Safely removing heatsink clips

[da na]

I have a GeForce 7600 in desperate need of repasting - 73 idle on the desktop and 100 within seconds of launching FurMark - but its heatsink is held on by plastic clips with springs.

Much like these:   

Spoiler

They work like drywall anchors in that they aren't supposed to come out once inserted. This is a pretty big problem because I cannot find replacements for these exact spring clips, after all the heatsink assembly is nearing 20 years old. 

I have tried squeezing the end with pliers and pulling the pin from the other side, they usually get part of the way through the PCB and then get stuck. 

I also feel like these clips provide poor mounting pressure, would it be an awful idea to replace these clips with a set of four bolts and nuts to hold the heatsink on? I'd use rubber washers to prevent contact with nearby SMD components and to hopefully prevent the GPU die from shattering from slightly uneven pressure as I screwed them into place. The card has no backplate so I can't just easily replace these with screws, I'd need something to hold them on the other side.

Any help would be appreciated! 

P.S. please no "buy new GPU" responses.

[Average Nerd]

1 minute ago, da na said:

would it be an awful idea to replace these clips with a set of four bolts and nuts to hold the heatsink on? I'd use rubber washers to prevent contact with nearby SMD components and to hopefully prevent the GPU die from shattering from slightly uneven pressure as I screwed them into place.

That would probably work fine, if you feel fancy you could also spring load them by putting a spring between the screw head and the heatsink, maybe with a washer to stop the spring from sliding over the screw head.

[TatamiMatt]

3 minutes ago, da na said:

I have a GeForce 7600 in desperate need of repasting - 73 idle on the desktop and 100 within seconds of launching FurMark - but its heatsink is held on by plastic clips with springs.

Much like these:   

  Hide contents

They work like drywall anchors in that they aren't supposed to come out once inserted. This is a pretty big problem because I cannot find replacements for these exact spring clips, after all the heatsink assembly is nearing 20 years old. 

I have tried squeezing the end with pliers and pulling the pin from the other side, they usually get part of the way through the PCB and then get stuck. 

I also feel like these clips provide poor mounting pressure, would it be an awful idea to replace these clips with a set of four bolts and nuts to hold the heatsink on? I'd use rubber washers to prevent contact with nearby SMD components and to hopefully prevent the GPU die from shattering from slightly uneven pressure as I screwed them into place. The card has no backplate so I can't just easily replace these with screws, I'd need something to hold them on the other side.

Any help would be appreciated! 

P.S. please no "buy new GPU" responses.

Does it look something like this?

 

If so, how do these lock into place as it just looks like  little bit of spring loaded plastic, do the spring loaded parts lock something into place?

[Needfuldoer]

Usually I just squeeze the little pop-out tabs in with needlenose pliers and push them through the PCB. They might need to be pulled back out with a small flathead screwdriver afterward, but they're good to reuse at least a couple times.

[Poinkachu]

8 minutes ago, da na said:

would it be an awful idea to replace these clips with a set of four bolts and nuts to hold the heatsink on? I'd use rubber washers to prevent contact with nearby SMD components and to hopefully prevent the GPU die from shattering from slightly uneven pressure as I screwed them into place. The card has no backplate so I can't just easily replace these with screws, I'd need something to hold them on the other side.

Any help would be appreciated! 

P.S. please no "buy new GPU" responses.

IMHO, if you can make sure it's safe for the GPU, mainly not shorting something or worse. I don't see why not

 

I'm not gonna tell you to buy a new gpu, I'd just tell you to stop buying and using ancient stuffs

[da na]

4 hours ago, TatamiMatt said:

Does it look something like this?

 

If so, how do these lock into place as it just looks like  little bit of spring loaded plastic, do the spring loaded parts lock something into place?

Lovely card!

Mine are much simpler, just a T with a V on the bottom. 

The spring is on the top side of the PCB in the shaft of the T-shape. The bottom bit contracts as it is pulled thru the PCB then expands to hold in place. 

[da na]

6 hours ago, Needfuldoer said:

Usually I just squeeze the little pop-out tabs in with needlenose pliers and push them through the PCB. They might need to be pulled back out with a small flathead screwdriver afterward, but they're good to reuse at least a couple times.

 Thanks! I'd never considered using a screwdriver to set the clips back to their starting position; that worked great in getting it secured.

Card used a very dry old thermal pad, no wonder it was so hot