Extremely stiff hinges on a 15.4" T61

[Glaurung-quena]

Just received a widescreen T61P with extremely stiff hinges, as in "I hesitate to close the lid now that I've opened it because it feels like it's going to break something" stiff.

I've read online that this is a known flaw with the hinge design. I've also seen people very confidently asserting that the only cure is to get some replacement hinges... and other people just as confidently saying that you can lubricate the hinges and that will clear up the problem.

Which of those confident people is actually correct? Will lubrication resolve the problem in the long term, or just temporarily?

I will be passing this laptop on to a new owner, so I'm looking for a long term solution, not one that will need to be redone in 6 or 12 months.

If lubrication is actually a good idea: can it be done without disassembling the entire lid? (if so, a pointer to a tutorial with photos would be welcome). Should I just use 3-in-1 oil, or is there something better/safer for electronics?

[kfzhu1229]

I am of the camp of lubricating hinges, and that's not saying about the widescreen T6x, but all hinges with that mechanism in general (which is common on Dell and HP's too).
Yes 3 in 1 oil will do great. Just don't use WD-40 as that will make your hinges even stiffer.
There are cases where lubricating didn't help, but from my experience, the vast majority has worked wonders.
It is something that really doesn't hurt for you to try, so might as well. The goal here is that your lid should very easily open up by lifting with one finger

[Glaurung-quena]

I am of the camp of lubricating hinges, and that's not saying about the widescreen T6x, but all hinges with that mechanism in general (which is common on Dell and HP's too).
Yes 3 in 1 oil will do great. Just don't use WD-40 as that will make your hinges even stiffer.
There are cases where lubricating didn't help, but from my experience, the vast majority has worked wonders.
It is something that really doesn't hurt for you to try, so might as well. The goal here is that your lid should very easily open up by lifting with one finger

Is the best thing to just disassemble the lid, remove the hinges, and oil them, or is there a good way to get oil where it needs to go without taking the entire lid apart?

[kfzhu1229]

Is the best thing to just disassemble the lid, remove the hinges, and oil them, or is there a good way to get oil where it needs to go without taking the entire lid apart?

The only thing you need to take off is first the LCD bezel and then the rear lid, which is basically loosely assembled on top of the magnesium roll cage, if this is any similar to the 14.1 widescreen T61.
You will see two "butt" holes on the far ends of the hinge, drip oil in there, try to do it slowly so that it doesn't completely seep out from the other side and give you a mess.

[Glaurung-quena]

Once I got the back cover off, it was no big deal to take off the front bezel and then remove the hinges completely, so I did that because I didn't want to risk dripping excess lubricant somewhere it doesn't belong. Lubricated them, exercised them a bit, then reassembled the lid. It now opens normally instead of feeling like it's going to snap in half from the effort required.

[kfzhu1229]

Once I got the back cover off, it was no big deal to take off the front bezel and then remove the hinges completely, so I did that because I didn't want to risk dripping excess lubricant somewhere it doesn't belong. Lubricated them, exercised them a bit, then reassembled the lid. It now opens normally instead of feeling like it's going to snap in half from the effort required.

Nice, job well done! Good thing you did that, because the magnesium roll cage on the T61 isn't actually as strong as if the whole lid were magnesium like on the T60 and the X6x, and a infamous failure would be to have the roll cage crack on the left side, which I believe there wasn't a hinge bracket installed