GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

So, I had 2 car-relateed projects yesterday:1. Clean the filter on my Injen. This went no problem. $12.99US for the K&N recharge kit at MannyMoe&Jack's Place. The difference was amazing. If I had been thinking and not covered in black grime from the claning-ing I would have taken a before&after set of pics. Alas, I did not. Sorry. No MOTM for me I guess. But before: filter is black and no light penetrates through filter. After: filter is red and light streams thru. Incredible.2. Ever wonder what the inside of your rear hatch looks like? You know, behind the cheap plastic veneer? Well this is what it looks like:http://s2.photobucket.com/albu...3.jpgWhy do I know this? Project #2 for the day was to remove the rusty license plate bracket bolts and replace them with some spiffy ones. The end result, and this is a spoiler, so skip it for now if you want, looks like this:http://s2.photobucket.com/albu...b.jpgSo, here's how it went:Old bolts were actually slotted screws. Not sure where they came from. Left one comes out NO problem. Right one, different story. Bolt was tight, first attempt to loosen just about tore the slot a bit. Out come the screw-loose penetrant gook, waited a bit, tried again. No go except for muching the slot into even worse shape. Out come the drill and the easy-outs. Bored a hole, applied the easy-out, a little force and POP! the head of the bolt snaps off. Snaps off flush with the body steel. As the great poet Homer would say: D'OH!So...off comes the license plate, out comes the drill again, out comes the easy-out again. And again POP! the tip of the easy-out breaks off inside the bolt and sticks there.So...more drilling doesn't help any - the easy-out is harder metal than my cheap drill bits, banging my head on the rear quarter panel doesn't seem to help at all, and I'm getting a little pissed.So...off comes the rear hatch plastic, the BIG vice-grips and all I gotta do is grab the bolt and scew it out, right? No. Instead there is another POP! and the back end of the bolt breaks off! New problem, right? Nope. From there I can see the tip of the easy-out, knocked that out with a center punch, got an over-size drill bit, bored out the entire bolt, threads and all, and just thru-bolted the new bolt with a nut, washer and lockwasher inside the door with a dab of thread-lock for good measure.I can't wait until the next time I or someone else has to change the license plate bracket.Stupid rusty bolt.Anyway, end product again:http://s2.photobucket.com/albu...b.jpgWhat are the 2 black plastic fasteners for? They keep the plate from vibrating against the body and against the bracket. The tips rest against the steel and keep the whole assembly in tension.OK, so changing 1 rusty bolt took me like 2-1/2 hours. My next project is to change my clutch. Any takers on how long that will take?

hopefully all your bad luck was all used up on the bracket bolt.

Murphy works overtime on the poor backyard mechanic. I'm experiencing similar grief working on the tilt unit of my boat. What should have been a simple splicing of 3 wires and a few bolts has now become 4 hours of hair pulling frustration complicated by the arrival of swarms of hungry black flies back from their winter vacation and ready for blood.

this stuff happens all the time... Murphy is running most of the automotive industry!!!Now in the shop, if you had asked us to remove the bracket I would say "no problem"... then you come back to pick it up. I have 2 choices, charge you actual shop time or eat it... I am the advisor that would eat it and tell you how long it took.... others would charge you the $112/hr straight up = $280what do you feel would be fair?

at least it looks good, it could have been worse, when you said drill i was waiting to find out that you accidentally made a new hole in the hatch.off topic, you live 5 min away from me, i'm a resident student at Widener. happen to know of any houses for rent

At least you don't need to worry about any one stealing your plate... LOL And just an FYI for ya... a cop can pull you over for that licence plate frame.

Really? Why?