Customer Reviews

Xbox 360 Repair Kit - X-Clamp Hardware Replacement

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

First off, you are getting nothing but a handful of bolts, washers and a little packet of thermal paste here. It can be easily duplicated by a trip to the hardware store, but in the end having everything handed to you is much easier. Second, if you are under warranty, CALL MICROSOFT FIRST. Honestly, I have known people to buy dead boxes off craigslist that were still under warranty. As long as it has not been opened already, try.

My friend gave be his dead 360 with little explanation as to what he did to the thing (turns out he attempted a towel fix as well as what looked like a blow from a hammer). First it was giving me the 3 lights as well as an unknown error code. I was not hopeful about my odds of fixing this.

This fix was rather easy, I have had a bit of experience of taking these things apart which is the more complex issue here. All that is required is a flathead screwdriver and some torx bits (sizes 8 and 10). Pulling off the X-clamps requires patience and a bit more force than I liked. I used pliers on mine.

I recommend putting tape on the heads of the screws to hold them into the back of the board (makes things much easier for people who only have two hands). I also had some Arctic Silver thermal paste, so I did not use what came in the box.

One note on the bake-in cycle, if you get 2 lights instantly you must tighten the bolts slightly. When you have 2 lights, the console turns everything off and stops generating heat. Let it run with 3 lights for a bit and wait for that to turn into 2 lights.

The initial bake did not work for me, and from what I have read on the forums, it does not work with many people. This is because the problem is usually due to a GPU solder issue which does not heat enough when the CPU overheats. I heated my GPU by plugging the fans in and placing paper between the fan shroud and the GPU heat sink and between the GPU and CPU heat sinks. This let the CPU cool while heating the GPU. It only took about 10 minutes before I unplugged everything and let it cool off.

One last note, if after you do all of this you get a secondary code of 0020, try loosening the screws. There is a huge temptation to crank these things, but I found that they shouldn't be much more than finger tight. Just enough to keep the heat sinks from wiggling.

Find your secondary code by holding the sync button and pushing eject. As you push eject the lights will cycle through 4 sequences that spell out a code. One light is a 1, 2 lights a 2, 3 lights a 3 and 4 lights is a zero. Run a search after you get your 4 digit code and see if that narrows it down. I fought with my error for a while before I loosened the bolts to bake again and got 4 green lights.

Is this a permanent fix? Likely not unless you also fix your cooling as well. Either mod your fans to 12v (loud and possible to get banned if you do it wrong supposedly) or replace the fans. I did a fan replace and cut the metal mesh from the fan area to increase air flow. Also, if you do not have the upgraded GPU heat sink (one with the second heat pipe) grab one.

I would likely use this kit again if I was to fix another box. For $5, you really can't go wrong trying this before throwing your system away.

I was a bit skeptical as to whether or not this kit would work. It shipped pretty quickly and I was able to repair my xbox 360 in about 2 hours. I am sure some people can do it quicker, but I was watching youtube tutorials as I did it to make sure I did everything correctly. I decided it was worth a shot trying to fix it since I technically had a new paperweight either way! The pdf link is good, because the kit used at other places is a bit different, so you will have to refer to both. Overall I was super impressed that this worked out and for under $10 it cannot be beat. So I guess, I am now $140 richer since I did not have to send my xbox off to Microsoft! It also came with the heat paste, which is not shown in the picture. The xbox 360 has been working now without a hitch for well over a month, and that is with some pretty heavy use! Give it a try, you have nothing to lose.

I have a "tampered" Xbox 360 (or two) according to Microsoft. That's fine, I got to leave the CS agent a piece of my mind when she informed of this, so I had a little fun with the news. I decided to purchase a kit to repair it myself rather than trying to track down the hardware needed from a Lowe's or Home Depot on my own. I figure at $5 convenience alone made it worth it. However, I have a buddy who also has a "tampered" 360, who did not get a kit. We got together tonight and decided to tackle our two RRoD boxes. We took a washer and a screw to Lowe's and tried our best to replicate what is in this kit. We actually had pretty good luck. We found the nylon washers first, a little different but pretty close to what's supplied. Next we found the screws. We were only able to locate flat or hex head but either one would have worked fine, we went with the flat (Phillips style is supplied in the this kit). The threads were perfect and the length was exact. We did have a hard time finding metal washers. We found where they would be in the drawer but their compartment was empty. We settled on a little larger washer that caused some trouble but we were able to work around. The total costs of his supplies for the job was about $8 while gathering everything from Lowe's. He got just the amount of nylon washers and screws but had to settle on a 100 pack of metal washers. Further proof the price is right for this kit as it cut out a lot of the tracking down hardware headaches. We also had a tube of Arctic Silver 5 and the ArctiClean two part cleaner. The Arctic Silver is essential to the job, don't use the white paste they send you. Spend a few extra bucks and get the best if you're going through all this trouble. We did the work at the same time very slowly and methodically. We both could do the repair pretty quickly now (less than 30 minutes total). His Xbox was fixed after we tightened everything up. He had an unrelated DVD drive problem (his Xbox has been sitting in the closet for a couple of years) but we fixed it too. My Xbox on the other hand continued to red ring after the initial bake period. I was pretty bummed while he was over there putting together his resurrected console. I decided to stick a piece of paper to block off the airflow for the GPU duct but left the CPU duct/fan clear. I let it bake for 15 minutes and then turned it off to cool. It was off for about 5 to 10 minutes and when I powered it back on no more red lights! We played a game of FIFA 10 and a couple NHL 10 games and it's working perfectly. I hope the fix lasts. I really feel a lot better about my craftsmanship than what I did with what I found when I disassembled it. I am tempted to get another kit and change out my launch (also "tampered") console, although it works fine. We were happy to see this kit did not need any modifications to the case or board. I'd read other guides that had holes being drilled out to make for bigger screws. We didn't have any of that. Open the case, remove the board, pop the clamps off, clean the dye and heat sinks, apply thermal compound, attach sinks, run for a few minutes, tighten bolts, and reassemble. It really is a simple process once you go through the steps your first time.

I have to admit I was a bit skeptical at first but this kit is everything it's says it is. It was easy to use,easy to install and my unit has been running perfectly for the past 9 months.I even helped a couple of my friends fix their systems. I highly reccomend this repair kit.

Do not buy. The kit advertised is not the kit I received. I ended up with 7 screws that are too big to fit any aspect of the xbox 360 and 18 washers. I've since contacted the company to express my disappointment and have not received any contact back

It worked great, and it was a very good price for the parts and instructions.

TIPS
- I used vaseline to clean off the sticky residue of the thermal paste (heatsink grease). It worked GREAT. Alcohol and acetone were utterly USELESS.

- You need a torque screwdriver, which you can get at Home Depot for about $5. Also, a set of tiny screwdrivers (they come in a hardshell plastic case and can be used to fix eyeglasses) proved invaluable. You can get these for about $5, too. Everyone should own a set of these.

- One side latch is under a rubber foot pad.

- Have patience and pay good attention to detail.

THE DETAILS OF MY EXPERIENCE
My xbox was giving a 3 light rrod. The flashing ring code I received was "unknown error." I was assuming the worst, of course. I opened the case, did the modification, and the xbox worked on the first test. The theory about this error is that the X brackets cause some sort of disproportionate pressure on the chip, and the xbox also overheats, causing cracks in the welding to the GPU (I think it's the GPU, anyway.) My xbox was a newer design than the others I'd seen on the Internet. Its heatsink was probably twice the size for each chip.

During my observations, the thermal paste (heatsink grease) installed by the manufacturer looked burned and insufficient. I had by xbox on its side, and this could possibly cause uneven pressure on the chips, especially since the X brackets are held on by tension/springiness. There wouldn't be much play in its movement, but the brackets are certainly not as secure as the screws used in this modification.

This kit is actually a pretty good deal, if you get free shipping. I have Amazon Prime, so it was great. The screws at Home Depot would probably cost you about $3, so this isn't much more expensive, and you get all the right parts without having to hunt for them in a store.

The instructions were pretty good. The one part that I had trouble with was removing the X brackets. The method in the instructions looked pretty haphazard, since the edge of the screw driver looked like it could cause some board damage. I looked up an alternate method on YouTube which worked like a charm. It involved using needle nosed pliers. Using this method, you leverage up one side of the X bracket, which by itself doesn't pop the bracket loose. But when you leverage up the opposite side of the X bracket, it pops loose.

Another trouble I had, which was not the fault of the instructions, was opening the case. There was one latch on the gray sides which was tricky to find. The latches are unlocked by poking a stick through the holes, but this one latch didn't have a hole that would work. I examined it and discovered the hole was underneath the rubber foot pad.

Also, the tiny latches in the back were a nightmare to open. The buttons are these TINY little white notches that are popped loose by pressing on them with a small flathead screwdriver, and putting slight pressure wedging open the case. One button just wouldn't give. I just kept changing my angle on the screwdriver until it opened. My last case scenario would have been to break the latch, which was no biggy for me. I didn't buy the xbox for its resell value, and this repair was certainly more affordable and expedient that sending it to Microsoft repair.

I bought this 2 months ago and my xbox 360 has been working perfectly ever since. When I ordered it, I didn't notice that this comes with the thermal paste (enough to do 2 fixes). The only thing that this kit doesn't include that is needed is thermal paste removal. But rubbing alcohol works OK. That was by far the hardest thing about the fix was removing the old paste. I am sure that the screws and washers could be found for cheaper at your local hardware store, but finding the thermal paste would be harder to find. No stores in my area have thermal paste and just for the convenience of not having to find the right screws and washers is why I bought this. At this price, it is a good value especially if you buy enough to get free shipping.

I bought this product and followed the instructions down to a "T" but it still does not work. I used the Arctic silver cleaning kit and thermal paste and attempted it twice. One with the recommended portions, and again with a little more. Still no go.

I've tried the alternate methods to the "10-15%" chance it doesn't work though I checked the forums and to me, it seemed like a rather large portion of non fixes.

In the forums it also tells you how to tell what error your RROD has (MAKE SURE YOU DO THIS BEFORE BUYING ANYTHING) Hold down the sync and eject button at the same time until the lights change into quick flashing lights. 4 lights=0, 3=3,2=2,1=1. While still holding the sync button press the eject button again three more times.
You should get four numbers. Mine was 4422=0022 which is some type of error that apparently is usually not fixed with this kit.

This kit fixes overheating problems, some of the other problems are due to the poor soldering done with the GPU/CPU which then needs to be sent in to someone who can re-solder the chips.

I can assure you that it was the x-clamps that are to blame for my xbox breaking. I believe this kit would have saved my xbox. The only problem is that replacing your xbox with this kit nulls your warranty. So let's hope your xbox is good after the warranty is up.

Overall it's a good product with great instructions. But you can only do so much to try and make a crappy product like an xbox 360 last.

I had RRoD about a year ago, shipped it off to microsoft and it worked! Now this is only temporary obviously. I had some old arctic silver 5 laying around and a mind ready for adventure. I used this method so I could PREVENT any future RRoD. The thermal paste quality and quantity Microsoft use is quite disappointing, its like super glue and is all over the place! I used q-tips and isopropyl alcohol to clean it off, it took some time and effort but is worth it in the end. The screw setup is quite simplistic, it follows this order: screw, metal washer, nylon washer, nylon washer, metal washer. Pretty easy huh? Thats what I thought. I have to give this product 5 stars because it was only 5$ including shipping. If you are looking for an easy and relatively labor free RRod fix give this a go!

Background:
My xbox 360 failed a couple months ago. I had green lights, the console worked fine, except there was no video, just audio. If you put a game in, you could hear the game playing, but could not see anything except a black screen with white dots moving across the screen. Through forums and other reviews, I found that this was possibly due to an overheat, so I figured, at this price, I might as well try it.

The Kit:
The kit comes with 8 screws, 16 nylon and 16 metal washers, some thermal paste, and a sheet of paper for downloading instructions. It would not be too difficult to find the screws and washers at a dept store, but you're paying mainly for the convenience.

Disassembly & Repair:
Disassembly and repair took about 2 hrs; 45 min for disassembly, 45 min for repair, and 30 min to reassemble. The instructions included with the kit were generally helpful. The only time they were not were when removing the x-clamps. The instructions say to stick a flathead between the x clamp and the motherboard, and torque the flathead. After numerous attempts to torque the flathead, and nothing happening, I went online and found this video: [] . This worked much more effectively and the x clamps were off in a matter of minutes.

Reassembly & Fix:
Reassembly was much faster than disassembly, however the instructions suggest not to completely reassemble your xbox, to first test to see if it works. If it does not, and mine didn't (same white dots moving across screen), they have "an alternate baking method." You basically keep the 360 half-assembled, rest the fan on the cpu heatsink, and run the xbox for 10-15 min. This keeps the CPU cool while cooking the GPU (responsible for graphics - my exact problem). After this, plugged in the 360, and saw the xbox symbol! Great success!

6 days later:
Worked fine for these 6 days. Used it on average 2-3 hrs a day. Turn it on the 7th day after the fix, and no video signal at all. No white dots, nothing. Sound works fine however. Tried the baking method again, nada.

Overall Thoughts:
The kit itself worked fine, especially for the price, thus, 5 stars. I blame Microsoft for my 360 with a failed GPU. The fact that this kit made it work for awhile before failing again, shows that its my xbox thats responsible for failing, not this kit.

Side Notes:
- You can unscrew T8 screws with a T9 driver, you just gotta use a little pressure.
- DO NOT DO THIS IF YOU STILL HAVE WARRANTY! (I was a full year out of warranty)
- If you are out of warranty, try this if your 360 fails. 99% of the 360's problems are due to overheating, and this kit fixes that. Can't tell you the satisfaction of fixing your 360 for only $5, instead of the $150 microsoft wanted to charge me.