Top Case Question

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I just bought an older macbook off craigslist for cheap and the keys are extremely sticky, the trackpad has a minor crack and the quote/apostrophe button doesnt work (see! look at doesnt! :D ) Now, I heard replacing the top case will fix all of these problems. I looked on amazon and I just bought a top case for like 11 dollars with the trackpad and everything (great deal!). But, what I bought is for a 13inch core 2 duo macbook and I have the regular 13inch core duo. Is this going to be a problem or will I still be able to swap it?
 
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I think they are are swapable ... but your volume buttons and screen brightness (is that a word?) keys will be different...

I had to replace and older model with the newer keyboard... but you got a way better deal than i did for 11$... I paid 25 from a local shop. let us know how every thing went?
 

pigoo3

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Both you guys got great deals on the top cases you purchased!:)

Brand new they cost $169-$179.

- Nick
 
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Can someone just look at what I got to make sure it will be ok? and also, what is the difficulty level of doing this? I am very good when it comes to desktop pcs, I build them all the time for people, but Ive never worked with a laptop or a mac.
 

pigoo3

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Can someone just look at what I got to make sure it will be ok? and also, what is the difficulty level of doing this? I am very good when it comes to desktop pcs, I build them all the time for people, but Ive never worked with a laptop or a mac.

Take a look at this procedure to get an idea of what is involved in replacing the Macbook top case:

Installing MacBook Core 2 Duo Upper Case - iFixit

I did two of these a couple weeks ago for the first time. I took my time. The first one took me about about 1.5 hours (being careful). The 2nd one took me about 30-40 minutes. I found step #11 the hardest. Part of the procedure for step#11 says:

"The upper case is likely to stick at the connection above the optical drive."

I had this "sticking" happen on one of the Macbooks I worked on...and it took me quite a while being careful to finally get the top case off. Be aware the plastic on the top case is fairly thin, and could crack if flexed too much. Also be aware the main reason why most top cases are replaced is because of cracks in the plastic. The is a WELL known issue. The top case on the 2nd Macbook I worked on came off fairly easily.

It's hard to say if you purchased the correct top case from the Amazon link. The photo is really small...and not very detailed. When you finally receive your top case, do as much comparison as you can with the one on your Macbook.

Hope this helps,

- Nick
 
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Can someone just look at what I got to make sure it will be ok? and also, what is the difficulty level of doing this? I am very good when it comes to desktop pcs, I build them all the time for people, but Ive never worked with a laptop or a mac.

Here is a video I did for the top case removal YouTube - MacBook Top Case Remove

Not that difficult if you take your time...

The other parts you see in the video are bits of HP DV9000 laptop .. in progress as well

took pic's while doing it ... so there is some breaks

Not professional but gives you the idea.
 
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Back to my old 2.2GHz C2D MB after selling my MBP and wondering what my next Mac will be :)
Here is a video I did for the top case removal YouTube - MacBook Top Case Remove

Not that difficult if you take your time...

The other parts you see in the video are bits of HP DV9000 laptop .. in progress as well

took pic's while doing it ... so there is some breaks

Not professional but gives you the idea.

No offence, but that video was useless without close up shots, descriptions of the steps, and you also took out a bunch of screws that didn't need to come out to change the topcase (keyboard).
If you look at the link Installing MacBook Core 2 Duo Upper Case - iFixit which pigoo3 linked about, you will see what I mean.
 

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