How to remove this bolt
 

My frunk strut sprung a leak and oil trickled down below the plastic cover. I have the proper T-tool but it spins with the captive nut underneath the body. I can't see the nut from the tire side either. Any tips on this? Should I just pry up the panel altogether? Piss poor design if you ask me.

Have you tried using a bent piece of metal inserted through one of the holes in the panel to gently lift upward while turning the bolt? This might apply enough tension on the nut to stop it from spinning. Be prepared though...if the captive nut is free and you remove the bolt, the nut is going to fall somplace...

If I recall correctly the cowl screws go into arubber expansion nut. You can reach under the cowl from the center (battery opening) and hold the nut to unscrew it, or just pull it out without unscrewing anything. The rubber expansion nut does not fit tightly into the body, and if it is spinning it needs to be replaced anyway, just yank it out. It should just pull straight up with minimal force. I don't even bother with the screws anymore, I consider the rubber expansion nut a plug, and just press it into the correct opening when I remove/install the cowl.

... and it's a screw, not a bolt.

It's a bolt when you put a nut on it.

this is correct, it is a rubber expansion nut. they corrode and often wont come loose after a few years. Carefully pry it out and replace with new expansion nut. maybe try some anti-seize next time around.

Thanks MWS, you are the winner! Actually applied the method but I wasn't pulling hard enough on the panel. Oh and thanks for not letting semantics get in the way. Bolt vs Screw! Yadayada.

LOL! Surely if you've been under the hood you know semantics are everything. When you've a handful of bolts and screws... ;)

Ok, your right. :) However....if you (somehow) put a nut on a woodscrew, does it make it a bolt, or just a a woodscrew with a nut on it? Lol.

I guess I'd argue that a "bolt" is any threaded thing with a nut on it and a screw is any threaded shaft...so I suppose that technically a bolt without nut is just a screw, likewise if you have a bolt with a nut on it in your hand and unscrew it you would have a nut in one hand and a screw in another....technically. :)

OK. I'm sold. :cheers:

Are you bored or something? :rolleyes:

Technically, it uses an expansion nut, so it is a bolt by your definition.

I'd say he has a bug up his butt. But I don't wanna go there. . .:matchup:

Maybe a bug nut? :D

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1527149008.jpg

The rubber expanding nut with the threaded sleeve is commonly called a well nut. They are cheap on ebay - I believe they are used to hold some motorcycle fairings in place, among other things. The nut and bolt are m5 x 0.8 pitch. Seems I recall a length of 30-35 mm for the bolt. The shape of the bolt recess on the plastic cowling makes it hard to fit a substitute, but I recommend finding a stainless thumb bolt that will fit. You should be able to force the old well nut out by pulling.BOL

Wow
I think this thread is seriously limiting the definition of a screw


I replaced my hold downs with a rubber grommet (fitting it into the hole) and a 'Bolt' that 'Screwed' tightly into the grommet (Home Depot)
It's a way over sized bolt but with the tight fit into grommet, it easlly threads in and out, acting like a nut
Maybe I'm ill defining 'Bolt' in this application unless we count the rubber grommet as a nut