GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

On my 04 vibe, when I went to remove the two philips head screws on the top of the front bumper, the ones next to the headlights that have the rubber caps on top of them, they were so rusted in that I stripped the philips head and had to notch them to get them out with a flat head.
If you don't want this happening to yourself in the future, or don't want to spend $$ going to the dealer to get replacements for these screws, I figured out a way of replacing them using just hardware parts I found at a local ACE hardware store, and for only $3 or so. You could just screw in a normal hex-head bolt with fender washer, the bolt hole is m6 x 1.00. But I made it so I could still use the rubber caps with the hardware stuff.

First off, the supplies. From left to right:
- Two m6 x 1.00 x 20 "Button head socket cap". Those are the black bolts. The numbers mean: m6 - width of shaft, 1.00 - thread pitch, 20 - length in mm of shaft. They can be shorter or longer, but the 20 was close to the original length of the screws.
- Two m6 washers
- Two 3/16" washers.
- Two 1" diameter fender washers. I had these lying around, I don't know exactly what size they are just that they're about 1" from side to side.

When the parts are put together properly, they will be in the order of: 3/16" washer, m6 washer, and 1" fender washer.

Once you are ready to screw them into the car, I found it much easier to install the screw and the 3/16" washer first into the rubber cap before screwing the screw into the bumper. Place the 3/16" washer (the bigger of the two small washers) on the screw all the way. Then push both the screw and the washer into the black cap. You will probably have to wiggle it some or use a tiny screwdriver to pry it in. When you are done it should look like this:
Then, slide the m6 washer and the large fender washer onto the screw, and screw it in the bumper. I'd recommend using some kind of anti-seize to make it easier to get out in the future.

And this is what it should look like when it's done: Now your bumper is secure and you saved several dollars having to buy the stock screws from the dealer!

Good stuff! Its the small details that count. I like to make it a habit of using motor oil or anti-seize on nuts n bolts whenever i remove and re-install them to prevent stripped hardware.

302LVR wrote:Good stuff! Its the small details that count. I like to make it a habit of using motor oil or anti-seize on nuts n bolts whenever i remove and re-install them to prevent stripped hardware.

X2 Excellent write up and it will help others when if/they encounter this problem. I know how much time it takes to prepare a write up and it is appreciated. When I tear into my 2003 Vibe GT project car one of these years, this information will very likely come in handy. For now my 2009 Vibe Gt is peacefully sitting at 25000 miles and no major maintenance is in the foreseeable future. Keep up the great work and keep us informed of future repairs.

Good to know! Just this week I took my headlights out for a cataract treatment and almost completely stripped the Philips head on one of those bolts. I found it is possible to treat the bolts with PB Blaster from underneath. That helped a lot. Also, it is a good idea to tap the screw driver into the the Philips head with a small hammer. It seats the screw driver well and brakes up some of the rust.