w3j hinge crack

so i noticed that the hinge for the lcd is starting to crack on my lappy

its happening where the grey material meets the shiny strip on the lcd. This I assume has been happening for a while and I only noticed it now because of the certain light in that particular classroom. Is this happening to anyone else? And if it has, have you successfully ordered a new hinge and attached it? also, anyone who has taken their w3j apart, do you know if this piece that these crack appearing on is structural, or is this just a cover for the actual structure.

I will post pictures later

EDIT

another thing, I was thinking of contacting asus about this just for the heck of it, I think I am still within my 2 year warrenty, but the sticker on the bottom of the latop with my s/n number has since peeled off and who know where it is. Is that number anywhere else?

 

As far as I know, the hinge for the W3 series is internal (I'm pretty sure the one on my W3a is, anyway). If you're seeing cracks then they may well be in the external plastic covering. Will wait for you pix later to see it.

If by chance your notebook is still under warranty (depending on when you purchased your -j series) I would suggest that you RMA it to Asus and let them do the work. If out of warranty, anything around the LCD can be delicate work prone to causing unintended damage to other pieces so you might also want to consider contacting a reseller to discuss repair -- Eddie @BTOTech.com does this sort of thing.

 

ok thanks, heading home now (where camera is)... I hate winnipeg transit...

 

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2408/2210389642_41a5c3f994.jpg

and

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2006/2210388680_d441f5f675.jpg

also try to ignore the dead pixel just realized that was there now, I think my camera has a way of compensating for that

 

Those are cracks in the plastic shell; issue is how did they get there?

Some reports in the A8 series (-js/jm) and, I think, perhaps other models discuss that the hinge mechanism inside is off (loose/tight) and force ends up being transferred to the plastic shell instead of the hinge when opening/closing causing cracks. The W3 disassembly manual I have doesn't cover LCD removal, so I can't tell you how to get it off and check the hinges.

Offhand, I'm not sure which parts you'd need from the Asus Estore to replace the hinge cover unless the LCD lid part includes that area too, but perhaps others can help there.

 

I have a crack on my hinge too, but its a bit different. Contact Asus first. They will replace the sticker if they believe you about the computer, and you might be able to get the serial number back from an invoice or if you have the box. They might also have it on record.

 

the crack doesnt really bother me if it is merely superficial? can anyone safely say its not structural? Ya I still have all the packaging receipt boxs etc. so I think the serial is likely on there. The cracks are hardly noticable, I did a long exposure to better detail it.

also imo i think it is due to the internal hinge being to tight and tranfering the stress.

*Update*

I contacted asuses notebook division, we will see what happens. as it stands I cant really lose the use of my laptop due to school atm either, oh well we will see.

 

That's weird, I just noticed a crack exactly like yours on my W3J hinge, only the right hinge though. It looks pretty superficial to me and the hinge mechanism doesn't seem affected in any way.

After lugging this laptop around every day for the past 16 months I guess a little "wear and tear" is normal. I'll post back here if the crack gets worse.

By the way, the W3J's serial number is also marked on the original battery.

Cheers.

 

thanks, I personally found mine on the box, "and wear and tear" is a good description. i am nearing the end of my warrenty, so I figured I might as well check what asus's opinion is

 

i would guess you use the lcd lid open and close alot. the simple answer and solution is simply to open the front frame and tighten the screws. wear and tear is correct.

 

this may be the same issue as a8 although you will find hinge issues on many if not most laptops where the screen gets lots of use. by all accounts w3 has withstood the test of time, iuts actually my favorite model of 2005 and 2006

 

You can also buy the hinge components and covers for not very much at the asus estore. Just to be future-proof...

 

Personally, I've been using the W3V, which is essentially the same design for about 2 years now. I have not had any cracks on the hinge like in the pictures. Are the hinges particularly stiffer in anyway?

 

i personally dont have anything to compare it too, but they are stiff