Can anyone tell me about the nut plate behind the windshield hinge bolts and are there any other similar parts to be careful with?

Vtx531

Vtx531

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I'm doing a full repaint on my Jeep and pretty much decided on removing all the hinges and cleaning up the rust before I paint.

I got the windshield screws loosened but I read something about a plate in there that can come out of place? Any more details or photos or anything?

Is there anywhere else I need to be careful with not letting a nut plate get out of place? Doors? Tailgate? Hood?
 
Vtx531 said:
I'm doing a full repaint on my Jeep and pretty much decided on removing all the hinges and cleaning up the rust before I paint.

I got the windshield screws loosened but I read something about a plate in there that can come out of place? Any more details or photos or anything?

Is there anywhere else I need to be careful with not letting a nut plate get out of place? Doors? Tailgate? Hood?
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The ones in the windshield frame are only held in place with a couple of folded over metal fingers. Push too hard and you will be very sad when they fall out of the fingers. Those are the only ones I know of that are painful.
 
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mrblaine said:
The ones in the windshield frame are only held in place with a couple of folded over metal fingers. Push too hard and you will be very sad when they fall out of the fingers. Those are the only ones I know of that are painful.
Click to expand...

So just make sure to thread them back in carefully so as not to push the plate in?
 
Thanks- Is there any risk of it coming out of place from removing the windshield frame and turning it sideways or upside down etc?
 
Vtx531 said:
Thanks- Is there any risk of it coming out of place from removing the windshield frame and turning it sideways or upside down etc?
Click to expand...

There could be. I pulled my frame off to swap it out and didn't have any issues. You could loosen the bolts and use a wire or something to hold it in place as you remove stuff if you're worried.
 
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Andy-WhiteTJ said:
Why not just install longer bolts to hold the plate in place and have it painted. Once painted, remove the bolts and toss.
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For me it was because I was replacing the whole windshield frame and windshield. I pulled it completely apart to ensure paint got behind the seals too.
 
as soon as i pulled the last screw i heard it drop.

i gave it hell for about 2hrs with a bent hanger poked through a trim bolt hole on the inside of the riser trying to fish it back up enough to even get a peg into any hole. i gave up and drilled a hole just big enough to get a tiny magnet in and lift the tab enough to get it in place. i scraped some construction adhesive off my finger onto the inside to stick it back into place. it was a PITA and a shit show, i just put some body sealing tape over the hole in case it happened again, it was covered by the hinge and never to be seen.

after all that, the windshield got cracked a few months later and i pulled the frame to remove the glass. i discovered the whole thing was rotted away and i could have just reached in there and put that tab right back. now i got a new frame and glass and no reason to mess with those hinge bolts anymore.

the advice of pegging the hole of 1st bolt out might be wise and if you have the inner riser trim there should be a hole you can poke through if you need to keep some pressure on the piece.
 
I got the windshield frame off today. I put some steel wire through the holes to make sure I didn't lose the plate, then pulled the hinges off sideways and tied the wire together so it doesn't come out. I think the plates were in there okay though, maybe the fingers were not rusted out because the rest of the frame is in really good shape.

Now I can get this frame outside on sawhorses, and finish cleaning and paint it...oh wait 20 degrees outside and snow everywhere.

8B613C35-7088-4465-99EC-C18DDF156605.jpeg
 
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