shaloo

Have a 2006 LS430, and went to remove the rear license plate and the two screws broke off. It seems they are screwed into a metal cylinder, so I thought if I could remove the trunk carpeting or padding, whatever it is called, I might be able to see what is involved in removing them. i might be able to drill out the old screws and use an ez out, but that seems so extreme. I was hoping they would be plastic but they are not. Anyone ever remove the liner from the trunk lid??

rkw77080

Attached are pages from the factory repair manual on the trunk lid. Hope they are useful.

shaloo

Thanks for the instructions, they are very detailed. I am not sure I am qualified to do this job, maybe time to take her in.

Jabberwock

I'd try something like this first before taking it in for repair. I'd suggest spray the bolts with penetrating fluid like PB blaster to help loosen corrosion that may be causing them to stick. The key to using an extractor bit successfully is to go slow and gentle and use by hand not power tool. Run the bit in a high torque drill and it will snap off in a second and leave you in worse shape.

Johnhav430

I was thinking that if the heads snapped off, drilling out makes total sense? One and done?

shaloo

Well I drilled a hole in both broken screws, and inserted a #3 EZ out, but it would not do the job. I did not want to break the EZ out off, and I did not have a metric tap, so I drilled a larger hole, tapped it with a #12-20 tap, went to store and bought two screws. Back on the road. Thanks for the suggestions.