[ForceFed]

A friend's wife abandoned her Torch for the iPhone and asked me to fix it and sell it for him to offset some cost. She kept it in her purse so it has some nicks/chips on the outer bezel, scuffs on the trackpad, and scratches on the BB buttons. Everything works great on the phone but it just looks older than it is because of the cosmetic blemishes.

He ordered a trackpad, front bezel, and a full replacement housing (in case anything else needed replacing) that should arrive in a few days. I ordered a T1 & T2 screwdrivers from Amazon (I only have the T3 to T10 set) that came in today. So to answer my own question earlier, you need a T2, T3, & T6 to completely disassemble a 9800.

I followed the gstream video instructions which was great. Here's the differences that I found:
1. They said you needed a T1 screwdriver but I actually needed a T2. I don't know, maybe they use different sizes at the different places they assemble the Torch. This one is a made in Mexico5.
2. The connector for the trackpad shows that they had unlatched 2 side clips before removing the trackpad ribbon. Mine has a metal flip up clip that releases the ribbon cable.
3. Prior to separating the front bezel from the sliding mechanism, you also have to peel off the ribbon cable that has the latching clip for the trackpad. It is glued to the back of the bezel. Theirs probably just came off because of prior disassembly.

Bold Lover - the digitizer is held in by sticky 2-sided tape all along the edges and can be pried off just like in the video.

damann - I got the lcd off without breaking it but I know why you don't like doing this job. Time is money for you because it's your business, but this is just a hobby for me. The lcd was very time consuming and difficult to remove without breaking it. I'd say this was more stressful than changing only the lens on a Bold 9000.

Changing the front bezel because it's nicked or chipped is a humongous undertaking that I will not do again! You also have to remove and replace the keypad button cover and ribbon stuff underneath along with the led lens (just sticky tape) and speaker (the foam seal will rip when removing). Darn, I can't even figure out how to remove the keyboard!

damann, I agree, it's just not worth it. But anything for a friend for a fee (or free), right? Unfortunately, I'm this far and have to continue when the parts come in. I'll post again when it's back together.

Can you please post pics or a video of how to replace/remove the keyboard.

thanks

[damann]

All three torchs that Ive done the lcd was glued in really well. You may have gotten lucky but I would say most will break when trying to remove. I dont care what anyone says,its not worth doing.

[bold lover]

Ok, so I replaced my bezel last night, took me about 4hrs in total.

It was the biggest pain in the ***, this phone is not designed to be easily fixed.

- I almost stripped some of the T3 screws.
- I scratched my LCD screen a bit.
- I had to bend the LCD screen to get it out (this took over an hour)
- I put the thing back together but forgot to put the speaker for the ear back in, so I had to take it apart twice.
I ruined the keypad for talk, blackberrys button, back and end because it was glued into the top bezel so I had to rip it out. Now I need to find a replacement part for this.

It was the worst experience of my life.

On a side note, tightning the screws that hold the slider mechanism in actually fixed some of the wobble.

Now if I can only find new keypad buttons I'll be golden.

[Cheez-Its]

Anyone do this? I have chipped the chrome paint and want to replace the part. I hope its really not not that hard.

[Altarocks]

Cheez-its, did you even read this thread? Multiple posters are explaining how they did it, how difficult it was, and basically that anyone will regret attempting it.

[bold lover]

Do not do it. You have been warned.

[huecobros]

CNN.CN has an awesome Torch teardown here

Finally, a video... | Facebook

I ordered the same part, i have it here sitting next to me, but i dont have the guts to do it myself. Just have a look at the video.

I rather pay to get it done and avoid the stress, problem is, i cant find anyone where i live.

[pmccartney]

After seeing that video I think it would be wise (for most) to sell the one you have and go and buy the colour you want. So many things could go wrong doing that.

[filthy-rich]

Aww this thread ruined my plans to make my torch look like new!

Has anyone found a way to "touch up" the chrome bezel, instead of tear down and replace?

[dizadee]

Mine too! So not gonna try this after reading all the above posts!

[bigmann77]

guysss... take it from a guy who learned the HARD way when trying to change my 9800 housing... DO NOT ATTEMPT haha i followed videos out there from cnn, truesupplier... i ended up ripping the flex cable when i was peeling the digitizer screen off the bezel... the cable like snapped in half so my touchscreen wouldnt respond to touch it still worked but the digitizer got messed...

in short...

DO NOT ATTEMPT haha

[anon(1603170)]

You could use a weak heatgun for the glue, but that would be a bit more delicate, any beginner with a heatgun will probably f*ck up the lcd if he doesnt know when to stop.

[pmccartney]

^ a hair dryer would also work and may be safer for the beginner. We don't want to melt our BB

[Gregory Ryan]

Can't find direction from the videos. Hoe does the ear speaker get removed and put on the new housing? Anyone done it? I've swapped digitizers and feel comfortable doing the operation.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Bob G]

Aww this thread ruined my plans to make my torch look like new!

Has anyone found a way to "touch up" the chrome bezel, instead of tear down and replace?

Me too. I hope RIM fired the packaging engineer who decided that one of the most commonly damaged parts (exposed bezel) should be virtually impossible to replace!

So instead of attempting to replace the bezel, I used some JB Weld to fill in the dents, and then used some needle files and wet sandpaper to make the surface smooth. The next step is to mask and paint. I won't be able to match the original quality of the smoked chrome finish (which appears to be electroplated), so the device won't look new again.

Meanwhile, I've lost interest in the POS and re-activated my Bold 9700. I'll probably sell them both "as is" on eBay when the Bold Touch comes out.