MacBook Pro Trackpad Repair/Replacement

Hi, ocee00.

I know I can get the whole assembly online for 250-350, but is there an easy way to clean or remove just the trackpad?

No, and this early in the product's life-cycle it would probably be hard to find just the trackpad for sale as a separate part anyway. There's likely no alternative to buying the whole top case assembly, even if all you need is a trackpad.

Also, consider carefully whether you want to invalidate whatever remains of your warranty coverage by making a repair yourself — particularly if you paid for the AppleCare plan that extends the normal one-year coverage to three years.

Were you quoted $1300 for the repair by Apple, or was that just a guess?

the trackpad is pullable but tedious & you have to tear the machine down (almost all of the internals) to do it. it's not sold separate either.

there is a water sensor inside, right on the gap at the top of the pad. if it's pink, then your warranty is toast anyway.

pull the battery & see how much leaked thru. you might be able to clean the bottom of the pad off as it's visible from the battery compartment. there is also a tri-wing set screw that controls the click range (how much the pad moves when it clicks). you should be able to spin this out with just a stright screw driver that will fit into the slot. see how much gunk is under it.

only an idea,

what could happen, if you dissamble the mbp so that you only have the upper part (with keyboard and trackpad) in your hands and then clean it with destilled water and a paintbrush ?!

after let it dry and or take a hairdryer and a vacuumcleaner with a brush ..

DON'T use a hairdryer — it's very easy to overheat small electronic components with one. To dry anything that you may decide to clean, use only a household fan blowing room-temperature air, and don't assume when there's no visible moisture to be seen that all the water has evaporated out of the tiny crevices and hidden spaces that you can't see. Air-drying the internals of a notebook computer takes several days of continuous airflow.