Dell Inspiron 1501 1505 Hinge and LCD Bracket repair

I have become a fan of the Dell Inspiron 1501 and 1503 laptops. I first fixed up one for a friend. Then someone gave me one for free. I cleaned out the cooling fan and replaced the keyboard and now it is my main computer. Recently I purchased two Dell E1505 laptops for $40 each. Their hinges were completely broken and one of the screens was even damaged because of the hinge problem. You can buy a hinge/LCD bracket assembly on eBay, or you can fix it yourself.

To fix it yourself remove the rubber stops and the screws that are located behind them. Remove the front bezel. Optionally remove the plastic over that is at the top of the keyboard to expose the bottoms of the hinges. Remove the broken hinge mounts, you should now see what is in the picture below.

To modify it first use a 1/4 inch drill bit to remove any burs on the three holes that are behind each hinge mounting bracket, so that the bracket will now fit flush against the aluminum behind it. Then use a 5/64 inch drill bit to drill the top hole in the bracket right through the back cover. Next, from the back side, drill a 3/32 inch hole through the cover and the aluminum, but NOT into the hinge bracket. Next put a screw into the new hole and thread it into the hinge mounting bracket. Before tightening that screw, you can optionally put a drop of glue or epoxy behind the bracket and then quickly tighten the screw.

If everything goes well the bracket is now glued and screwed back into place. Do not use extra super glue, the fumes off it can glue everything together and even melt plastic nearby. A tiny drop is all that is needed. I have done this repair without using any glue and it works fine.

While you are in there be sure to take out the cooling fan and clean off the heat exchanger!