License plate screw spinning , what can i do???

[AMG NUZI]

I can't screw my rear plate tight. the hole which holds the screw spins. i had to remove the rear interior panel to hold the "holenut" in place. How can i replace the "holenut"? it looks as if it is welded in place at the factory. I'm afraid that water can creep into my rear hatch. Now what guys??????

[JG]

Those license plate holders are called rivet nuts. Replacements can be obtained at the dealer. They are installed similar to pop rivets. I have yet to purchase a rivet nut tool or use one, but I am thinking that it may be possible to just tighten these (compress) up. This would avoid having to drill the old one out.

[JG]

Forgot to mention, always use a little antisieze compound on license plate bolts. Overtime, it is almost impossible to keep those from siezing.

[jangr320]

I know this is going to sound a little anal, but really good ALLOY machine screws for the license plate can be had at any good aircraft supply house.

I happened to have a few in my shop - perfect thread pitch and a nice 3/8" dia dome head x 1/2" long. Best of all, they are alloy and you don't end up with the steel screw/alloy nut corrosion that will seize over time. Plus as they are aircraft quality, they are coated and never corrode (I hate rusty lic plate bolts on a shiny new car!).
[:D]

[marcelc]

AMG NUZI - 1/26/2005 12:04 AM

I can't screw my rear plate tight. the hole which holds the screw spins. i had to remove the rear interior panel to hold the "holenut" in place. How can i replace the "holenut"? it looks as if it is welded in place at the factory. I'm afraid that water can creep into my rear hatch. Now what guys??????

I put one drop of super glue between the nut and the body, held it tight until the glue had set and then had no further trouble.

The UK dealer fitted nylon screws.

[joeml]

Hi, AMG:

Was it difficult to remove the interior panel of the tailgate? Care to share your experience on how to remove the panel?

I want to quiet down the noise generated from the panel hitting the metal inside of the tailgate.

Thanks in advance.

[BlackHawk]

I need to find the right screw to screw the bottom of my plate in, im sick of the rattling

the dealer will prolly charge me 5 bucks for 2 screws, maybe im wrong

[JG]

BlackHawk - 1/26/2005 9:06 PM

I need to find the right screw to screw the bottom of my plate in, im sick of the rattling

the dealer will prolly charge me 5 bucks for 2 screws, maybe im wrong

I seem to remember the dealer charging around $.50 each. I would be surprised if they would be more that 1 dollar each. Make sure to use anti-seize. Another member mentioned using alloy screws to prevent seizing. I still would use anti-seize.

[geralmjcj]

I just bought those parts 2 months ago for $3.86 each from the dealership, the labor to put it in is 1 1/2 hours so I decided to do DIY. The only difficult part is trying to pull the plastic cover of the liftgate without destroying the fragile plastic clips that hold the the cover.there is a tool in Advance Autoparts that is specially for this purpose around $7.99( i really do not know the exact name) but it looks like a long screwdriver with two prongs on the tip.it is in the tool section.After all the clips have been pull you have to slide the plastic cover upward so as not to break a plastic hook that attaches on the upper portion of the cover near the glass.Reverse this procedure to replace. I use clear epoxy to attach the rivet on to the metal frame as I do not have the riveting tool. It hasnot fall-off yet so I guess it works.

[GLisella]

Same thing happened to me. I just took out the metal thing so it was a hole, and put in a drywall anchor. My plate has never been tighter.