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Rear license plate bolt replacement

12K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  Jonesy  
#1 ·
After buying our Sequoia last weekend and registering the car I need to replace the license plates.

Unfortunately one of the bolts was rusted and I also don't think they thread the bolt correctly when they installed the plate. I tried removing it but the phillip head got striped but was able to get a hold of the bolt head with a pair of pilers. It started to turn but after about a full turn the bolt broken, and nothing was sticking out.

I attempted to remove it using an extracting bit, but the center punch hole I guess wasn't good enough and the hole I drilled ended up not being in the center. Thus I am able to remove it from that method.


I am curious what are my options? This is what I am think:

1) Am I able to get to the back side of the bolt through the rear panel? If so, what is the process to remove the rear panel? I think it is fairly straight forward but I don't know how to get to the bolt on the strap? Do I just pull off the cover?

2) Completely drill out the bolt and then replace the whole thread piece. Although I don't think I would be able to do this.

3) Drill into the rear hatch and use the bottom two screws, this way I would have 1 bolt up top, and 2 screws below.

4) Glue a magnet into the hole and use a high strength magnet to attach the two.


Or just bite the bullet and take it to the dealership to deal with.
 
#3 ·
Sounds like a challenge.

Preparation:

Use a grinder (Dremel, or L-Head grinder) to grind the head of the bolt clear off. This will let you remove the license plate and see what the bolt is screwed into.

Repair:

If you have ground the head of the bolt off, then the end of the bolt should be flat, which makes it easy to center punch. Do so. Then drill the bolt out, using successively larger bits, until the bolt isn't there any more. If you drill a bit off center, that is not a catastrophe; read on to see the remedy.

If the bolt is screwed into a plastic insert, then just drill out, cut out, punch out, and remove the old insert by any method that works, and replace it with a new one.

If the bolt is screwed into a nut that is welded to the body, then you have a bit of work to do. Drill out the center of the nut all the way to clean steel, degrease it with Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber (available at our local Walmart in the gun section), let it dry (which happens very quickly; blowing it out with compressed air is a great idea), and fill it in with JB Weld epoxy. After it cures thoroughly, drill and tap a hole in the JB Weld for a new bolt, and don't overtighten that bolt.

Suggestions:

When you mount a new license plate, use stainless steel bolts. Been there, done that, a very long time ago. I have done it on every vehicle I've ever had, and I mean replacing the original bolts on a brand-new vehicle. I've NEVER had stainless steel license plate bolts give me the slightest problem when it comes to remove them, even after a decade or more of just sitting there.

If you have damaged steel anywhere a bolt was, then apply Fluid Film (Google it) to the threads of the bolt and the insert before screwing in the bolt. It will prevent rust, and it won't go away.
 
#4 ·
DJ thanks of the information.

I was thinking about just drilling out the old bolt but didn't know the next steps of using JB Weld.

Also already have bought stainless steel bolts, knew I was in bad shapes as soon as I saw the rust and thought, WHY!? Especially living in the Pacific NW.
 
#6 ·
And as a MetalMonkey (retired sheet metal worker) I'd drill out the remains of the fastener and break out the mig gun, weld up the hole, drill and tap it to the proper size and install new hardware.
Using stainless is a good idea as well. If I were in the aircraft industry I could merely install a Rivnut and be done with it.
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Lots of different ways to skin a cat . . . :x