Sounds like a bucket of scrap metal when I close rear door on Sienna

Sounds like I just dropped a bucket of scrap metal when I close the rear door on my 06 Sienna. It is the licence plate, a metal lic. plate frame and the metal door that are hitting each other. I want to run a small machine bolt through the center bottom of the plate frame and through the two layer metal rear door. On the inside of the door there is a small 4in x 4inch removable snap out cover and through it I can feel that there are two layers of metal. Do I dare drill through that entire mess and install a bolt? I see no indications of wires etc. between the two layers of metal. Can I trust that the 1/4 inch space is empty ?

j
Reply to
joe
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I have a piece of foam between my plate holder and the hatch. I wouldn't want to do anything as drastic as you plan when a much simpler solution will suffice.

jim menning

Reply to
jim menning

I thought about the epoxy route but I like a bolt because I once had a license plate stolen. A bolt - with the nut on the inside may cause whoever to go to the next one. j

Reply to
joe

Adding two more bolts is a good idea - but NOT with a nut on the inside. Because the first time you need to take it apart you either have to take apart the door liner again to get to the nuts, or you have the nuts rattling around inside tailgate...

With the plate mounted, mark the bottom holes and pilot drill with an 1/8" bit. Take the plate off, and drill the right size hole for another set of the factory nylon speed-nuts like the top of the plate has now. If they need a square hole to pop into, drill the right diameter and expand them out square with a file.

Then seal the edges of the holes with touch-up paint and let it dry overnight, before you insert the speednuts and attach the plate.

If you are worried about license plate theft, you can easily replace the mounting screws supplied. The nylon will expand slightly and take

1/4-20 button head screw with a Tamper-Torx, Ovoid head (no slot, looks like a rivet, takes a special socket) or pin-spanner head - but if you can find tamper-head screws in metric pitch, go for it.

Either way, if the bolts have tamper resistant heads you aren't getting those out easily or quickly without the right driver.

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Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

If you live in salt country drilling a couple of holes in the body will be an excellent place for rust to begin. On my sienna I just pulled the plate away.

Reply to
dbu.

Nix the idea of the extra holes and bolts. A simple band of foam rubber behind the plate works and will take you only a minute to apply. Anything that will hold the plate away from the rear deck when you close it will work.

Reply to
mack

Yours is a powerful argument but - I swear that CA license plates must be made at San Quentin by inmates who flatten old beer cans - these days. The end result is very thin flimsy aluminum. In the good old galvanized steel plate days or stronger aluminum this would have worked. I had to add the metal frame from an old car to keep it from flapping in the wind. j

Reply to
joe

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I know where you're comin' from, Joe, because my Avalon has one of those CA plates, (with frame) and until I did what I suggested to you, it would make a noise each time I closed the trunk. : - ) Now it's quiet.

Reply to
mack

Make sure your noise isn't just that surround rattling around on your license plate.

Reply to
FantomFan

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