Need help/advice with grille removal

[Pale Rider]

Hello all. New T4R owner here.

Tried taking off my grille to do my first mod and ran into a roadblock.

Was going to install an AVS bug deflector and figured I would plasti-dip the grille while it was off, but I never got there.

3 of the 8 little acorn nuts holding the grille onto the hood are rusted to the point where the nuts keep turning with the bolts they are attached to. I can't get to the back of the bolts and even if I could, they're just flat square/rectangle backs. There's hardly any room at all to grab them. I did spray all of the nuts with PB blaster prior to trying to remove them, but these last three won't cooperate. You can see from the pics below how badly rusted they are.

Any ideas how to get these off? Should I try dremeling them off? Hate to do any unnecessary damage to the plastic grille.

Thanks in advance.

 

[srs034runner]

If you can't soften them up with pb, cutting/Dremel is probably necessary :/ ... Be careful.

 

[Pale Rider]

If you can't soften them up with pb, cutting/Dremel is probably necessary :/ ... Be careful.

Thanks, man. I haven't tried taking them off since last night. Maybe the PB soaked in a little better overnight. I'll give it another shot today. If not, will break out the Dremel. I'm scared...

 

[Pale Rider]

Nut splitter?

In looking for ways to remove rusted nuts from bolts I came across a nut splitter tool. Anyone think that might work? I've never used one before.

 

[Morphyne]

go to a dealer, buy some replacement nuts and bolts (I believe they are removable, but show your parts guy to make sure) then cut the old ones off.

 

[srs034runner]

Don't be scared lol ... just make sure you mess it up to where you have to do a satoshi grill mod that's my next project!

Thanks, man. I haven't tried taking them off since last night. Maybe the PB soaked in a little better overnight. I'll give it another shot today. If not, will break out the Dremel. I'm scared...

 

[cflipper]

Just use the dremmel or rotozip easiest way take your time have a spray bottle to cool the bolt and nut so you don't melt the plastic

Also could try needle nose pliers to see if you can get a hold of the bolt head

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk

 

[Pale Rider]

Don't be scared lol ... just make sure you mess it up to where you have to do a satoshi grill mod that's my next project!

Ha! I'd be lying if I said the thought didn't cross my mind.

 

[Pale Rider]

Just use the dremmel or rotozip easiest way take your time have a spray bottle to cool the bolt and nut so you don't melt the plastic

Also could try needle nose pliers to see if you can get a hold of the bolt head

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk

I looked at it and thought maybe I could grip the back of the bolt with some vice grips, but there's no room at all to get in there. Even needle nose pliers won't fit.

So my old Black & Decker Wizard crapped out on me, so I'll be picking up a new Dremel tomorrow. Also ordered a nut splitter from Amazon. I'm interested to see if that little tool will work.

Aside from my local Toyota dealer, what online sites do TR4.ORG members go to buy OEM parts? Any particular good ones? Also, what is a good resource that lists parts for my 2006?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Morphyne]

I like partznet.com

 

[DRVOVRU]

FYI - In the catalog listing for the 2007 the part #8 that appears to be the bolt that you need when you cut off the old ones is simply a plastic bumper bolt. The bolts for the grill only come with the replacement grill itself according to the local dealer.

 

[BigMike18]

Hello all. New T4R owner here.

Tried taking off my grille to do my first mod and ran into a roadblock.

Was going to install an AVS bug deflector and figured I would plasti-dip the grille while it was off, but I never got there.

3 of the 8 little acorn nuts holding the grille onto the hood are rusted to the point where the nuts keep turning with the bolts they are attached to. I can't get to the back of the bolts and even if I could, they're just flat square/rectangle backs. There's hardly any room at all to grab them. I did spray all of the nuts with PB blaster prior to trying to remove them, but these last three won't cooperate. You can see from the pics below how badly rusted they are.

Any ideas how to get these off? Should I try dremeling them off? Hate to do any unnecessary damage to the plastic grille.

Thanks in advance.

Go buy a propane torch kit from Walmart or lowes, less than $20 and turn spray down real low. make sure to get all PB off first so no accidental flames come from the bolt

 

[Terminator03]

Go buy a propane torch kit from Walmart or lowes, less than $20 and turn spray down real low. make sure to get all PB off first so no accidental flames come from the bolt

Not understanding how you think that would work since the bolts are set in the plastic grill shell. If you apply enough heat to break the rust bond, it will also be more than enough to melt the grill mount points with heat transfer through the bolts... Maybe I’m missing something...?