Stillen lic plate holder rusted need help!
 

So the bolt on my plate holder rusted and I tried forcing it to spin but the bolt is stock far out enough that plate holder piece can spin easily. I have to adjust it every time. Tried pb blaster with no luck.

Any ideas?

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/06/06/5enazu2u.jpg

Thanks for moving the thread. I was asking this on Stillen section to see if they have replacement bolt. I can get it out but I will need a new bolt and I don't know where to get a new one from

Take the old one to home depot or lowes and see if they can match it. I am betting they can not, cause stillen are asses and made the threads not matching standard, making you to buy through them again. Hope I am wrong. Never had those lic plate holders though.

Well, If thats the case? Can't you just remove the rust, and paint it with rust resistant paint?

Or just PM Stillen if you haven't already done so for a replacement bolt.

I can't remove it without destroying it so I definitely need replacement bolt. rust is that bad man. I sent a PM to Kyle@Stillen a while ago

you may have to repaint it but you can try heating it up with a torch, is it stripped or can you still put a wrench to it? if you cant turn it with a wrench looks like you might be able to grab the edges of it with a pipe wrench or vise grips and put the nuts to it. Another good trick is to drill two holes in the face of the bolt, shove two screwdrivers or pins in the holes and use something long shoved between the two scredrivers to get some leverage to turn it out. or throw it in a bucket of motor oil for a week or two. I recommend taking th bolt once out to a hardware store and buying stainless one so you don't have to do this again

or you could wait 2 more years for the head of the bolt to completely rust off haha

PM Team_Stillen. Mark can help you out

Yikes... I've got the same plate holder. I better change the bolt to stainless. Thx. Try getting it out with an Allen wrench bit on a 3/8" drive. If that doesn't work, just drill the head off the bolt. Remove the license plate bracket, and grab the remainder of the bolt with a vise grip and remove it. You're dealing with dissimilar metals. Aluminum post and steel in the bolt plus rust. When you reassemble, use a stainless bolt with a little antiseize on it.

That's what I had in mind about the removal. Not sure if I can get replacement bolt from local hardware store

You can get a bolt from any reputable hardware store. Bolts are cheap and part manufactures buy standard SAE or metric hardware rather than manufacture their own. It's cheaper for them. Try Ace Hardware, Home Depot, or a local farm store. Most have good selections of SAE and metric and probably carry a selection of stainless as well.

He is in canada and sae fasteners drop off in availability up there

I'll check homedepot tomorrow. Thanks for the reply guys

Try Spaenaur - WELCOME I used to use them all the time when I had the shop in Kitchener.

Mine is doing the same thing w/respect to the rust. Haven't tried to remove the rusty bolt though I guess I better remove it and paint it up so it doesn't just fall off one day with my plate. Lol

Ok so I took mine off and it appears the rust is limited to what is exposed to the elements. Mainly the head of the bolt. See the picture below mine is about 3 years old.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y13...510640x438.jpg

So I sanded the head and neck area down with 200 grit sandpaper and put some black touchup paint on it let it dry and put it back on the car. Now it shouldn't rust. Glad I read this so mine isn't rusted on or jacked up later down the road. Could Stillen use a galvanized or painted bolt so it won't rust?

:tup: yah, i use stainless bolts on mine for the plates. i dont run the stillen bracket btw.

GJ on painting the screw heads, that should make them last a while. i do this on the pan screws in the wheelwells (splashguards/bumper). i hate rusted bolt heads. just unscrew a little bit so the heads are off the plastic, and clean and paint, let dry over night. screw it back in. no need to remove the screw completely off the car for these. :D

Mark at Stillen came through big time and send me a replacement bolt and washer. Thanks again Mark!!! :tup: I painted the new one with rust protecting primer, hope it helps.

I'm just gonna leave this here...
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d1...ps82d84174.jpg