Repairing a computer motherboard with expanded capacitors

[Gattopardo]

Have looked on the inside of a computer that I was thinking of putting to use and noticed that a few of the capacitors are expanded, not poped but expanded.  The computer works so I feel I'm on borrowed time.

Would it be worth replacing the capacitors? Could be a good practice for soldering?

Or should I just get rid of it?

[rusky]

I've successfully replaced caps on a Dell motherboard. As it was not a standard size or layout it saved getting a complete new PC.

I wouldn't recommend it if you aren't experienced with soldering & have a decent iron as the construction of the board makes it difficult to de-solder & solder the components due to heat dissipation.

[uphillbothways]

Motherboards are an absolute bastard to solder - the circuit board is a sandwich with many layers of copper, so it sucks all the heat away from the solder joint. The better motherboards are designed to work like a big heatsink with extra-thick layers of copper. More recent boards have more layers, so are much harder to rework. Professional repairers just use a big preheating table to warm the whole board up, but if you've only got a soldering iron it's really hard work to get enough heat in without damaging nearby components or damaging the copper pads. If you're going to have a go, I'd practice on a broken motherboard first.

[tonycollinet]

Plus cut the old caps off first, so you can remove one leg at a time.

I'd say if the board is still working - don't bother. It may never fail.

[Gattopardo]

Will post up photos tomorrow.

[nmcgann]

Check carefully on the specification of the caps before replacing them. If they are in the various switching power regulators then the ESR will be important and they will need to be replaced with a close equivalent.