I've had a regular problem of the ICM failing every couple of years.

This time when it failed I saw that one of the screws holding the ICM to the mounting plate had come out.

The threads were stripped not allowing me to tighten the ICM mounting bolt and these things really need the heat sink.

I decided to drill out the threads and use a through bolt to hold the ICM in place. It turns out that a 3mm x 30mm bolt fits well and the head of the bolt fits into the hole on the plate that mates against the head making the head of the bolt recessed so no mounting issues.

I used a washer, lock washer, and nut, applied the heat sink compound, tightened it down, and then reinstalled everything. We'll see if it lasts longer than two years.

BTW, at one time I did the mod of adding spacers under the mounting plate but later took them out, I don't remember why I felt I needed to remove them but may add the spacers back in to isolate the ICM assy from the head to hopefully reduce heat being transmitted from the head.

 

Have you been using heat transfer compound between the ICM and the heat sink?

 

Yes, it had the compound and I used it on this install.

 

Try doing the spacer mod. Basically take the heat sync off the head, then add 2 washers to each side so the heat sync is not directly in contact with the head. For better thermal performance, use a higher end compound for computer CPUs. My personal favorite is Arctic Silver.

 

I tried the spacer mod but it didn't go well but I forget why. I used Artic Silver this time as I had some left over from a computer build. We'll see how she holds.