PowerBook G4 Aluminum 15" 1.5-1.67 GHz Lower Case Replacement

Use a coin to turn the battery locking screw 90 degrees clockwise.

Lift the battery out of the computer.

Remove the four Phillips screws from the memory door.

Slide the memory door away from the memory compartment.

Remove the following 8 screws:

Two 3 mm Phillips in the battery compartment, on either side of the battery contacts.

Two 12 mm Phillips on either side of the memory compartment.

Four 16 mm Phillips along the hinge.

Rotate the computer 90 degrees clockwise, so that the power receptacle faces you.

Remove the three 3 mm Phillips screws.

Turn the computer 90 degrees clockwise so that the hinge faces you.

Remove the bottom 5 mm Phillips screw on either side of the hinge (two total).

Rotate the computer 90 degrees clockwise, so that the ports face you.

Remove the three 3 mm Phillips screws.

Turn the computer over and open the display.

Remove the two 1.5 mm hex screws in either corner, next to the display (a T6 Torx driver will work, but repeated use will strip the screws).

Grasp the back corners of the upper case and pull up. Do not pull the upper case off yet; you still need to disconnect the keyboard and trackpad cable.

Lift the back of the case up and work your fingers along the sides, freeing the case as you go. Once you have freed the sides, you may need to rock the case up and down to free the front of the upper case.

Rotate the upper case up and toward the screen, so that the upper case rests against it.

Remove the orange tape securing the trackpad ribbon to the logic board.

Disconnect the trackpad ribbon from the logic board.

Remove the upper case from the computer.

Remove the 9.5 mm silver Phillips screw from the top of the right ambient light sensor board.

Remove the small 3 mm black Phillips screw from the bottom of the board.

Lift the right ambient light sensor board from the computer.

Remove the two black Phillips screws from the right speaker.

Lift the speaker away from the logic board and place it aside

Use your fingernail to flip up the black plastic flap locking the modem cable in place.

Slide the modem cable from its connector.

Disconnect the 13 indicated cables, removing tape as necessary.

Remove the following 8 Phillips screws from the logic board:

Three 6.5 mm in the upper left corner.

Five 4.5 mm around the edges.

Use a spudger to gently (very gently) pry up the left side of the logic board.

Disconnect the DC-In connector from the left side of the logic board.

Disconnect the battery cable from the front, left corner of the logic board.

Grasp the logic board at the left edge with one hand and at the thinnest section with the other hand. Lift the left edge of the board up to approximately a 30 degree angle (if you don't have your protractor handy, just lift until the DVI port clears the right hinge).

Once the logic board clears the ports, slide it out to the left.

To properly reassemble your PowerBook, you'll have to clean off and replace the old thermal compound. Use our Applying Thermal Paste Guide to prepare the processor and heat sink surfaces.

Use a firm plastic edge to scrape the thermal material off the processor.

Remove the two 3 mm black Phillips screws from the left ambient light sensor board.

Lift the left ambient light sensor board out of the computer, removing tape as necessary.

Deroute the Bluetooth and RJ-11 cables from around the left side of the speaker.

Disconnect the speaker cable from the DC/Sound card.

Remove the 4 mm hex nut from below the left speaker.

Remove the 3 mm black Phillips screw from bottom left corner of the speaker assembly, to the left of the battery compartment.

Lift the speaker assembly (including the right speaker) out of the computer.

Remove the two 4.2 mm silver Phillips screws from the left corners of the PC card cage.

Lift the PC card cage up and remove it from the computer.

Remove the two 4.2 mm silver Phillips screws from either side of the large orange Airport ribbon.

Lift the Airport card out of the computer and slide a spudger between the card and the antenna connector to disconnect the cable from the card.

Deroute the antenna cable from the side of the card, removing tape as necessary.

You don't need to remove the Airport card entirely. We're just trying to free up the Airport antenna cable.

Using a spudger, pry up the Bluetooth board from the cavity in front of the battery compartment.

Disconnect the Bluetooth antenna cable from the Bluetooth board.

Close the display and turn the hinge side of the computer to face you.

Remove the remaining Phillips screw on either side of the hinge (two screws total).

Open the display and turn the computer so the screen faces you.

Remove the 10 mm T8 Torx screw closer to the display on either side of the hinge (two screws total).

Remove the longer 13 mm shouldered T8 Torx screw remaining on either hinge (two screws total).

Lift the display off.

Remove the following 7 Phillips screws from the heat sink:

Four 4 mm silver screws.

Two 5 mm black screws.

One 9 mm silver screw in the upper left corner of the left fan.

Remove the heat sink from the case, minding the left corner, as it tends to catch in the case (the fans will come out with the heat sink).

Disconnect the 4-pin power cable and orange ribbon cable from the DC/Sound card.

Remove the T8 Torx screw from the RJ-11 board.

Remove the 5 mm standoff that secures the DC/Sound card to the lower case using a nut driver or pliers.

Lift the DC/Sound card out of the computer and turn it over.

Disconnect the Bluetooth cable from the DC/Sound card, removing tape as necessary.

Use your thumbs to slide the RJ-11 board away from the sound card in the same direction you would disconnect a cable. This is your chance to get out some aggression, as the board will most likely be very tight and requires a good deal of force to remove. Don't get carried away though - don't hold onto the power connector and don't put too much actual force on the card itself.

The DC/Sound card should now be free.

Remove the three long silver Phillips screws from the retaining bracket on the left side of the optical drive.

Remove the retaining bracket.

Lift the hard drive up from the right side and remove it from the computer.

Deroute the RJ-11 cable from along the front of the computer and lift the part out of the computer.

Disconnect the RJ-11 cable from the bottom of the modem.

Before going on, remove the loose parts left in the computer. The Airport card and PC card eject button should both be free. Just remove these parts from the computer and set them aside.

The Bluetooth board and cable should also be free, wedged in the cavity next to the battery compartment. Remove these and set them aside.

Remove the two silver Phillips screws from the battery connector.

Remove a third Phillips screw near the front of the computer that pins down a ground loop.

Remove the battery connector.

Remove the two Phillips screws from the modem.

Remove the modem.

Remove the single black Phillips screw from the front right corner of the optical drive.

Remove the optical drive and attached PRAM battery.

Remove the two Phillips screws from the right USB board.

Remove the right USB board.

The lower case should now be clear of all major components except for the sleep light.