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-97 license plate nuts....source

S

Savorino

New CEG'er
Joined
Aug 4, 2004
Messages
7
Location
S.E. Michigan
Upon trying to plate my new-old Contour, I found out the hard way that the screws were frozen and had to drill out. Anyone know a source for the nuts that go into the rear pannel? Or a recomended fix?
Sav
 
The pre98 trunks are odd...But you can use a bolt with a nut and washer on the top to holes of the license plate. Sure it's a PITA, but no one will steal your plates now :cool: . You'll see where the top two holes come through in the back, right under the slots for the reverse light bulbs. Normally there are two plastic screw pilots, but as I said, you can substitute nuts and bolts. Don't bother with getting the "right" stuff if you don't have to...
 
Somewhere back in the history of CEG someone wrote up a good how to for fixing things when the nuts stripped out. They are not really nuts, they are threaded inserts. When the screws rust or become frozen from corrosion, it is not uncommon to break the plastic trim piece the inserts are attached to. One way to fix it is to replace the panel if you can find one in good condition.

The fix that someone came up with was to epoxy some nuts to the back of the panel. The preferred nuts are the type that are intended to dig into wood. Between the epoxy and the digging in, a solid repair can be made. Make sure you get matching screws when you buy the nuts.

When you mount the license plate back up, use a touch of anti-seize on the bolt threads and it should not happen again.
 
Thanks

Thanks

Thanks all
Used plastic concrete anchors epoxied into the nut holes, with machine screws. Looks good so far....Knock Wood.
My new contique should hit the streets tommorow.
Sav
 
Savorino said:
Upon trying to plate my new-old Contour, I found out the hard way that the screws were frozen and had to drill out. Anyone know a source for the nuts that go into the rear pannel? Or a recomended fix?
Sav
Click to expand...

Yeah it's a pain in the but. I just bought one of those clear frames for my license plate and had the same issue. I just drilled the top 2 holes and added some mushroom head bolts like the one in the right corner: http://www.global-b2b-network.com/b...e_neck_bolts_roofing_bolts_barrier_bolts.html

Just use some washers and nuts after the bolt goes thru the hole..
I also need to do the same thing for the bottom ones so I don't have the "ricer" look.. Haha , good luck
 
Yea, my car was missing one too... I just got a longer bolt than the other three and you can not even tell the difference...

Another licence plate story... My car was missing the front black plate mount, so I went to the junk yard and got one... Turns out that my plate was too big to fit into it :crazy:... So I had to shave some of the edges off, a pretty good amount too... They must have messed up cutting the plates one day :nonono:...
 
Get a set of stainless steel bolts. They're a little more expensive... $.60 each instead of like $.15 each for zinc-plated, but they won't rust out and the difference in price is minimal on a couple bolts.
 
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