Use your fingers to push both battery release tabs away from the battery and lift the battery out of the computer.

Remove the four identical Phillips screws from the memory door.

Lift the memory door up enough to get a grip on it, and slide it toward you, pulling it away from the casing.

Remove the three Phillips screws in the battery compartment near the latch. Apple was nice enough to tilt these screws at a slight angle to make them easier to remove.

Remove the following six screws:

• Two T6 Torx screws on either side of the RAM slot.
• Four Phillips screws along the hinge.

Remove the four Phillips screws on the port side of the computer.

Rotate the computer 90 degrees and remove the two Phillips screws from the rear of the computer.

Rotate the computer 90 degrees again and remove the four Phillips screws from the side of the computer.

Do not yank the upper case off quickly. The case is attached to the logic board via a ribbon cable.

Lift up the back of the case and work your fingers along the sides, freeing the case as you go. Once you have freed the sides, you may need to rock the case up and down to free the front of the upper case.

Disconnect the trackpad and keyboard ribbon cable from the logic board.

Remove the upper case.

Disconnect the display data cable and right fan cable from the logic board.

If you have a MacBook Pro 17" Model A1229 or A1212, the connectors have different compositions and are highlighted in the second picture.

Remove the three silver T6 Torx screws securing the right fan.

Lift the right fan and its metal bracket out of the logic board.

Disconnect the right thermal sensor cable from the logic board.

If you have the A1261 model, the right thermal sensor cable is located in between the right fan connector and display data cable.