Heat deformed case of T60

My Thinkpad T60 had been getting much hotter than normal during use over the last couple months. It happened sporadically. I didn't think much of it until the other day when I noticed that the case is separating on the leading edge just below and to the right of the touchpad (where the right speaker is).

What component is there, the processor?

I am out of the original 1 year warranty (bought in December of 2006) but within the additional 1 year warranty provided by American Express. They are sending a box so the computer can be assessed and possibly repaired or replaced. Has anyone had a warranty issue with Amex or another credit card company? Do you think they would repair it (needs a new case at the very least, likely needs new hardware to correct the overheating issue).





When pressing the warped section down there is no interference (as if the case was physically misaligned) leading me to believe that the heat warped the plastic permanently. The laptop has always been handled delicately and never fallen or been abused. Will the computer repair place it is being sent to come to the same conclusion? Even if they have trouble recreating the heat problem? It comes and goes, and as I type the laptop is perfectly cool as it should be.

 

Perhaps they'll just throw on a new palm rest. Are you doing anything in particular when it gets hot? I usually run in low power to cut down on the heat unless otherwise needed, which isn't often. From the looks of it the warping it looks just to the right of the memory modules, which can get hot.

 

I'm doing anything too grueling when it gets hot. I've even closed down all the programs and that does not remedy the heat (I've checked the task manager to make sure nothing was running in the background at 100%).

Do you think the repair company would be able to get the palmwrest? It's not a Lenovo warranty repair, its amex. And that does not solve the problem, I'm sure a new palmwrest would get warped in time.

 

Try taking off that cover there, see if anything is melted underneath because I am pretty sure there would be physical damage underneath if it's from the heat

 

Refresh my memory (I think I've done it before) how do you take the palm wrest off?

 

Four screws on the bottom and then you push in from the sides. It should pop off.

 

boy do I feel dumb...I just took the palm wrest off, looked around, nothing seemed unusual (the "warped" area was directly over the hardrive, so at least I've narrowed down the heat source), screwed everything back up, and voila, no more "warp". It was misaligned after all. Seems odd that physically squeezing and pushing on the case didn't result in anything, but oh well, case closed.

I still wonder how Amex handles warranty issues with older models. Do they have access to model specific parts such as the case?