Introduction
Follow this guide to replace the fan and heatsink assembly in your Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 3 laptop.
If your laptop's fans aren't spinning or your laptop is overheating, you may need to replace the fans and heatsink assembly. You can also use this guide to reapply thermal paste.
The laptop's fan is attached to the heatsink as one assembly. To replace the fan or the heatsink, you must replace the entire assembly.
The Lenovo part number for the fan and heatsink assembly is 5H41B77453 or 5H41B77455, depending on the model. This guide features the former, but the process is equivalent for the latter. Both of these assemblies will include pre-applied thermal paste and thermal pads.
You'll need new thermal paste and thermal pads to complete this repair if your replacement part doesn't include it.
Parts
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Completely shut down your laptop (don't just put it in sleep mode) and disconnect all cables.
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Flip the laptop upside-down, and rotate it so the screen hinge faces towards you.
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Insert your fingernail or an opening pick into the gap between the base cover and keyboard deck, next to one of the screen hinges.
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Pry up the base cover until the clips unfasten.
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Grasp the base cover along the screen hinge edge and lift slowly to unfasten the remaining clips.
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Lift and remove the base cover.
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Use a Phillips screwdriver to fully loosen the two captive screws securing the battery connector.
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Lift the edge of the battery with the connector to disconnect it.
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Remove the battery
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Slide the plastic tabs on the long edge of the battery into their recesses in the frame.
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Lower the battery into place so the connector goes over its socket.
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Use a spudger to gently push under the metal buckle of the camera cable connector to unclip it
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Hold the buckle and cable together and guide the cable out of the clips holding it to the fan.
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Use the point of a spudger to push on alternating sides of the fan connector to "walk" it out of its socket until fully disconnected.
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Use a Phillips screwdriver to fully loosen the five captive screws securing the fan and heatsink.
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Before installing a new heatsink, follow this guide to clean the CPU and reapply thermal paste.
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Compare your new replacement part to the original part—you may need to transfer remaining components or remove thermal pad backings from the new part before you install it.
To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
Take your e-waste to an R2 or e-Stewards certified recycler.
Repair didn’t go as planned? Try some basic troubleshooting, or ask our Answers community for help.
