License plate screws corroded, broken off
What a PITA!
Just finished dealing with this today. First, I tried an 'EASY OUT'. Didn't work. If you have a broken off screw, some lessons I learned the hard way regarding 'EASY OUTS':
1. 'Easy outs' aren't so easy. I have never had much success with them. The smaller ones can even break off in place. If that happens, you are f%#4ed. They are so hard, you will never be able to drill it out to try again.
2. The license plate screw broke because it was welded in place with rust. An 'easy out' has little chance of duplicating the turning power of the original rusty bolt (before it broke). If it can't generate 2-3X the torque, it has no chance of getting the broken piece out.
3. The 'Easy out' pilot hole has to be PERFECTLY centered to have any chance of success. Drilling a hole dead center in an uneven, hardened fastener, even after prick punching it is nearly impossible. If you don't you can't use the correct size 'easy out' and may end up locking the tool against the threads in the hatchback panel. Do you have cobalt bits? You'll need them to try this losing strategy...
Wish I had read this thread before beginning this project. Based on today's experience this is my SUGGESTED APPROACH TO THIS PROBLEM:
4. DO NOT DRILL OUT UNTIL YOU TRY REMOVING IT FROM INSIDE THE DOOR. (great suggestion from another member. thx) Drilling it out first may weaken the bolt to the point where when you grab it from inside the door with a pair of vice-grips, it will twist and break off on that side too. THIS HAPPENED TO ME.
5. Pray it's only the left hand fastener that breaks. Not sure you could even get a vice grip onto the back of the right hand one without disassembling the window lift. OMG.
So, by this point mine was broken from both ends. I ended up having to just keep drilling, best I could, until I could grab a thread with a needle nose plier and peel out what was left (looked like a wire when I was done). The factory threads by this time were completely destroyed.
***If you like SAE Standard fasteners, you can use a 1/4-28 tap directly into the existing hole and re-thread it. I did this to the bad thread as well as the working thread.
***
ABOUT GALVANIC CORROSION
The bolts rot out badly because of the difference between the electric potentials of dissimilar metals. Aluminum + steel = badly corroded steel. Steel and stainless steel are not a problem together. HOWEVER, stainless steel and aluminum are. Stainless + aluminum = corroded aluminum. I have two corroded license plates to prove it.
MY PLAN. Because I'd rather have a license plate corrode than go through another broken bolt removal from my hatch, I will use stainless steel. At the same time, I will try to buy a plastic washer at HD to put under the head, to keep the aluminum license plate from having electrical continuity with the SS fasteners. To keep the fasteners from backing out, I will use Loc-tite 242 (Blue) on the threads. First clean with carb cleaner. You get the added bonus of protecting the threads from future corrosion, too.
Hope this helps someone.
fastcar:zoom:
