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Use this guide to replace the heat sink.
Be sure to apply a new layer of thermal paste before reinstalling your heat sink.
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crwdns2935267:0crwdne2935267:0P5 Pentalobe Screwdriver Retina MacBook Pro and Air$5.99
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Use a P5 Pentalobe driver to remove ten screws securing the lower case, of the following lengths:
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Two 9 mm screws
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Eight 2.6 mm screws
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Wedge your fingers between the display and the lower case and pull upward to pop the lower case off the Air.
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Remove the lower case and set it aside.
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Grab the clear plastic pull tab attached to the battery connector and pull it parallel to the board toward the front edge of the Air.
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Use the flat end of a spudger to pry the I/O board cable connector up out of its socket on the I/O board.
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Carefully peel the I/O board cable from the adhesive securing it to the top of the fan.
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While gently pulling the I/O board cable upward near its connection to the logic board, use the flat end of a spudger to pry up on alternating sides of the connector to help "walk" it out of its socket.
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Remove the I/O board cable.
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Use the tip of a spudger to carefully flip up the retaining flap on the fan cable ZIF socket.
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Peel the rubber gasket off the adhesive on the top of the fan.
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Remove the following three screws securing the fan to the upper case:
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One 3.6 mm T5 Torx screw
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One 2.7 mm T5 Torx screw
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One 3.6 mm T5 Torx screw with a short head
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Lift the fan from the I/O board side and pull it free from the upper case.
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Removing the fan will also disconnect the fan ribbon cable. Be careful not to snag it.
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Disconnect the I/O board by pulling its power cable away from its socket on the logic board.
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Use the flat end of a spudger to pry the left speaker cable connector up and out of its socket on the I/O board.
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Use the tip of a spudger to carefully flip up the retaining flap on the microphone ribbon cable ZIF socket.
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Remove the single 3.6 mm T5 Torx screw securing the I/O board to the upper case.
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Gently de-route the camera cable from its notch on the I/O board and push it out of the way with the tip of a spudger.
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Lift the I/O board from the logic board side and pull it free from the upper case.
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Removing the I/O board will also disconnect the microphone ribbon cable. Be careful not to snag it.
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Remove the two 4.9 mm T8 Torx screws securing the antenna cable retainer on the left display hinge to the upper case.
Do i need a security torx for this one or will a regular T8 do?
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Push the antenna cable retainer out of the way and remove the single 3 mm T5 Torx screw securing the end of the heat sink to the upper case.
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Remove the four 2.5 mm T5 Torx screws securing the heat sink to the logic board.
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Remove the heat sink from the logic board.
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Removing old thermal paste should be done carefully with a cotton swab and 100% isopropyl alcohol. Pure alcohol evaporates quickly, reducing the risk of residue. Applying thermal paste is kind of an art. You want to apply a single drop to square components, and a thin line to longer rectangular components. The thermal paste should be centered, so that it spreads out by itself, to cover the surfaces. Do not attempt to spread the paste by hand. Instead, let it spread out on its own, under the pressure of the heat sink. You can try watching a YouTube video to see how this is done.
To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
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Hello everyone, if you are removing heatsink only to change thermal paste - the main problem is 5th screw near i/o board, to get him you just need to disconnect antenna cable, it covers this screw. You can see its connectors on pic 20 , left side. so you don't need to remove fans, cables, i/o board to get heatsink. The biggest problem for me was to plug in again 2 antenna connectors after job was done. they are tiny that's why so difficult to plug in. but this way reduces risk to damage anything.
Removing 2 antenna connectors has less chance that anything goes wrong vs i/o cable, fan cable, i/o board etc
Wow, thank you. I just did this and steps 4-17 can be ignored unless you really want to clean that fan out. Carefully disconnecting the 2 antenna wires in pic 20 as stated and giving them slack allows access to screw 5 of the heatsink in Step 18. Well engineered.
Jason -
Hi, when I turn on the Mac this parte gets really hot, it burns. Also, sometimes the Mac suddenly turn off. Do you think it just need new thermal paste? I have never change ir.
