xerxes717

Twitte - I got the exact part number you recommended, they're the ones on the left in your picture with 3 plugs. The clips were 3/8th inches wide across the the clips that flare out, not just the cylindrical part. The clips don't really bend far enough to go in the holes in the bumper, they barely compress at all. Maybe I just need to try and shove them in as hard as I can, but it didn't seem like they were going to go in

twitte

The bumper plugs fit into holes that are 3/16" in diameter or larger. If your hole size is a lot larger or smaller then you will need to find a plug that best fits your license plate hole. I did a little experiment (see photos below). I drilled three holes, each with a 3/16" drill. I then screwed the license frame screw from my car into one of the holes to verify it fit. Then I took the bumper plug and pushed it through the hole. It compresses just fine and goes right into the hole. I'll admit I did need some pliers to get the plug out because it fully expanded on the other side of the hole I drilled. You might do what one of the other guys did (assuming your hole size is 3/16") and run a small file into the hole to loosen it up a little. You might also try rotating the plug so the part that expands is in a different location in the hole. When I measured the expansion part of the plug it measured 5/16" (the rigid part of the plug was 3/16").

xerxes717

Twitte - I have to say, I don't think I've ever come across anyone more helpful than you on any forum
My holes are right around 1/4th inch (4/16th), so they are clearly already bigger than they need to be in order to fit. Somehow though, the damn clips won't go in. I'll file out my holes a little and then put the clips in, I think that should work.

Thanks again

TopGearLA

as someone just viewing this thread... i would agreee with the sentiment above. Id imagine this helped alot of random people. i am gunna try it but paint it like the car, all the coats and what not.

nabbun

you guys are lucky. i ordered by bumper plugs and once i received them, I removed my front license plate to find out I have 4 holes on my bumper.

twitte

I had one small ding from the license plate bolt that got screwed in too much and touched it up with paint so it can't be seen very easily. You might try touching yours up with paint (unless your holes are too large).

mikeho

That's a good idea. I didn't think of that. I should try it. After all these months (years?), I still haven't drilled out the holes to put the bumper plugs in. I'm too chicken.

TopGearLA

i ordered aerotect ones and first off they didnt match my GFM and they wouldnt just ship me new ones to compare, so i just took the hit, but dont bother with those people, or bumperplugs, they are over charging u for plastic nubs that dont fit. They excuse the size but EVERYONE had to drill to put em in... and the color well yeah. I just bought a touch up kit from expresspaint.com and i think with the tips in this thread, ill have the ideal solution. plus i can clean up those scratches from the plate being screwed too tight.

TopGearLA

Twitte, can you PM me or post the exact part for the plugs you used on your IS, im in Los Angeles, and ive actually never even seen an actual NAPA store... kragen and pep boys aplenty tho... I figure i just need 4 clips, two to test paint and two to use... its always nice to find someone who already went through the trials as to prevent my own mistakes.

twitte

The part number that I got from NAPA was:
Balkamp p/n 665-2436 called "Retaining Clips"

This worked perfectly for me without any drilling of the holes. It all depends on what size holes your dealer drilled into your bumper. See the earlier posts and photos (and measurements that I gave to confirm you have the same hole size). My holes were 3/16."

I'm fairly sure you can find a NAPA store near you. Here is their web page with a store locator in the left column. I put in "Los Angeles" and it came up with a LOT of stores.
http://www.napaonline.com/

If you need a different size plug, here is a link to a PDF of all the plug pages that you can print:
http://www.mastersdiving.org/lexus/NAPAbalkamp.pdf
If it doesn't print correctly, download it to your computer first, then print.

Maybe they will let you get one plug out of the bag and try it to make sure it fits before you buy the bag? You may need to push it in fairly hard but mine just snapped right into the hole. I could later pull it out without a problem as well.

Any other questions?

One other thing... if you run your car through a car wash, don't let them spray the bumper plugs with a high pressure sprayer up close. It takes the paint off and you have to repaint them. That only happened once.

nabbun

nope. I have 4 large holes. 2 from the license plate assembly and 2 from the license plate itself.

My temp fix is to drive with the front license plate on my dash and no assembly. since my car is black sapphire pearl, the holes aren't noticeable unless you're close or looking for them.

TopGearLA

hey twitte,
I just got the plugs from NAPA by where i work and they seem to initially fit and the diameter of my hole seems to be the same as yours. I was pushing pretty hard but not enought to push em in but still rather tough... id imagine id have to push severely harder to get em in, unless you recommend redrilling the hole?... do the hooks for the plug(retainer clips) reach in far enough that they snapped in? You said you were able to pry them out which seem not feasible if it hooked in...I didnt want to have them stuck in there not painted so i havent pushed in with all my might...any thougths?

twitte

Mine snapped right in and are tight so they don't work themselves out. Why don't you do ahead and paint a couple and then push them in. You can also paint them (if you are careful) once they are pushed in. To touch mine up from time to time I take a paper match from a book of matches and then cut the end (opposite from the striker tip) at an angle with some scissors to get a sharp point on the end. Then I dip the end into the touchup paint and touch up the plugs. If you really can't get them into the hole, you may need to take a small file an run it through the hole a few times. If the hole is the same size as mine (3/16") then the plug should compress and fit right into the hole. You should have a bag of plugs that you can try and not worry about destroying one or two. Let me know what happens.

PS I don't think the hooks on the plugs actually get "hooked" in where you can't pull them out because of the thickness of the bumper you are going through. The thickness of the bumper keeps the hooks from locking into the hole. In the photo I did (above) the material I used is much thinner than your bumper and that is why it looks like the hooks won't come out once they are in the hole (which isn't the case when pushed into the bumper).

leartest81

In a previous thread I mentioned regretting trial fitting the NAPA plugs before painting them. They do not come out without a struggle. You have to carefully pry them at which point the flat part of the plug breaks off leaving the shank still firmly in the hole. Drilling the shanks out is risky (I very nearly ruined my two day old bumper when the drill bit slipped). Pushing them through is not easy either as there appears to be dense foam behind the plastic bumper. I used a spring center punch to make a dimple in the end of the shank then a regular punch to drive the shank through---again just one slip and you've trashed your bumper. Frankly, this is an area where you ought to commit one way or the other before you proceed. I got away with it once and won't revisit the issue on my car again. FWIW. Bob

twitte

I didn't have a problem removing the bumper plugs from my bumper. They were a little tight but came out okay. They have been in my bumper for over 3 years now without any problems and they look the same as when I first installed them. I do have to retouch them with paint from time to time but I do that without removing them. So far so good. I have these installed on two other cars as well without any problems.