Tweezers work a lot better than the spudger to remove the backlight connector...

Got a couple of used dental picks from a dentist; one of the most useful tools I have!

STEP 47: I discovered those bezel screws are clearly NOT 1.5mm; under a high-power magnifying glass, the 1.5mm bit was very obviously too small, just barely turning an undamaged screw. However in an old Archer (radio shack) hex key set I found the second-smallest hex key was the EXACT fit for these screws. The package said 'from .050 to 3/8", so I'm guessing that the second smallest key was probably .040, (40 thousandths of an inch.)

If your screws don't come out easily the first time, try to find the correct-sized bit, because I can tell you from this experience that drilling out one of those blasted screws is not a fun job!

Hey Steve; My advice would be to NEVER replace a tray drive with a slot drive! In my-not-very-humble opinion, slot drives are garbage, and are unfit to be used in ANY Mac computer.

My experience was that the most difficult, time-consuming step of the entire job was getting that blasted little 3mm screw back into the right side of the fan shroud under the cables! I took the old shroud apart to look at it, and I will DEFINITELY take Guillaume's advice and just replace the top of the shroud and fan if there should ever be a next time. You can still blow the cooling fins clean with the compressed air through the bottom of the shroud, (and I would recommend blowing the dirt from the fan out through the back, not vice versa, so you don't blow the lint back into the computer.

(Thanks, guys; it sure is a good idea to read the comments BEFORE starting the job!)

And THANKS, ifixit, for your superb manuals, (and allowing comments!) I've often used this as an example of an excellent website!)

There's no point in derouting the fan cable if you're planning to install an entire new fan with shroud. If you're just going to replace the fan and motor into the old shroud, (as the last picture seems to indicate, then this makes sense.

Should read "Remove the following 4 screws..."

and needlenose pliers will be useful for removing the 3mm screw under the display cable on the right side of the fan.

I agree 100% with dsmacd; one tool they left off the list for this job is needle-nosed vice grips to tug and push and pry and wriggle and twist that stoopid tray out of there. Man, everything about Mac's optical drive sucks! I've got 2 & 4-year-old machines with bad slot drives, (all the same; won't eject; two replacements same!) and 8 & 10 year-old machines with well-used tray drives, still working like a charm. Apple, get the message; it's too small a package to cram in such mechanical complexity. Go back to a reliable tray drive!

This is retarded! Why bother with the additional strain on everything taking off a connector and cable wrapped around other stuff, for no reason? You have to remove the heat sensor from the drive anyway, just take it off and leave the connector and cabling and motherboard alone!

Please correct me if I'm missing something here, but doesn't this seem a totally unnecessary step?

Steps 14 & 15; If you remove the top screw, and just loosen the bottom screw you can rotate the optical drive clip out of the way, tighten it, then screw the top screw back in to hold the logic board down for later trying to remove the connector. You also save three more parts kicking around on the desktop.