Repairing SATA motherboard connector: Advice needed

I have an Asus A7N8X-E motherboard with SATA controller which has two SATA ports The look like ones displayed in the image. My problem is that on one of them, the plastic part came loose and every time cable is removed, plastic stays plugged into SATA cable. The pins themselves are still soldered to the motherboard and I can with some effort put the plastic part back so that it covers the pins.

SATA connector

I need tips for making the plastic part itself somehow bond with the pins. The pin part itself has two metal pieces (left most and right most pins on the picture) which look like they are designed to hold the plastic part. I'm considering using soldering iron on them. I'm thinking that if I heat them enough, plastic part may melt a little bit and get stuck in correct position. Unfortunately, I'm not so good with soldering and I'd like to hear some alternative ways of solving this problem (I also doubt that I'm skilled enough to replace whole connector).

Oh, and I'd rather not buy a separate SATA controller, since the computer is pretty old.

AndrejaKo

Posted 2010-09-13T10:57:45.020

Reputation: 16 459

Answers

Use epoxy resin (as suggested by subanki) or hot melt glue (easier to remove later if you make a mistake) and absolutely NOTHING (like 'super glue') that uses a solvent which can damage components or metal platings.

Use the glue to bond the plastic carrier onto the motherboard. Do not try soldering - if the plastic is something like glass-reenforced polyester, heating it just makes it crumble rather than sticky.

Linker3000

Posted 2010-09-13T10:57:45.020

Reputation: 25 670

This may not come handy but since no one was answering this question , I thought I could at-least say to use glue. In the Market you can find glue that can stick the only plastic part together forever. The one which is available in my country is quick-fix. Make sure you use it very gently.
You can try epoxying it using epoxy resin
And Soldering on a plastic part is not at all recommended because if you make the slightest mistake it may burn up the whole plastic . Even if you are able to melt little and get it to fit together, the two plastic may not fit in properly.
I strongly suggest you get a new one.

subanki

Posted 2010-09-13T10:57:45.020

Reputation: 6 702

I was thinking about purchasing a Cyanoacrylate glue and using it to put the plastic part into place but I don't know how it will react with the circuit board substrate and I don't have any spare printed circuit boards at the moment to experiment on.

– AndrejaKo – 2010-09-13T11:39:03.533

It slightingly melts the plastic region but its very minute. Don't use it on the circuit board use it on the plastic region only but take extreme care. – subanki – 2010-09-13T11:47:41.933

I don't have any plastic region except the connector itself. The whole connector is one piece of plastic and there are no other plastic parts other than it, so I must either glue it to board itself or the metal pins on the sides. – AndrejaKo – 2010-09-13T11:49:55.337

@Andrejako Linker is right, Use epoxy resin its better – subanki – 2010-09-13T12:07:50.053