License plate nut

[Malibu Rapper]

I put on my new registration sticker today and ran into a problem. When I was screwing the plate back in, the screw kept spinning without tightening. I thought maybe I stripped it. I had to take my upholstery tool to pry the screw outward while using a drill with philips head to power it out. Hand loosening would not work.

When the screw came out, I looked at the nut, it doesn't look stripped. So I put the screw back in and started turning. After a certain point, it wouldn't go in any further and what was happening is that the nut behind the bracket was turning. I could see the housing turning where the edge of the nut meets the face of the bracket. In the picture below, it's where the red arrow is pointing. That part is not supposed to turn.

How should I fix this? Have someone tack weld the edge? I'm a little iffy on using an epoxy as it might break and be very hard to remove in the future. Hoping I don't have to take the bumper off to fix this.

TIA

 

[drew]

Maybe use a sharp punch and stake the collar into the housing?

 

[clr1024]

I think a tack weld should work just fine, or you could try drews idea first, if that doesn't work then do the tack weld. Maybe drill a small hole on the outer edge and put a tack down in it and grind it flush for a clean look.

 

[svalleynsx]

I'm curious as to why you need to remove the plate to attach your stickers.

 

[Malibu Rapper]

I'm curious as to why you need to remove the plate to attach your stickers.

I have a black chrome license plate frame that has an edge that just barely covers the edge of the yearly sticker. In order to center it perfectly, I need to remove the plate. Not only that, but to remove the old sticker, it's a lot easier to remove the whole plate. You want to remove the old sticker just in case someone wants to steal your registration sticker. I also give my plate a good washing and clean my rear laser diffuser at least once a year. I also wash that area right behind the plate, dust gets up in there. It costs me an extra 10-20 minutes to do it this way but it's worth it. Except when you run into nutty problems like this...

 

[svalleynsx]

OK. I figured that might've had something to do with it. My license plate frame barely clips the top left corner of the sticker area but I'm just too lazy to undo a few screws. :smile: