Topic: Tutorial : X-clamp Replacement - RBJtech's Method (Read 6561 times)

cellblockfour · « **Reply #615 on:** December 27, 2007, 07:56:00 AM »

This is a nightmare cause on other guides they state not to replace the paste as the benifits are minimul (1 degree C)

Also if the bolts are going through the metal case surly they would short anyway?

kniceguy · « **Reply #616 on:** December 29, 2007, 03:18:00 PM »

QUOTE(getsleepy @ Dec 27 2007, 07:28 AM)

flush headed m 5 studs are best cos if not the will short on the case and it will not work unless you drill hole in the tin case for the studs to go in so they dont touch.
when you have reclamped everything down connect up but leave fan of for 3 mins green light will turn to 2 reds this melts paste and ensures every thing is well bonded.
it does work have faith

What is shorting? The heat sink? What the heck are you talking about?

sammydad1 · « **Reply #617 on:** January 05, 2008, 12:41:00 AM »

Hi,

I did the fix, and now the cpu & gpu won't heat up at all. I am still getting the 3 Lights flashing upon power up.

I have tried loosenign up the screws and wiggling the heat sinks and then power back on....still no go...

I am thinking the motherboard is mucked beyond repair using this method....??

Any help or other ideas ?

SD1

armani · « **Reply #618 on:** January 05, 2008, 01:52:00 PM »

Alright...just tried the MKIII X-Clamp Replacement.

And it did not work. The 360 doesn't even turn on now. I can hear the psu clicking but, no green light.

I changed 2 things from the tutorial, not sure if they had an impact. I live in Canada and the Radio Shack equivalent store, The Source, doesn't carry Artic Silver. So, I used NEXXTECH Heatsink Compound. I believe it's just as good. Also, I was three washers short for the top of the board, so I used two 5 mm nylon washers for 2 of the studs on the GPU heat sink.

When I get a chance today, i'll get the additional 5mm washers i need and retry. But, it doesn't look good. I'm not sure why I'm not getting any lights at all. Any suggestions?

Armani

sammydad1 · « **Reply #619 on:** January 07, 2008, 12:47:00 AM »

Hi,

Quick followup to my post from last nite or so...

As a passing thought, since this problem is pretty much heat related, I decided to super-cool the motherboard before trying to power it up, since I wasn't getting anything other than the 3RD's anyhow.

Well...I used some of that "DUST OFF" stuff for dusting your computer (and what not) that I had gotten at Costco some time back....

Well...I tipped the can upsides down and gently sprayed around the heatsinks and on a few of the larger chips on the motherboard. Then I tried turning it on, and it tried to boot properly this time. I let it get to overheat zone and then let it cool off and tried a normal power up. Bang...nothing..3RDs again...

I repeated my super cooling test again and it powered up again....let it overheat...cool down....Nuthin !! 3RDs again...

I repeated it a thrid time and still ended back at the 3RDs again, altho it did power up again in between...

SO I am in a quandry now....What piece on the motherboard when super-cooled shrinks up just that teeny bit as to allow the motherboard to power up...that once heated back to normal temp, yields the 3RDs.

I guess I will try the heat gun next since I now have the motherboard back up and the heat sinks off....

When I reassemble it for testing after heat gunning it, I am going to use only nylon washers as another guess/test since I have read so much about flexing boards...

Any thoughts ?

SD1

Samsun · « **Reply #620 on:** January 07, 2008, 11:50:00 AM »

QUOTE(doctordoomfury16 @ Dec 15 2007, 03:33 AM)

Here's the story for me so far..

I have replaced the x-clamps, used no washers underneath or above the board.

...

I also noticed that the board is somewhat bent, and when i look under the board, there is a curve or lump where the CPU and GPU are soldered.

I am currently using the shim method, placed 1 washer underneath the board, 2 washers above the board.
When I boot the console, still shows 3RLOD for about 3 seconds then 2RLOD.

So, was it wrong for me to clean the processors of any residues of thermal compound?

Of course the board was bent if you didn't use any washers! What do you expect? I'd imagine you would need more than 2 washers when using a shim.

When you say you cleaned the thermal compound, you did then replace it didn't you??

sammydad1 · « **Reply #621 on:** January 07, 2008, 11:10:00 PM »

Hi Hi...

Woo HOO !! Got this bad boy figured out !!!

After doing some testing late last nite with my upsides-down can of DUST OFF I was able to determine where on the motherboard it was losing (or making connection when super cooled) connection yielding the 3 light error.

Th easiest way to describe it: facing the Copper Cooling pipe on the CPU heatsink, at the base of the CPU to the immediate left edge, if I super-cooled that area, it worked. NO WHERE else on the motherboard yielded ANY change in the 3 light error !!!!

Using that observation, (and Wiki info that solder melts by approx 370 F) I used a heat gun obtained from Home Depot (Milwaukee Model 3300 $39.99) and set it for 550 F to 750 F and did the heat gun fix, focusing it extra on the edge area of the CPU I observed as mentioned above. Per other's instructions when using the heat gun fix, I did the tin-foil wrap before the heat gun was used. I actually repeated the heating process a second time again focusing on the edge of the CPU at the 950 F setting moving gingerly back & forth for about 30 seconds. Then I let it cool down completely per instructions.

So far so good !! I am certainly NOT going to totally reassemble it until I have mucked around with it for a while using my step-son's game & controller.

Want to THANK YOU ALL !! for keeping this site alive and up to date !!

SD1

doctordoomfury16 · « **Reply #622 on:** January 08, 2008, 02:57:00 AM »

QUOTE(Samsun @ Jan 8 2008, 03:26 AM)

Of course the board was bent if you didn't use any washers! What do you expect? I'd imagine you would need more than 2 washers when using a shim.

When you say you cleaned the thermal compound, you did then replace it didn't you??

Well, the guide stated to clean off any residue of thermal compound, so i kinda removed all residues of the old thermal compound..

devilspy · « **Reply #623 on:** January 14, 2008, 08:31:00 PM »

So what are the part numbers for RJBtech MKIII method either Lowes or Home Depot?

I already have the parts from Lowes for Lawdawg0931's method. But my box got 3rod again.
Want to do it proper this time.

This post has been edited by devilspy: Jan 15 2008, 04:34 AM

ShuJinkO · « **Reply #624 on:** January 15, 2008, 01:38:00 AM »

so what parts do I need guys.

Iv'e read so many tutorials the parts "lists" are just plain confusing me now.

think I bought the wrong sized stuff :/

and no 5mm Nylon/Spring washers at work! :\ (B&Q)
Only 5mm x 20mm machine screws.

they have 5x10/5x12/5x16 though.

robio · « **Reply #625 on:** January 21, 2008, 04:45:00 AM »

hi.
i dont have the 3RLOD yet, however my console wont boot up properly and just constantly freezes.
would this fix my problem if i attempt this fix?
thanks in advance. rob.

sammydad1 · « **Reply #626 on:** January 21, 2008, 10:41:00 PM »

UPDATE Here:

Well...I guess I spoke too soon from my original posts in here....

Couple days later it started 3ROD again...nothing could stop it.... Ended up opening the box again...

Refer to the 12 penny fix Thread here....I ended up using 1 penny plus Double sided foam tape and once it was all put back together....it seems to run like a Real champ now....

Much better than just the XClamp by itself... The trick as others point out is to find what screw tightenings will work for your specific system... AND that can take a while....

But stick with it !!!

SD1

liquidmc420 · « **Reply #627 on:** January 24, 2008, 09:25:00 PM »

Got mine going with the xclamp & 12 penny fix. The xclamp fix wasn't enough on it's own. Thanks to all!

EvanVanVan · « **Reply #628 on:** January 29, 2008, 06:55:00 AM »

hey im trying the MKIII fix and to get the parts i google and found the official parts numbers for homedepot from a website, the guy says hes repaired 3 or 4 broken 360s but his parts list said 5mm x 10mm screws, and after seeing the bolts actually inside the case im wondering if they arent long enough to catch enough threads to hold the h/s, also im worried that if i can catch enough threads i dont want to need to over tighten them so much that i crack the chip..so are 10mm screws long enough? or should i go buy some 12-15mm screws and also how tight should i tighten the screws to not crack the chip?

UniqueDisease · « **Reply #629 on:** February 09, 2008, 01:08:00 AM »

I got a question, well i was playing my xbox when the screen started to go boxy. It almost looked like there was little black boxes all over the screen. Then i shut down my xbox and when i booted it back up it gave me error code e74. That is the only code it gave me, Do you think your method would help at all or did anyone else have this problem and found a fix.

Thanks

Author Topic: Tutorial : X-clamp Replacement - RBJtech's Method (Read 6561 times)