How to remove front license bracket

[menerso]

I found out that Ford and NASA have come up with a new rivet that is used on not only the space ship they are building to go to Mars, but the front license plate bracket.

So, here is what i did to remove the rivets.

First I got a mirror to see myself, I mean, the rivets from behind the bumper.



Now you can see the star rivets in the back of the bumper.



Then I took a screwdriver and pryed up each of the tabs so that I can get a plier to break each tab off.



Once each tab was broken off, the rivets popped right out.



I now replaced the rivets with some non-NASA stainless steel bolts and nylon nuts. (I know they are safety bolts, but it was what I had laying around)



Now I can remove my plate anytime I want... which will probably be never... but at least my license plate is not held down by "the man".



That was it... or you could just drill the rivets out, but what fun is that?

 

[Humvee21]

Neat.

I specifcally asked my dealer to not install it just so I wouldn't have to bring home some more plastic garbage.

 

[BIRDMAN]

must have been a dealer installed thing? mine was installed just using regular coarse thread bolts with nylon nuts

 

[dataustin]

It think they come with the bracket....wether the dealer uses them might be a preference.

 

[shooterAMG]

There is so much info on this forum! Thanks to all of you who take the time to post here. I keep coming up with thoughts about my Raptor and I just search and boom, question answered!

I plan to pry the little F(*#&$ers off too. On my old AMG, I took some 3M hook hangers and installed on the front plate. So when I was parked on public streets, I could hang my front plate on the lower mesh and at least look legal. Even took off on the highway with it there once and it stayed solid!

 

[iSurvive]

Mine came with the exact same "NASA" rivets. I drilled through each one, then stuck my head inside the bumper (upside down) and broke off the rivets with pliers.

If I had known how thick the rivets were, I would have used a larger bit and avoided the pliers.

Also, I somehow cut the inside of my nose when I was head-first in the bumper. It's Ford or NASA's fault - I smell a big fat payday!!

 

[knine]

....or you could have just drilled the centers out of the rivits on the front and been done in about 10 seconds.

 

[Smokinjo]

There were none on mine. Of course , the dealer did not put their front plate or stickers on it either. It had just come in the day before I bought it. They did not have time to put all this garbage on mine.

 

[Wheela]

mine wasnt installed, it was just in my backseat when I got my truck, wish they had mounted it tho cause I just moved to Missouri where we need front plates, but I been lazy and it just sits on the passenger seat floor lol

 

[KaiserM715]

must have been a dealer installed thing? mine was installed just using regular coarse thread bolts with nylon nuts

As did mine...