j’avais bien vérifié que mon macbook s’allumait correctement avant le changement des ventilos).

Quelqu’un aurait une solution? Les forums indiquent le reset SMC, mais ça ne donne rien… Merci

petitonton - Sep 13, 2019

Reply

Vérifie la petite prise qui relie le chassis principal avec l’écran. Elle se débranche facilement sans crier gare, l’écran fonctionne anormalement ou pas du tout et la pomme au dos reste éteinte. C’est pas grave, rien n’est cassé mais c’est c….t ! A rebrancher avec précaution. Apple adore les connecteurs minuscules fragiles. Ceci dit je ne remplacerai pas mon Mac de sitôt !

harwood - Feb 20, 2020

Reply

This is a very straightforward job. I was on the point of changing my laptop when I realised how easily and cheaply I could change the fan, getting rid of the annoying noise of a worn out fan. One tip: use a vacuum cleaner to clear the dust from the air intake and general area of the fan.