Hello all,
I know that there have been a few woes in regard to the very rusted screws that secure the license place light lens and housing to the license plate trim, as can be seen here in these threads:
Rusted screws license lights help
Ughhh- rusted license plate light screws
First off the point of this is that I found replacement screws at True Value (hardware store) that fit perfectly, and I did not buy a whole kit of screws like some in other threads have suggested. I also know that 4th gen 4R's use the same lighting harness, and so these screws should work for them as well.
These screws were
Stainless Steel Pan Head #8 x 1" screws. Cost me $0.16 each.
Here is an example from Home Depot Pack of 25
Much cheaper than the option of buying a whole set of screws. Which I acknowledge the merit of, if you're a DIY-er then those will be used up through time. I, however, am limited on storage and buy stuff like this as needed.
If that is all you wanted to know, then stop reading here. The rest is just my process for extracting the rusted screws.
First, I took the license plate trim off of the back. I have an 02 with Chrome trim, and I know that 00's and earlier may have slightly different trim, so this process may not be the same for everyone. First I removed the plastic interior trim from the tailgate hatch. Then I removed the metal plate covering the window regulator, lock cylinder, and interior of the tailgate. Then I could access the screws and plastic trim clips (both of which broke) holding the trim to the tailgate.
Once I had the trim off, I propped it upright and was able to allow it to soak in some WD40 for about 1 day, then PB Blaster for about 1 day. Then I took the sharpest tip screwdriver I own and was able to extract the screws. On 3rd gen 4R's, they aren't going to be seized to metal, the only thing they come into contact with is plastic, so drilling them out can be risky and you can break the plastic hangers that the screws screw into. Letting them soak in PB blaster should loosen them up enough to be able to force them loose.
You can see the screws I pulled out below, as well as what it looked like with the replacements.
IMG_20200318_173501 IMG_20200318_173441
IMG_20200318_173229
Hope this helps and saves someone from buying $15 of extra screws and fasteners.