How to Disassemble an Xbox 360 Controller and Change Out Thumbsticks

Hello! I recently had to disassemble one of my Xbox 360 controllers in order to clean it. I came home from work one day and my girlfriend informed me that Alex (one of her cats) had projectile vomited all over it. She sheepishly handed me the controller that she had already cleaned, and I was ready to dismiss it until I pressed the X button. The button went down, but didn't come back up. Awwww, that cute little guy got puke inside my controller, how sweet! So, here we are. I can either clean the controller out or get a new one, which she immediately offered to purchase for me. Thoughts of  "hrmm, should I tell her it's trashed and make her buy me the new redesigned silver control pad?" immediately went through my head. Alas, the cheap bastard in me would not allow it, and I immediately began searching for a T-8 security bit to disassemble the controller.

Now, I have a lot of tools, but for some reason I did not have a T-8 security bit that would fit inside the holes of the controller. You won't be able to use the standard 1/4" size hex shank bits that you use in most screwdrivers with replaceable bits, you are going to need something quite a bit smaller in diameter. After going to MicroCenter and buying a set for $10 (that had every damn size except the one I needed) I decided to pick up a folding hex security set from Harbor Freight for about $4 after coupon.

  http://www.harborfreight.com/7-pc-mni-star-tamper-proof-key-set-97469.html


If you don't want to buy a set like this, or don't have a Harbor Freight close by, this one from Eforcity will get the job done for about $3

http://www.amazon.com/Torx-Screwdriver-MicroSoft-360-Wireless-Controller/dp/B005HBKWK0


Now that you have the driver, let's get started. *** Disclaimer*** The photos I am going to show are not the ones from the puke cleaning disassembly, as I had already reassembled the controller when I decided to create this blog. I apologize to any cat puke fetishist for not stating that earlier, I hope I didn't get you too excited.***  Luckily for the purpose of this blog, the left thumbstick on my controller was getting pretty worn down, so I replaced it today and took the following pictures.  Here we go:

Remove the battery pack from the controller.

 This controller has 7 T-8 security screws in it. 6 are right there in the open, the 7th is hidden behind the serial # barcode sticker where the battery is located. You can remove the screws in any order.  To get to the hidden screw, just puncture the sticker with the end of the Torx bit.

Here is the barcode hiding the screw before I punctured it.

With all the screws removed, the controller will just pull apart now. The easiest way to do this is to leave the controller face down while pulling the front of the controller away from the rear. This way the buttons won't fall out on you. If they do, it's very easy to put them back in place. One thing to note is that the motors that emit the vibration feedback of the controller are in the lower left and right handles.  They will likely fall out while you are removing the front of the controller, just make sure you are doing this on a reasonably solid work surface. 

Here is one of the motors resting in the front cover of the controller. The other is in the same location on the opposite side. Feel free to pull them out of the front cover, you can put them back in easily.  (It is easier to reassemble the controller if both motors are seated in the front cover just like in the picture)

The control sticks just pull right off.

Here are the replacement control sticks I bought on Ebay. These will run you about $3 each at Microcenter, I got 6 for $3.88 shipped.  http://www.ebay.com/itm/130621044845?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649#ht_1340wt_972

Good as new :)

And now all you have to do is reassemble in the exact same order. When reassembling, make sure both thumbsticks are completely through the front of the controller casing, they like to catch on the sides of the opening.  Also, remember to seat the vibration motors in the FRONT controller casing when reassembling, it will make it much easier.   

A Little Bit About What This Blog Is Going to Be

Hi there! I have decided to start documenting some of the many random projects I undertake in my life and posting them on here as how-to type articles. I absolutely hate paying someone else to do a job that I think I can do myself, even if the job could be above and beyond my skill set.  I love taking on new projects and learning how to do things along the way, as it provides me with a sense of accomplishment as well as the ability to say "yeah, I can do that, I'm a badass."  I am going to be posting this series of how-to articles that will hopefully help some of you out and make your lives a little bit easier if you undertake a similar project. These projects are going to be random, as I will start documenting my own projects as I undertake them. They could be home improvement projects, automotive repair projects, electronics related projects, it's hard to say what the scope will be because I am a cheap bastard and insist on doing everything on my own!

Anyway, happy reading and hopefully I will be able to help you with something in the future.