On Tue, 10 Jan 2006 16:05:53 -0000, you wrote:

>>Speaking of bad caps... anyone know a Fast And Easy Way to
>>remove capacitors from a motherboard? I've got a perfectly
>>good AMD motherboard here with lovely 3rd rate capacitors
>>that are in various stages of failure, and would replace
>>them if not for the fact that I can't seem to melt the
>>solder on the leads.
>
>You probably need the "tweezer" or "twin bit" type soldering iron. Another
>possibility may be that it has been done with lead free solder, which does
>have a higher melting point than normal solder, and if your iron temp is set
>close then it may not melt.

Also, they will often have at least one pin connected to an internal plane layer, so you need an
iron that can pump a lot of heat in without excessive temperature, like a Metcal. 
The safest way (i.e. least likely to damage PCB) to remove through-hole parts from multilayer boards
is to clip off the part itself and remove the leads one at a time, preferably heating from both
sides. 
To clean the hole afterwards you ideally need a desoldering iron (iron with hollow tip and suction),
and a second iron on the other side to heat it up quickly to reduce the chance of damage, 
If you don't have a desolder iron, the best way is to heat the joint and tap the board sharply
against the edge of the bench to fling the solder out. 

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