'99 A6 rear license plate bracket?

Andy, Have you tried a Dremel tool to remove the screws? How about using a soldering iron to heat up the screws to melt the plastic a bit to release the rusty threads? Cheers! Steve Sears

1987 Audi 5kTQ - not an A6 avant 1980 Audi 5k - not an A6 avant 1962 and '64 Auto Union DKW Junior deLuxes - ditto (SPAM Blocker NOTE: Remove SHOES to reply)

I snapped three of four mounting nuts off the plastic backing myself, trying to get frozen screws out. Wound up having to take it to dealer for new plastic panel. Expensive lesson. I'll never understand how the design and engineering geniuses at Audi can produce a wonderful automobile in all other aspects but screw up on a simple thing like using compatible materials that won't rust/freeze the license to the mounting brackets. Very frustrating.

Dale, Frozen lp screws are fairly common on most cars in the salt belt, and you'll see more and more frozen screws as the cars get more and more "plastic-ey". Thing is, with the lp bolts, that most people don't often remove their lp, and those that do, who are used to fairly well-used cars, are quite familiar with the ins and outs of rusted fasteners. I would have just glued (JB Weld) in new fasteners in the panel - you can get a fair selection of stainless hardware from your local Home Depot. As to how the panel comes off, I'd refer to the workshop manual that I always buy for a car I work on. Cheers! Steve Sears

1987 Audi 5kTQ - sporting stainless lp screws....as well as lots of other stainless hardware 1980 Audi 5k - stainless hardware holding lp on front. 1962 and '64 Auto Union DKW Junior deLuxes - no worries about salt-belt rust (SPAM Blocker NOTE: Remove SHOES to reply)

Andy, I always ask myself..."what would McGuyver do?" Of course, the first thing I do then is to throw away the gun....... Depending on the space available behind the plastic panel, you could repair the broken mount holes with old credit cards, expired school photocopy cards, what have you (you'll never see them behind the plate), and JB weld the card on. Then use a new plastic insert and screw a shiny new licence plate bolt into it. If you can put the plate on and then install the panel back on to the car, then you could go the nut & bolt route - even using nylock stainless nuts and bolts....space depending. Since it's pretty well hidden, you could use anything - except the 2" screws that they guy that had my V8 trunk lid used - screwed through the plate, the stripped plastic inserts, and into the trunk sheet metal (duh). Now make sure you contemplate McGuyver's solution, and not the A-Team's....because you'd first fire up the cutting torch (and pick up the gun McGuyver threw away.....)....... Cheers! Steve Sears

1987 Audi 5kTQ - Face 1980 Audi 5k - Hannibal 1962 and '64 Auto Union DKW Junior deLuxes - Murdoch (SPAM Blocker NOTE: Remove SHOES to reply)

"andy" wrote in message news:d525d$440867e8$44a42d0f$ snipped-for-privacy@msgid.meganewsservers.com...

Thanks Steve. I have the repair CD's now, so I know a bit more now on how to approach repairing myself. Hopefully, I won't have to use it for this particular promlem anytime soon.