Wheel Arch Liner To Bumper Screws, Aaaarrrrrgggghhhh!!!! Options

[GialloEvo94]

What the hell are the screws that attach the wheel liner to the bumper made of??? I managed to get one out because it had missed the metal bracket on the other side and was just screwed into plastic but the others are totally rusted in and trying to use a screwdriver (even with a load of force on) just trashes the slot in the already rusted head.

Tried load of WD40 and left it to soak but still won't budge so I dried drilling it out with HSS drill bits but all that has done is just dent the surface and I've have blunted nearly a whole set of drills in the process

Anyone got any ideas as to how I get these out without destroying these mounting points? The only thing I can think of at the moment is to try some cobalt drills but I doubt I'll be able to get any of these before the weekend is over.

[Dave Brand]

You may get them out with a centre punch. Punch a good deep indentation close to the edge, then hold the punch at an angle in such a position that it applies a tangential force anticlockwise on the head (easier to do than to describe!) & give it a good whack!

You could also try a proper penetrating oil, not that WD40 crap!

[GialloEvo94]

I tried a centre punch already...all that happened was that my centre punch now has a completely blunt end too and it hardly put a mark on the head of the screw Penetrating oil isn't going to help unfortunately as the screws really are rusted in quite badly and I can't even apply any heat because the bumper and wheel liner are both plastic

All these screws do is to is hold the wheel liner to the bumper so why on earth are the screws made of such hard material which can't even be drilled out. It makes me angry

All I was trying to do was to swap out my resonator for a straight through pipe. So, what should have been a fairly straight forward 2-hour job now means I have to wait another week until I can get some cobalt drills...and it will probably pi$$ing down next weekend too

[F355]

Looks like you might be trying to drill too big a hole at once. Try the finest drill bit you have and put some flux on the end if you have any to help it along. Then just use an easy out or keep enlarging the hole until its annihilated

Its strange because they came out fine on my (1996 vintage) 146

This post has been edited by F355: 28th May 2006 17:22

[GialloEvo94]

Looks like you might be trying to drill too big a hole at once. Try the finest drill bit you have and put some flux on the end if you have any to help it along. Then just use an easy out or keep enlarging the hole until its annihilated

Its strange because they came out fine on my (1996 vintage) 146

I started with a 1.5mm drill and until it went blunt...then the next drill up and so on...now I have nearly a full set of blunt HSS drills (and not cheap ones either) The size of hole in the picture is what I ended up with before I finally gave up

Well, I've now ordered some cobalt drills so next weekend it's going to be war! I will use some flux as well just for added ammunition

[Sharky]

I tried a centre punch already...all that happened was that my centre punch now has a completely blunt end too and it hardly put a mark on the head of the screw Penetrating oil isn't going to help unfortunately as the screws really are rusted in quite badly and I can't even apply any heat because the bumper and wheel liner are both plastic

All these screws do is to is hold the wheel liner to the bumper so why on earth are the screws made of such hard material which can't even be drilled out. It makes me angry

All I was trying to do was to swap out my resonator for a straight through pipe. So, what should have been a fairly straight forward 2-hour job now means I have to wait another week until I can get some cobalt drills...and it will probably pi$$ing down next weekend too

Hey mate ,

I wanted to do the same today (remove rresonator) , but couldn't locate my straight through pipe ! like you say it will pi** down next week !

Out of interest did you see my post regards air suction ?
You're a pretty clued up chap !

Regards
Jason

[CMA]

I had trouble with the same screws, I managed to get hold of a really good pair of pliers and a VW mechanic and he managed to get a grip on the head with the pliers to get it out.

[laaf]

WD 40 sprayed on anything you're trying to drill saves your drill bits.
You'll probably need spray a little on for every 10 secs or so of drilling.

I am pretty sure there's nothing metal that the screw you've drilled goes into.

The one below and to the left can be sawn from underneath and that does go into a metal hanger.

I also use F355s technique and it works.

It seems strange that the facelift bumpers are harder to get off. Maybe it's because the plastic is more flexible and needs to be held down more thoroughly. That screw would be a plastic fixing on mine.

HTH

[GialloEvo94]

WD 40 sprayed on anything you're trying to drill saves your drill bits.
You'll probably need spray a little on for every 10 secs or so of drilling.

I am pretty sure there's nothing metal that the screw you've drilled goes into.

The one below and to the left can be sawn from underneath and that does go into a metal hanger.

I also use F355s technique and it works.

It seems strange that the facelift bumpers are harder to get off.  Maybe it's because the plastic is more flexible and needs to be held down more thoroughly.  That screw would be a plastic fixing on mine.

HTH

You're right...I don't see why metal screws were used I'm sure plastic clips would have been more than sufficient (and are also what the workshop manual shows).

I did try using WD40 whilst drilling but it was b**ger all help. These screws seem to be made of some seriously tough metal

All the screws that attach the facelift bumpers to the plastic wheel liner go into one of these retainers which are clipped to the edge of the liner...



The screws and retainers have just welded themselves together with corrosion. The top screw had missed the retainer completely and was just screwed into the plastic which is why it came out easily. The other 3 are going to need drilling. I can't seem to get a good enough grip on the outside with pliers so drilling is my only option now.

The cobalt drills are on order now anyway so I'll see how I get on with those next week. I'm also going to get some RTD metal cutting compound which will give the drills even more chance of chewing through the screws

[AJ]

One of mine rounded out on my bumper ages ago, but I did get a half turn on it before it went. The best bet I found was to angle grind the head off the screw - do this to all of them that are stuck to get the bumper off - then worry about the clip in the bracket - it's a lot easier to mangle the clip off than try and cut the screws, I'm sure they are hardened!

[GialloEvo94]

One of mine rounded out on my bumper ages ago, but I did get a half turn on it before it went. The best bet I found was to angle grind the head off the screw - do this to all of them that are stuck to get the bumper off - then worry about the clip in the bracket - it's a lot easier to mangle the clip off than try and cut the screws, I'm sure they are hardened!

I did think about an angle grinder but I was worried that...

1) I might slip and trash the bumper
2) The heat generated through the screw head would just melt the bumper

I guess short bursts with the grinding wheel to reduce heat transfer and then cold water to cool the screw between each go might be OK until the head was sufficiently mangled so it can be ripped it off with some pliers If I have no joy with the cobalts then I'll resort to the grinding method instead...carefully

[GialloEvo94]

Well I drilled the screws out fine today with cobalt drills and RTD cutting compound. Took a little while but I got there eventually Doesn't seem to have blunted the cobalt drills too much either I'll be greasing everything up when I put it all back together again...like they should have done in the first place at the factory

[Junior145]

removed the resonator today for the straight through pipe, the equivalent pre-facelift clips were fine, however this happened when tried to loosen the screws located on the bottom of the bumper

luckily after putting it all back together with the pipe fitted, the bumper felt just as secure as before with no movement in it

[CMA]

Is that the captive nut thats come free? If so it happened to mine but managed to get it all back together with the captive nuts held with a set of pliers

Edit: Or on closer inspection of your pic is it the bottom of the leg that has rusted away?

This post has been edited by CMA: 17th February 2007 22:14

[Junior145]

Is that the captive nut thats come free? If so it happened to mine but managed to get it all back together with the captive nuts held with a set of pliers

Edit: Or on closer inspection of your pic is it the bottom of the leg that has rusted away?

sadly its the captive nut and a piece of rusted metal the size of the rubber washer on the bolt on a positive note, im happy with the difference the straight through pipe makes.

This post has been edited by Junior145: 17th February 2007 22:25

[GialloEvo94]

Those legs are known for corroding but yours looks to have been pretty well destroyed. The problem is that they're not painted particularly well and they hold water. Mine were starting to corrode so wire brushed off all the surface rust then applied Hammerite Krust before repainting the legs with a few protective layers of new paint.

You said the bumper seems to be OK without that mounting in which case it should be OK. It wouldn't actually be that difficult to make up a right-angle bracket and bolt it to upright of the leg it it turns out that the bumper does start flapping around in that corner at high speeds.

[Junior145]

ah i must admit that picture doesnt do it any favours... it wasnt just at one side either, happened on both, almost as bad!! yeah that is a good idea, luckily the rest of the clips / bolts are really secure so there really isnt any movement + have test drove it earlier at speed with no sign of any movement during or after. when i get some more time i'll take the bumper of again & do what youve done to protect it and stop it from travelling further up the leg and then like you say get a bracket attached to it for the bumper.

out of interest GE, the only other part of rust discovered is the bit right at the front that like goes under the radiator.. really wouldnt want to touch tht as it`ll probably fall apart, doesnt seem to be much of an issue as theres no real load bearing on it at all, seems to be just a metal connecting bar from one front leg to another, but was wondering if anybody knows if thats a common occurence to that extent in that particular area? belows a pic of it:

[GialloEvo94]

out of interest GE, the only other part of rust discovered is the bit right at the front that like goes under the radiator.. really wouldnt want to touch tht as it`ll probably fall apart, doesnt seem to be much of an issue as theres no real load bearing on it at all, seems to be just a metal connecting bar from one front leg to another, but was wondering if anybody knows if thats a common occurence to that extent in that particular area? belows a pic of it:

That's the radiator support rail and it's quite a chunky piece of metal. Mine was in just a bad a state as yours and I removed it. There are just two bolts holding it to the car body then it just pulls off. The rubber grommets that the bottom radiator legs go into will either come away with the support or stay on the radiator legs but it doesn't matter either way as you just retrieve them afterwards. You will also need to unclip the aircon pipe attached to the back of it after you've unbolted the rail and got it off.

I went at mine like a madman with a wire brush in a drill, then painted Krust all over it, then applied coats of black Hammerite before refitting it The results can be seen HERE. It looks from those pictures that I missed painting some areas but it's just the camera flash and believe me it's got a seriously thick coat of Hammerite on all over

[Junior145]

lol GE, looks like you did a good job.. cant beat the madman approach... at times must admit i`ll be worried of it either falling apart or the bolts coming straight through if attempt to remove it. but when i get round to doing the legs, i`ll have another look to see if its worth risking it, the fact you managed to remove it in similar condition does make it appear more tempting mind cheers for the advice.

[GialloEvo94]

but when i get round to doing the legs, i`ll have another look to see if its worth risking it, the fact you managed to remove it in similar condition does make it appear more tempting mind cheers for the advice.

I reckon they'll come out OK with a little gentle persuation...just make sure you squirt loads of Plus Gas on the bolts and leave it a few hours before you try and undo the bolts