Number plate bulb-rusted screws

[Supacool1]

Herro,

         Got the drivers side plate bulb blown. Tried to remove the lense but the left hand side screw is badly rusted and brittle and is now rounded. To be honest they all are. I want to take them out and replace with stainless screws and replace the bulbs with some LED ones.

Any suggestions on how I can extract the said screws? I hate drilling out screws and usually have to get an 'adult' to use the drill as I am not confident with it and have managed to break numerous drill bits.

[Phil-W]

Take the plastic inner cover off the boot and you can access them that way...

[Oet]

those screws are a pain, and tbh short of drilling them out you havent got much chance.

as phil says take off inner cover and he bulb holder pulls out.

 

your new challenge of course is getting the boot trim back on properly...good luck:>

[Raf_]

Mine still isn't right after 3 years of trying, still rattles :(

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[Oet]

lol, you wouldn't be the first Raf_

[rwbaldwin]

Drill off the heads. Remove lens. Spray with dismantling fluid (PlusGas). Remove the screw with a remover (looks like a drill chuck) or vice grips.

[chrisw4266]

Mine still isn't right after 3 years of trying, still rattles :(

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I hate that boot trim with a passion, worst clips ever.

[Craig85]

Did mine this way this evening, worst idea ever doing it in the dark on my own.. However it has gone back on and barring one clip am has gone on in the exact same way. There is however no rattles at present but that could be because my suspension is so soft and soggy it doesn't transmit any bumps through the car lol.

I do hate that boot trim too, what a really bad design.

[mrmouse]

The easiest way I've found is take the clips off the plastic trim first and put in position first and slide the trim downward into them and then push the bottom in.

[mrmouse]

The easiest way I've found is take the clips off the plastic trim first and put in position first and slide the trim downward into them and then push the bottom in.

[Supacool1]

I think I will avoid the boot trim method. Off I go to find an adult with a power drill!

[ExAudiSi]

Mine still isn't right after 3 years of trying, still rattles :(

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Bring it up and I'll fit it for you

 

They are a pain to fit though.

[RoadWarrior]

People actually bother to re-fit that annoying piece of crap? Mine's been thrown to the back of the garage and has been there for about 2 years

[Ray Luxury-Yacht]

RE: Number-plate lamp lenses. Yes you can access the bulb holders from inside, but if you're an OCD'er like me, it means the horrible rusty screws will still be there. Besides, it's probably time that the INSIDE of the lenses need a clean, no?

 

I have a Snap-On 'easi-out' kit, designed for removing broken screws and studs.

 

I know you were fearful of this job, but trust me - I was back inside my house eating toast and drinking tea within 30 minutes of starting this job. 

 

I used my trusty little cordless drill too - with it's rather crappy and slow RPM - and it was still easy. In fact, using a drill with a slow RPM for such a tiny job is probably favourable - they're only small screws after all, and attacking them with a monster drill might well end in tears of damage anyway

 

I reckon it took me all of 30 seconds per screw to drill a small hole into the rusty screws - using a 1.5mm bit. The fact that the heads rust into oblivion gives you some idea of the chocolate nature of the fixings - so drilling into them is like drilling into butter basically. Then when I screwed the 'easi-out' bit into each screw shank, they just basically fell out. 

 

Then I was able to give the lenses a good clean (they were very grubby inside) and re-assemble both units with brand-new bulbs, a good squirt of WD40 onto the metal contacts, a smear of grease on the mating faces of the lenses, and brand-new screws, covered in Coppaslip grease, including the heads, to prevent the same thing happening later. All sorted.

 

 

 

With regard to the pain in the ass that is the plastic boot-lid inner trim...I tried the same solution as the poster above (i.e. leaving it off the car) and I found the road-noise to be unacceptable. So my solution was thus:

 

On the top edge that is closest to the bottom of the rear screen, I drilled several pairs of holes along it's length. Then I inserted a medium-sized cable tie into the first of each pair of holes. I then offered the trim to the tailgate, and looped the free-ends of the cable ties through some of the holes in the tailgate's internal metal pressing. I then ran the ends back through the second pairs of holes in the trim.

 

Once I had done that, I connected the cable ties up (inserting the free ends through the clip ends) clipped the rest of the boot trim into place, and pulled all the cable ties tight with a pair of pliers.

 

So the leading edge of the boot trim is now held tightly in place to the tailgate itself, and rattles are a distant memory.

 

Hope this helps!

[Supacool1]

All done now. Ended up breaking the brittle lenses to gain access to the rusty as he'll screws. Not too expensive from city Skoda for replacements. £9 for the pair. Changed to led bulbs and they look fresh to death!

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[Ray Luxury-Yacht]

Sweet, good result in the end then dude! 

[Skodacious]

Finally got round to doing mine - has been on the 'to do list' for over 10 years. A small pair of mole grips makes all the difference having first drilled off the rusted heads. I have used stainless steel pan head 3.9mmx13mm/no.7 X 1/2" A2 pozi pan head replacements so hopefully won't need doing again for a while! 😁