How to remove Power Supply cables from Various Parts (Glued in?)

[Cyannis]

Greetings all! First and foremost I'd like to say that I'm pretty new to all of this so I deeply apologize if I provide lackluster information in OP. That being said, if you require additional information please let me know and I'll provide it.

Now to the real issue: About four or five years ago I bought a customized computer off of iBuypower. It's served me well so far, however my GPU has been running so hot that running most games results in my computer crashing. I came to the conclusion that the thermal paste in there must be too melted/dried out.

SO, when I went to remove the part, I simply could not pull the cable from the GPU. I tried this with several other parts in the computer and had the same lack of luck. Thinking I might just be not strong enough, I had a few other friends try with no result. Also, I did one time in the past have my cable removed from my frontal USB ports by a d00d from GeekSquad, but it looked like it took a significant amount of effort from a pretty well built guy. Is it possible the cables could have been sealed in with electro-conductive glue? And if so, is there any way to get them out aside from brute force? Or am I just doing it wrong? plz halp

Relevant parts list:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817190023 <- What I believe my Power Supply Unit is.
Case: NZXT Guardian 921 RB
GPU: HIS 6850 IceQX Turbo

Let me know if any sort of additional parts list is required, thank you all very much in advance

Edit: Made slightly more concise

 

[drtweak]

I doubt there was any glue used. Sometimes they can be a super tight fit especially if it gets super hot it could expand and contract a lot.

Maybe try running the machine, get it nice and hot, turn it off, and try yanking them out?

 

[thor220]

You don't specify what you are trying to remove. If its the heatsink, it may screwed on. Dryed thermal paste will not take too much to get off and I've never heard of a glued on sink. Mainly because plastic is hard to bond to and glue damages heat transfer.

A quick picture of what's to be removed could go a long way.

 

[Cyannis]

I doubt there was any glue used. Sometimes they can be a super tight fit especially if it gets super hot it could expand and contract a lot.

Maybe try running the machine, get it nice and hot, turn it off, and try yanking them out?

Ahh I see. Yeah I'll definitely try that soon.

You don't specify what you are trying to remove. If its the heatsink, it may screwed on. Dryed thermal paste will not take too much to get off and I've never heard of a glued on sink. Mainly because plastic is hard to bond to and glue damages heat transfer.

A quick picture of what's to be removed could go a long way.

Sorry, my post was a little bit ramble-y. What I'm specifically trying to remove are the psu cables to my gpu. I just decided to point out that none of the psu cables remove easily. I can wiggle them out slightly and then nothing.

 

[thor220]

There should be a clip on the top of them to remove them. It should take much force. As drtweak said, heating plastic up will make it more malleable. In an extreme case direct heat from a lighter may be user very briefly.

 

[drtweak]

Or use a Dryer or Heat gun VS a ligher. A lighter could actually melt it if you got too close with the flame.

 

[thor220]

Or use a Dryer or Heat gun VS a ligher. A lighter could actually melt it if you got too close with the flame.

So can a dryer except the heat is dispersed over a large area meaning you can over heat and damage other components. Dryers produce much more heat than a lighter.

 

[Cyannis]

Thank you all very much! I decided to play some games for a little bit to get my system nice and warm, shut down and unplugged my system, slipped some rubber gloves on and decided to not be afraid and give all the cables a good hard tug (And pressing the switches on applicable ones) and managed to get them off. All your feedback was very helpful and if I could pick everything as the solution, I would. 😛

 

[thor220]

Great that the issue was resolved without any damage!