I am double posting this in troubleshooting and Aesthetics so more people will see it.
The Guide:
I know like many of you I have gutted the interior of my car a few times now. Once or twice I had to clear the carpet, once to run speaker wires, and now again to fix the trim. The problem is that ford is cheap. They have tabs on the back of most of the interior pieces that is in the shape of a V. There is a plastic screw that goes down into the valley of the V to push the sides out so it looks more like a U. That then holds the trim pieces in by pushing the edges of the V into the sides of the tab. The problem is when you take them out... they like to break. I got to the point where only 1 on each side was still intact. So here's how I fixed it.
Required tools / hardware:
Phillips head screwdriver
10mm socket
Flathead screwdriver
3/8 outside diameter Well nuts (up to 6 per side)
Trussel screws (I found they had the best head size) (4 1.5 inch length, 2 3/4 inch length)
Power drill + 3/8 inch bit
Here's what I did:
I first took out the seat (this is for the drivers side) and disconnected the power seats plugs. I then took the seat out of the car to give me more room to work. I then took out the interior trim pieces.
Once its all out the fun part starts. You will need to enlarge the slots that the plastic tabs went into in order to get the well nuts to fit in. The original slot looks like this.
The modified slot looks like:
Now just stick the plug in:
Do that for all 4 slots on the bottom. I also did the two slots on the side of the pillar where the seatbelt is, since they are the same cheap crap. The only problem is you need to use shorter screws due to the smaller area behind the slot.
The next part is easy, just cut all of the cheap crap from the back of your trim pieces. This is what it looked like for me:
This is what it looks like when I was done:
Now just put it back together. Just put the screws into the well nuts. You will want to hold the plastic part tight against the metal while you are screwing it down. The way well nuts work is that they are a rubber tub with threads on the far side. Once you put the screw in and start pulling, the part that doesn't have threads gets 'bunched up' and expands, holding the piece in.
I know I went overboard with pictures, but I�d rather have too many the not enough. Hope this helps other people who have had their trim pieces break.
