fgwinn
01-17-2004, 10:58 PM
I forgot to ask the dealer not to mount the front license plate bracket when we purchased the Vue last month. This Vue is eventually going to end up in PA where front plates are not required. It seems that the front bracket for the Vue is shared with several other GM vehicles. But on the Vue, it is mounted upside down. This leaves a raw license plate edge facing upwards. So not only am I stuck with holes in the front bumper, the bracket is a complete afterthought at best. Some of the photos I have seen use a different license plate bracket than the one on our 2004 AWD. So this post may not apply to you.
The bracket is held in place by three rivets. I decided to remove the bracket and rotate it 180 degrees so that the raw edge of the plate would be on the bottom. Here's the steps to make this change which in my opinion improves the appearance considerably.
Material and tools needed:
a) Screwdriver
b) 1/4-inch and 3/8-inch drill bits (and electric drill, of course)
c) Needle nose pliers
d) Three license plate screws with plastic anchors. You should be able to get these at an auto parts store. I had some kicking around in the garage for 20 years. The ones I have require a 3/8-inch square hole.
e) Small file and/or utility knife
1. Remove the front plate if installed.
2. Drill through the heads of each rivet with a 1/4-inch drill. The rivet will start to spin before you are able to drill completely through the head. But you should be able to pop off the head with a flat blade screwdriver once you have sufficiently weakened the rivet with the drill.
3. Push the remaining part of the rivet into the bumper. Not too far, just far enough so it does not interfere with drilling out the hole to a larger diameter (described in the next step.)
4. Since the plastic anchors require a square 3/8-inch hole, I decided that a good place to start would be to drill out the 1/4-inch hole in the bumper with a 3/8-inch drill to make a 3/8-inch round hole. If your plastic anchors require a different size square hole, you will need to make the necessary adjustments to these instructions. If you didn't push the rivet into the impact foam behind the bumper skin in step 3, then you probably learned quickly that the 3/8-inch drill bit will walk off center and make an egg-shaped hole in the bumper skin. I know this from personal experience after drilling out just one hole.
5. Use the needle nose pliers to pull out the part of the rivet that you pushed into the impact foam in step 3.
6. Use a small file to stretch the hole into roughly a 3/8-inch approximately square hole. Alternatively, you can use a sharp utility knife to do this step. Or you may find that a combination of both tools works well, as I did.
7. Push the three plastic anchors into the square holes.
8. Attach the license bracket with the open edge towards the ground. Use a washer under the head of the middle screw to catch the edge of the bracket. Replace the license plate and admire your work.
I will post a few pictures once the gallery is back online.
The bracket is held in place by three rivets. I decided to remove the bracket and rotate it 180 degrees so that the raw edge of the plate would be on the bottom. Here's the steps to make this change which in my opinion improves the appearance considerably.
Material and tools needed:
a) Screwdriver
b) 1/4-inch and 3/8-inch drill bits (and electric drill, of course)
c) Needle nose pliers
d) Three license plate screws with plastic anchors. You should be able to get these at an auto parts store. I had some kicking around in the garage for 20 years. The ones I have require a 3/8-inch square hole.
e) Small file and/or utility knife
1. Remove the front plate if installed.
2. Drill through the heads of each rivet with a 1/4-inch drill. The rivet will start to spin before you are able to drill completely through the head. But you should be able to pop off the head with a flat blade screwdriver once you have sufficiently weakened the rivet with the drill.
3. Push the remaining part of the rivet into the bumper. Not too far, just far enough so it does not interfere with drilling out the hole to a larger diameter (described in the next step.)
4. Since the plastic anchors require a square 3/8-inch hole, I decided that a good place to start would be to drill out the 1/4-inch hole in the bumper with a 3/8-inch drill to make a 3/8-inch round hole. If your plastic anchors require a different size square hole, you will need to make the necessary adjustments to these instructions. If you didn't push the rivet into the impact foam behind the bumper skin in step 3, then you probably learned quickly that the 3/8-inch drill bit will walk off center and make an egg-shaped hole in the bumper skin. I know this from personal experience after drilling out just one hole.
5. Use the needle nose pliers to pull out the part of the rivet that you pushed into the impact foam in step 3.
6. Use a small file to stretch the hole into roughly a 3/8-inch approximately square hole. Alternatively, you can use a sharp utility knife to do this step. Or you may find that a combination of both tools works well, as I did.
7. Push the three plastic anchors into the square holes.
8. Attach the license bracket with the open edge towards the ground. Use a washer under the head of the middle screw to catch the edge of the bracket. Replace the license plate and admire your work.
I will post a few pictures once the gallery is back online.