MacBook Unibody Model A1342 Fan Replacement

Written By: Walter Galan
  • Comments: 28
MacBook Unibody Model A1342 Fan Replacement

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

7

Time Required

10 - 30 minutes

Introduction

Replacing a defective fan will keep your laptop running cool.

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    • Remove the eight 4 mm Phillips screws securing the lower case to the MacBook.

    According to this page http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1651?viewl..., the 8 screws are not identical.

    Can anybody tell me where each kind of screw is supposed to go?

    Gregoire -

    They are all 100% Identical. You were probably looking at a different model, or Apple has entered the wrong information... Hey, It happens...

    Owen Davies -

    The screws on the Late 2009 are identical. The blue lock compound might make tightening some require a little more effort.

    svenaustx -

    Can I replace it with a SATA 3 cable?

    nm -

    A1342 macbook does not have the right controller to support sata III

    Owen Davies -

    hi, i just got back from the apple store and they are really keen for me to upgrade to a new laptop since my battery is old and the screen is cracked, so glad i found ifixit i would love to upgrade this puppy! gonna make it a real sleeper! styler hall wrote about sticking 16 gb of ram in his a 1342 ? is this a simply mather of ordering 3 4gb sticks ?aslo i currently have 4 gb and would like to upgrade to 8 ( or indeed 16) does that mean i need to buy all new sticks or can i continue to use the old one and stick a new one next to it ?

    thanks again mick van aar, perth western aus.

    michelvanaar -

    The A1342 will take up to 16 GB of RAM, however, there are only two RAM slots, so use two 8-GB RAM modules. Other World Computing (OWC) is a great reference source for info on exactly which RAM to use with which model; prices are usually much better on EBay though. Add an SSD from OWC and your machine will really scream!

    I hope that helps!

    gdesbrisay -

    Gregoire is right. The 8 screws are absolutely NOT identical, I’m looking at them right now, weeowey weeowey.

    John Guzman -

    I just wanted to say that, in 2020, i used these instructions to replace the magsafe socket on my A1286, mid-2012, pre-Retina MacBook Pro. The internal layout is not quite the same but close enough for me to do the job. I skipped the steps of fully disconnecting the fans and speakers because of what others had said about breaking the sockets. it just meant I had to be extremely careful when lifting up the main board so that I did not tear and break the connections. I was able to disconnect the old magsafe socket with the board flat and in situ, but there was no where near enough room to be able to aline and press home the new par home. Reluctantly i had to lever up the board. This was difficult as there is a tapped post that holds a screw in the way close to where the USB sockets are, that prevented the board lifting up and out. I had to be quite forceful to manouevre the sockets out from the edge of the case.

    Paul Burridge -

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    • The lower case is constructed of rubber-coated aluminum. Do not excessively bend the aluminum during removal, as any permanent deformation will cause tolerance issues after reassembly.

    • Slightly lift the lower case near the vent opening.

    • Continue running your fingers between the lower and upper cases until the upper case pops off its retaining clips.

    • The location of these three clips is shown in the third picture.

    Do the retaining clips have to be re-engaged when replacing the lower case?

    John Morley -

    Answering my own question, the clips re-engage when the lower case is correctly positioned. You can help them by gently pressing the lower case with your thumbs midway along the two short sides. When everything is correctly aligned the eight screw holes line up.

    John Morley -

    Rather than running your fingernail down the sides to free up the retaining clips, I found that using an old credit card, inserted about 1/4”, to run along the left and right side popped those end retaining clips right off with no problem. You may need to twist the card slightly when in the middle area to help pop those off.

    bdahl385 -

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    • For precautionary purposes, we advise that you disconnect the battery connector from the logic board to avoid any electrical discharge. This step is optional and is not required.

    • Use the flat end of a spudger to lift the battery connector up out of its socket on the logic board.

    • It may be easier to use your fingernails to lift up on both sides of the connector.

    you do not need to remove the battery when replacing the hard drive or ram

    brilldoctor -

    beware not to lift the connector to close of the angle, as the picture suggest it. It might broke the angle. Attack by the middle.

    naamol -

    Not necessary?

    hikkymemo -

    Be careful of the corner of the battery cable connector when trying to pry it off with the spudge. I knocked the corner of mine. No operational impact but was not very pleasing!

    jljordanweb -

    Not necessary, but a good idea, so as to avoid any spurious charges going through the boards...

    svenaustx -

    @Svenaustx - What could happen if not removing this battery? Worst case? Not a geek on this but did change RAM on my Macbook Pro "15. Can't remember disconneting the battery back then. Shouldn't it be sufficient shutting the Mac off and ensure it has been used for an hour or so before replacing RAM?

    Allan Clarke -

    i used a metal pry and noticed some sparking when i disconnected the battery. replaced ram. now it wont turn on. did i fry it?

    Ian Lynch -

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    • Use a spudger to pry the AirPort/Bluetooth ribbon cable connector straight up off the logic board.

    • Gently bend the AirPort/Bluetooth ribbon cable away from the fan.

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    • Use the flat end of 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.

    I think I broke it off the board. Is this fixable?

    Javi Montt Sanchez -

    I broke the socket off the logic board, but it is fixable. I succesfully welded it back but it's a very tricky thing to do, even with the right tools, the socket is plastic made so it melt easily and you need very good eyes because soldering iron and magnifying glass are very annoying to use together. If you are not confident to do the right thing, dont do it ! Check your entourage, maybe you have electronic buffs who could do it right...

    arthur -

  6. cmkGMGLxRngj5UcN

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

    • One 7.1 mm Phillips

    • Two 5.3 mm Phillips

    The two 5.3 mm Phillips screws are so tight, that I can’t open them. I’ve tried to apply some oil with an Q-Tip. Has someone an other clue?

    David Bach -

    Take a look at this guide for removing stripped screws, How to Remove a Stripped Screw, and see if any of these options might work for your particular screw.

    David Bach -

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    • Lift the fan out of the upper case.

    My right screw is not possible to loosen because the part where the bit should fit ist round now. The screw is tigthend so hard. What can I do?

    PitStorm -

    Take a look at this guide for removing stripped screws, How to Remove a Stripped Screw, and see if any of these options might work for your particular screw.

    Ethan Lockwood -

Conclusion

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

Author

Walter Galan

697731 Reputation

3 comments

Replaced the fan with an used one. After booting the fan made a very loud sound as if it was running on max speed. A SMC reset fixed the issue and the fan returned to normal speed and sound.

Maurice -

Wish I had read Maurices comment. I did this fix because my fan had a noisy bearing. But I found the sound of the fan running at full speed after the replacement to be more annoying. So I swapped it back. didn’t think top reset the SMC.

Paul Ceccato -

Simple and concise…Thanks a whole bunch for the instructions.

Glenn -