I'm in the process of refurbishing my 240Z taillights and have run into a problem. The Philips screws that hold the taillight to the rear panel all came out easily on one side, but two of the screws on the other side just spin, so I can not take the light out. Has anyone had this issue and solved it without damaging taillight housing?  

I guess the spinning screws were probably over-tightened, which either stripped the plastic threads on the housing or cracked the the plastic around the holes. Either way, the friction between the housing and the screws is probably enough to hold it somewhat securely, but maybe you can gently wiggle or pry the housing back away from the panel, at lease enough to grab the screws with pliers and wiggle/twist them out? 

When repairing the holes, I would be tempted to use a tooth pick or two liberally coated with expoxy to fill the holes, then drill them out with a bit that is slightly smaller in diameter than the screws, giving them something to bite into. 

Thanks for the reply Peter. Actually there are small captive acorn nuts that the Philips screws screw into. They're held in place by the plastic molded around it. Once the bond is broken, it just spins in the plastic housing. The only way I could see to get the taillight off was to carefully carve away the plastic around the nut enough to get a vice grip or wrench on it. Finally got it off. I'll need a washer along with the acorn nut and screw to secure it back together upon re-assembly.  

Glad you got it off. I was going to say stick a small flathead between the nut and plastic but wasn't sure so I kept quiet, rare occurrence. What about a nylon nut? Nyloc nut, my bad.

Glue the nuts in their holes.

 

Edited July 19, 20204 yr by siteunseen

I like your idea siteunseen. A little worried the next time I need to take the taillight apart I may have the same issue, given the extra resistance typical with loosening up a nyloc nut.Think I'll try using the old hardware and just add a small flat washer to make sure the nut does not pull through the plastic housing.