Apple iMac
Intel 27
DISASSEMBLING
PROCEDURE
Starting on
the left of the display, near the power button, insert the Opening Tool
into the gap between the glass panel and the rear case.
The hub on the iMac Opening Tool will keep you from pushing the wheel in too far. If using a different tool, insert no more than 3/8" into the display. You risk severing antenna cables and causing serious damage.
The hub on the iMac Opening Tool will keep you from pushing the wheel in too far. If using a different tool, insert no more than 3/8" into the display. You risk severing antenna cables and causing serious damage.
Use the tool
like a pizza cutter - roll it along through the gap, and it will cut the foam
adhesive through the center.
Be sure to
always push with the handle behind the cutting wheel. If you pull, the wheel
might get pulled out of the handle.
Run the tool up along the left side of the display.
Run the tool up along the left side of the display.
Continue
wheeling the tool up around the top left corner.
Cut the
adhesive along the top left of the display.
Continue
along the top of the display.
You may want to run the tool back and forth through what you've already cut a few times, to ensure you get as much of the adhesive separated as possible.
You may want to run the tool back and forth through what you've already cut a few times, to ensure you get as much of the adhesive separated as possible.
Push the tool
around the top right corner of the display.
Wheel the
tool down along the right side of the display.
Finish
pushing the opening tool to the bottom of the right side of the display.
At this
point, you'll want to run the tool back around the entire display, to ensure you
cut as much adhesive as possible.
While the
opening tool did the lion's share of the work, the display will still be
slightly adhered to the case. A plastic card will be necessary to free up
the last of this adhesive.
Set the iMac face-up on a table.
Starting from the top right corner of the iMac, insert a plastic card between the display and frame.
Be careful not to insert it more than 3/8", or you may damage internal components.
Set the iMac face-up on a table.
Starting from the top right corner of the iMac, insert a plastic card between the display and frame.
Be careful not to insert it more than 3/8", or you may damage internal components.
Gently twist
the plastic card to open the space between the display and frame.
Move slowly
and be careful not to stress the display glass too much - you only need to make
a gap of about 1/4".
Be sure to
stop cutting before the iSight camera in this step, or you may damage it.
Slide the
card toward the center of the display, to cut any remaining adhesive.
Put the card
into the corner again and let it stay there to keep the adhesive from
resettling.
Insert a
second card into the gap between the display and frame in the top left corner.
Gently twist
the card, slightly increasing the space between the display and frame.
As with the
other side, move slowly to allow the adhesive to break, and be careful not to
over stress the display glass.
Slide the
plastic card toward the center, again stopping just before the iSight camera.
Insert the
card back into the top left corner.
Only lift the
display a few inches - it is still attached to the iMac by data and power
cables.
With the
cards inserted as shown near the corners, gently twist the cards to increase
the gap between display and case.
If there are any sections that seem to stick and won't separate, stop twisting and use one of the cards to cut the adhesive in the problem area.
Begin to lift the top of the display up from the frame.
If there are any sections that seem to stick and won't separate, stop twisting and use one of the cards to cut the adhesive in the problem area.
Begin to lift the top of the display up from the frame.
While holding
the display up with one hand, use the other to unplug the display power cable.
Lift the
display up enough to have easy access to the connections, but not so much that
you stretch the cables and stress their connections (about 8").
Flip up the
metal retaining bracket on the display data cable.
Disconnect
the display data cable.
This is a delicate connection that can easily be broken. Be sure to pull the display data cable connector straight out of its socket, toward the top of the iMac.
This is a delicate connection that can easily be broken. Be sure to pull the display data cable connector straight out of its socket, toward the top of the iMac.
Lift the
display up to a near-vertical position.
At this point
there is still a strip of adhesive along the bottom of the display, that will
hold the display to the frame like a hinge. You can loosen this adhesive
by working the display up and down a few times.
If necessary,
a plastic card can be used to cut any remaining sections of the bottom
adhesive strip.
Be very
careful not to touch the capacitor leads or any exposed solder joints on the
back of the power supply (boxed in red).
Be very
careful handling the display - it's big, heavy, and made of glass.
Lift the
display up from the frame and remove it from the iMac.
It may be necessary to slowly lift from one side, to peel against the remaining adhesive.
It may be necessary to slowly lift from one side, to peel against the remaining adhesive.
With the
hinge free to move, the iMac will be unbalanced and hard to work on.
Repairs can be completed with the iMac laying down, but are faster
and easier with an iMac service wedge.
Remove two 10.0 mm T10 screws.
Remove two 10.0 mm T10 screws.
Remove two
10.0 mm T10 screws.
Unplug the
left speaker cable from its socket on the logic board. Be sure to pull straight
up out of the socket.
De-route the
cable from the gap between the hard drive and logic board.
If the gap between the hard drive and logic board is too narrow for the speaker cable, disconnect it and leave the cable in place.
If the gap between the hard drive and logic board is too narrow for the speaker cable, disconnect it and leave the cable in place.
Be careful
not to touch any solder joints on the back of the power supply. Capacitors may
be charged enough to give you a dangerous shock.
Use a spudger
to disconnect the power button connector from its socket on the logic board.
Lift the left
speaker straight up, until the power button cable is exposed (about 0.5").
Gently
de-route the power button cable from its groove in the left speaker.
Lift the left
speaker straight up and remove it from the iMac.
If the gap
between the hard drive and logic board was too narrow to free the speaker cable
earlier, gently pull it free as you remove the speaker.
Push from the connector end as you pull from the speaker end to thread the cable under the hard drive's right bracket.
Push from the connector end as you pull from the speaker end to thread the cable under the hard drive's right bracket.
Pull straight
up on the SATA data/power cable to disconnect it from the drive.
Remove two
7.3 mm T10 screws securing the left hard drive bracket to the rear
case.
Grab the hard
drive and left hard drive bracket together.
Tilt the left
side up away from the rear case, and slide the assembly to the left.
Remove the hard drive and left hard drive bracket from the iMac.
Remove the hard drive and left hard drive bracket from the iMac.
Remove the
left hard drive bracket.
When working
on the power supply, be very careful not to touch the capacitor leads
or any exposed solder joints on the back of the power supply. Only handle the
board by the edges.
Disconnect
the power supply control cable from the power supply.
Remove the
following four screws securing the power supply to the rear case:
Two 23.7 mm
T10 screws.
Two 7.3 mm T10 screws.
Two 7.3 mm T10 screws.
Do
not attempt to remove the power supply from the case; it is still attached
to the logic board by two cables.
Move the
power supply board towards the left edge of the case and up to free it from the
notch in the logic board.
Pull the DC
power cable straight out of its socket on the back of the logic board.
Be very
careful not to touch the capacitor leads or any exposed solder joints on
the back of the power supply. Only handle the board by the edges.
Flip the top
of the power supply towards you, like opening a mailbox, to reveal the AC inlet
cable connector.
Disconnect the AC inlet cable connector.
Disconnect the AC inlet cable connector.
Remove two
10.0 mm T10 screws.
Gently rock
the right speaker slightly to the right, to allow access to its cable's
connection on the logic board.
Use a spudger
to loosen the right speaker cable's connector from its socket on the logic
board.
Pull the connector
to the right to remove it from its socket.
Lift the
speaker straight up and remove it from the iMac.
Use the tip
of a spudger to disconnect the fan cable's connector from its socket on the
logic board.
Peel the
black tape connecting the fan to the exhaust duct back slightly.
Leave the
tape in place on the exhaust duct, you only need to expose the joint to free
the fan.
Remove three
12.4 mm T10 screws securing the fan to the rear case.
Remove the
fan from the iMac.
Use the flat
end of a spudger to disconnect each of the four antenna connectors from
the AirPort/Bluetooth card.
Note the
original positions for each connector when reconnecting the cables. From left
to right on the card, the antennas are connected in the following order:
Leftmost
Top
Upper right
Lower right
Leftmost
Top
Upper right
Lower right
This is a
delicate connection that can be easily broken.
Flip up the
metal retaining bracket on the iSight camera cable.
Pull the camera cable connector straight out of its socket, toward the top of the iMac.
Pull the camera cable connector straight out of its socket, toward the top of the iMac.
Use the flat
end of a spudger to disconnect the headphone jack cable connector from its
socket on the logic board.
Gently push
the cable out of the way.
Remove the
following screws from the front of the logic board:
Two 23.7 mm
T10 screws
Four 7.4 mm T10 screws
One 20.8 mm T25 spacer screw
One captive T10 screw
This screw is beneath a hole in the logic board. You'll need a fixed screwdriver or the 60 mm extension from an iFixit driver kit to reach it.
Four 7.4 mm T10 screws
One 20.8 mm T25 spacer screw
One captive T10 screw
This screw is beneath a hole in the logic board. You'll need a fixed screwdriver or the 60 mm extension from an iFixit driver kit to reach it.
The hard
drive SATA cable can't be removed just yet, but will get in the way of removing
the logic board.
Pull the
cable and connector through the right hard drive bracket. Move the cable to the
right side of the iMac, out of the way of the exhaust port.
Remove two
5.7 mm T10 screws from the top of the heat sink exhaust duct.
Tilt the logic
board slightly forward.
Lift the
logic board straight up and out of the iMac. Be careful not to snag on any of
the screw posts attached to the inside of the rear case.
When
reassembling your iMac, be very careful to align the exterior I/O ports correctly.
The logic board can sit crooked even when secured with all its screws.
You can use a
USB flashdrive or ethernet cable to ensure the logic board is seated correctly
while you screw it in.
Remove the
four 7.5 mm T9 screws from behind the GPU on the logic board.
These screws
are set inside large, spring-loaded Phillips #2 screws. To prevent the larger
screws from spinning when you loosen the T9 screws, hold them with a
fingertip or Phillips #2 screwdriver.
Remove the
bracket from behind the GPU heat sink.
Remove four
black stickers from the back of the CPU heat sink.
Remove four
12.3 mm T10 screws from the back of the CPU heat sink.
Remove the
spring plate from behind the CPU heat sink.
Lift and
remove the backing plate from behind the CPU heat sink. The backing plate has
two posts that fit into alignment holes in the logic board.
Lift the heat
sink up from the logic board.
The CPU will
most likely stick to the heat sink, so be careful about where you put it down.
The CPU will
most likely be stuck to the heat sink with thermal compound.
Insert the
flat end of a spudger between the CPU and heat sink.
Gently pry the CPU up by slightly twisting the spudger.
Remove the CPU from the heat sink. Be careful not to touch the contacts.
To install a new CPU, see our thermal paste guide for instructions on cleaning and preparing the thermal surfaces and applying a new layer of thermal compound onto the CPU and GPU dies.
The GPU side has a gap between all memory chips and the cooler. Once you remove the cooler the thermal compound will break up leaving partial amounts on the cooler and memory contact points.
Gently pry the CPU up by slightly twisting the spudger.
Remove the CPU from the heat sink. Be careful not to touch the contacts.
To install a new CPU, see our thermal paste guide for instructions on cleaning and preparing the thermal surfaces and applying a new layer of thermal compound onto the CPU and GPU dies.
The GPU side has a gap between all memory chips and the cooler. Once you remove the cooler the thermal compound will break up leaving partial amounts on the cooler and memory contact points.
