TLMunchkin37

So I have a ridiculously insignificant "problem" with my rear license plate area, but being a perfectionist I can't just leave it.

I had a cheap "Acura TL" "chrome" frame on my rear plate for about 2 years now. It ended up rusting horribly, so bad that it rusted to the plate and the screws. The screws were stripped from trying to remove it to no avail.

Went to AutoZone Wednesday and with some assistance was able to remove it. However, the person who helped me broke the screws off so they were stuck inside the nuts which seem to be soldered to the trunk.

She then broke off the nuts as well, thinking I could put new ones in. In hindsight, that clearly didn't work. I now have two holes on the top part of the license plate area that traditional fasteners won't seem to fit in. I have it secured from the two bottom holes which were unaffected.

How do I remedy this? I pulled the lining back and there's no real access point from inside either.

Here's some pics of what I'm dealing with.


IMAG0441 by colombian_mami37, on Flickr

IMAG0443 by colombian_mami37, on Flickr

IMAG0442 by colombian_mami37, on Flickr

As mentioned, I tried to insert these nylon nuts in the two holes, but they were far too big. Are they universal? Any ideas!?

4 by colombian_mami37, on Flickr

2 by colombian_mami37, on Flickr

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

you can try to attach fake eye lashes to it......


other than that, I gotz nothingz.

TLMunchkin37

LMAO!!! I was like "Is this person serious?! " then I realized who it was hahaha. Thanks for the laugh; much needed!

Anyone else with some more umm...useful ideas???

nfnsquared

How about one of those plastic, threaded drywall anchors and a screw? Not sure how much space is behind that hole, you may have to cut off part of the anchor for it to fit.

Or maybe just a large, short screw that fits the hole?

TLMunchkin37

Hey nfn, thanks for the ideas. I'll look into the drywall anchor solution.

The issue with the screw is that there's no threading in the holes to accept and hold a screw securely. Aside from just squeezing one in and hoping it stays, I don't think it'd work.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

^then i think your idea with the nylon nuts would work, but find smaller ones....

TLMunchkin37

Thank you; I'm leaving work now and I'm on the hunt for some smaller nuts. ......for the license plate.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

^touche.

nfnsquared

I'd also run by a body shop and ask them. A good welder MIGHT be able to re-tack a nut there....

csmeance

It might be worth a shot to get some new nuts tacked onto the trim.

OR you might want to go to a junkyard or auto recycler and just buy a used license plate trim piece that isn't broken.

guitarplayer16

iTrader: (8)

I had the exact same problem!

- Bolts were so rusty I snapped the head off the bolt.

- Snapped off the weld like that lady did to yours

Then, I went and got JB Weld.

I also bought: 2 nuts, 2 big washers, and 2 bolts.

I JB-Welded the nut to the big washer.

Then after that dried, I JB-Welded it to the license plate hole.



So since I have a new nut "jb-welded" in, I bought a new bolt and it catches on the nut.

Works out perfect!

If you want the bolt and nut size, let me know!

nfnsquared

I hadn't really noticed, but looks like it's all one piece (trunk lid):

http://www.acurapartswarehouse.com/P...gPicture=False

I just don't trust it to hold up to the vibrations on a permanent basis...maybe it will?

guitarplayer16

iTrader: (8)

Been months for me, and so far so good =)

csmeance

That's just the trunk lid, the license plate portion is seperate and grouped with the reverse lights:

http://www.acuraoemparts.com/delray/...All&vinsrch=no

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

Guitar player ftw.

its a place holder.
As the OP stated the plate is being held on by the bottom bolts.

It's job is to look pretty.

TLMunchkin37

Thanks everyone for your responses. Guitarplayer, you're a savior! I was thinking "ahh welding...will I break a nail!?" hahaha until I googled JB-Weld and realized what it is. (Sorry, not very inclined in that area)

I'd really appreciate if you could give me the sizes of everything you bought, I'd like to try it tomorrow although I'm unsure if I completely understand the process. Again, nuts/bolts/welding etc aren't my strong point lol.

On a side note, I went to Home Depot and purchased 1/8" anchor "toggle" fasteners. It seemed like a great solution, except they're a bit too long once pushed into the hole. There's something behind the holes which makes it difficult to push them in all the way.

dwb993

iTrader: (13)

I have an extra one of those pieces. In looking at it, the bolt holes are in the trunk lid itself. guitarplayer16's suggestion should work, but you will have to pull the trunk liner away from the lid to get to it (no big deal).
You may also have luck with the nylon piece, but you may spend a lot of time searching for the right ones. The JB Weld and washers/nuts/bolts can all be found in a hardware store.

guitarplayer16

iTrader: (8)

I'll try to find the boxes tommorow to make sure, but I am pretty sure they were M6.

I didn't have to remove the trunk liner =)

The old nut was sitting right on top of the metal.

All I did was put JB-Weld on the washer (the white circle in the picture I provided earlier), and stick it to where the old nut was heheh

I might get pictures tommorow =)

dwb993

iTrader: (13)

^ Yeah, but if you put the washer/nut on the inside of the lid, tightening the bolt in should hold it that much better. Dunno---its one of those things you have to look at to figure out the best way, I guess.

Shit! I just noticed your license plate lights just arrived. Hell, you'll have to pull the liner to install them anyway!

guitarplayer16

iTrader: (8)

Haha, too true!

nfnsquared

Ahhhh....Good find. Still, that damn thing is $220...But it can be removed to make welding or JB welding easier. Looks like two nuts (above and below each back up light assembly, 4 nuts total), removed from the inside trunk lid after removing the trunk lid trim.

I don't think so. The nuts that the bolts screw into are tack welded on the outside of the lamp unit. I think the nuts you're looking at are the ones that hold the lamp unit to the trunk lid.

TLMunchkin37

Thanks for all your good ideas and help everyone.

I followed guitarplayers lead and used his method. So far, so good! I went to Home Depot this weekend and pulled all the materials I thought I needed. I decided to ask one of the floor guys to confirm and explained my application. He thought it was a great idea, but had some ideas also.

In the end, 45 minutes later we were back to the original materials I had pulled. (This is why women shouldn't ask men for help, no offense!) JB Weld works well thus far and I'm hopeful this will be the final solution to this issue.

Hope this is helpful for anyone else who may run into this in the future. Thanks again!

dwb993

iTrader: (13)

LOL!
Good job!

guitarplayer16

iTrader: (8)

Glad to help =)

First hand experience comes in handy heheh