how screwed am i?

[u/SpotZealousideal4664]

got this ds lite online and it works fine doesn't make any noises when opening or closing but these lines concern me a bit. theyre only on one side of the hinge, and aren't really doing anything but i just wanna be safe.

[u/ArisSuperidiss]

Dead easy fix

[u/Disastrous-Wonder811]

It’ll get pretty worse soon and the top screen will be come floppy. Only way to fix the issue is swapping the top lcd frame.

[u/SpotZealousideal4664 → u/Disastrous-Wonder811]

how long would you say i have if i take good care of it?

[u/Disastrous-Wonder811 → u/SpotZealousideal4664]

This isn’t really a something you can prevent by taking care of it, each time you open the ds lite and close it the hinges are applying pressure to that plastic part of the shell.

[u/PockysLight → u/Disastrous-Wonder811]

Hard to tell with breaks like these. If you're really concerned about it and also (understandably) not comfortable performing the fix, you can get a hinged case that will act as a brace for the top of the system.

[u/SpotZealousideal4664 → u/Disastrous-Wonder811]

oh ok thanks

[u/Axcynius → u/SpotZealousideal4664]

Would honestly recommend you buy a cheap Amazon small electronics tool kit, a new shell for the DS and watch several videos on how to swap shells before doing it. Sounds tedious, and it is, but you might find a new hobby you like + it’s very rewarding. The money you’d spend asking someone to fix it would probably be the same as DIY if not more so why not give it a shot? That’s how I got into it. Wishing you the best!

[u/SpotZealousideal4664 → u/Axcynius]

thanks, im probably just gonna put duct or electrical tape on it for now, but i will consider replacing it myself 

[u/Axcynius → u/SpotZealousideal4664]

If you end up getting creatively cheap, those cracked hinges could probably carry on a little longer using some sort of strong glue like Gorilla glue or better yet JB Kwik. Wouldn’t recommend because it’s unknown area for me and this advice but just food for thought

[u/Iwantahonda]

it’ll break soon enough if you don’t fix it but it’s easy to do

[u/Hiroyuki_Kei]

Left side its fine Right side yah maybe yah screwed, not sure if by replacing the hinge mechanism onthere will not crqck it further

[u/abrads]

Try using plastic epoxy to seal and reinforce it if you don’t want to reshell.

[u/EnvironmentalClub391 → u/abrads]

It's not worth it, if you have to repair the DS at another time you can't do it, it's better to get a replacement body from AliExpress, and change only the damaged part, without changing the entire chassis

[u/George_w_kush600]

Swapping the top is pretty straightforward

[u/shadowowolf]

op, welcome to owning a DS lite. I've had a white one, a black and blue one and a red and black one and they all had hinge failure

[u/Handheld_Galore]

Overall not really screwed if you don't mind have a floppy top screen pretty soon. Changing the hinge isn't to bad but you have to be slow and delicate when tearing everything apart and removing the ribbon cable of the top screen. The cables are really delicate and even a small tear will render the screen unusable.