Lid doesn't close right on R61

So I just got this thing today, and the lid doesn't close right. By this I mean when I close the lid, it doesn't go all the way and there's some give there. If I press on the lid, it closes all the way nice and snug, but when I let go it goes back to being loose.

So theres quite a bit of wobble from the lid closing.

I talked to support, and I'm supposed to send it in for repair, but does anyone know what this could be and if I can do something myself to help this?

Kinda crappy that a brand new Lenovo is so poorly made. I thought this was supposed to happen with Dells, Acers and what not. But not on such an expensive and highly refined machine the thinkpad is supposed to be.

 

it's normal for thinkpad.

They don't use "rubber feet" between the LCD and case. I don't know why.

new dells are very sturdy and well made, I have to say this.

 

If I understood you correctly I don't see anything wrong with that.
My T61 does the same thing.

 

Really, so it's not supposed to close nice and snug?

I guess I'm just gonna have to go over to circuit city and micro center and look at some of their thinkpads and see if their all the same.

Thanks for your help guys.

 

It's just the friction of the hinges - a rubber stick-on pad of the right thickness on the two inside upper corners of the LCD frame would tighten it up (but still leave a gap of course).
Mine does the same and I wasn't surprised but found it annoying that the gap wasn't parallel - the L and R latches held slightly differently. Big deal, Thinkpad of any description beats style-above-substance consumer laptop.

If you're really anal you could probably remove the upper deck panel and glue a small metal shim inside each of the latch recesses to take up the slack. This would be exteremely nerdy though. These days I'm inclined to forget it and move on (life is too short, and our machines will out-live us in any case.) 8>)

Dave

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R61i [7732-A12] Intel T5250 1.5GHz/ 160GB HDD/ 2GB RAM/ 14.1" LCD

 

Right I understand that there should be a gap. But this is quite a big gap, and when I press the lid it moves quite a bit. Then when I let go it goes back up several millimeters.

I'm not really anal about it if this is how it's supposed to be. Just didn't want to have something wrong with a brand new machine.

 

Probably manufacturing tolerances between these parts are necessarily large. Now and then [worst case] the tolerances add up. Take it back to the store and check it against another one. If it's bad enough they should let you swap for another machine.
Dave

 

I think this may be just a design matter cuz the screen is somewhat bent to get more strength to take external force. You can find it on Lenovo officer's blog. In fact this is a pretty good "pre-stressed screen" design but we were just left in darkness due to the poor PR Lenovo has made.

 

Several millimeters slop is too much. That would be annoying. I'd take it back if it's not a big hassle. If it is, get someone handy to lift the hatch and see if you can add some shims like I said. That is, if they can be accessed without tearing down the whole machine.

Good luck.
Dave

 

Well finally got it back today from Lenovo, and I can say that my issues were resolved. It took 2 tries, but the second time the problem was taken care of very quickly. The lid is the same, which I guess is just how it is, but all my other problems were resolved.

 

I had this very same issue with my T61, and here's a long thread on the topic:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=154894&highlight=gap+t61

I was certain that the problem wouldn't be fixed if I sent in my machine, so I fixed it myself. I cut small shims from a black Lego block (stolen from my kids) and glued them on the slider, on both sides of the loose latch. This prevents the latch from coming out of the lid as far as it used to, resulting in a completely snug lid.

However, I can't recommend that approach unless you're into tinkering with things, it wasn't very easy (although it's completely stealth.) My wife's Dell has a very snug lid, but it also has small rubber bumpers in several spots around the lid to keep it tight when closed. I'm surprised Lenovo doesn't do that as well.

 

how much give did you have in mm? my right side is very solid, while my left side has a 1 mm 'give'