Freebird Posted August 22, 2006 #1 Posted August 22, 2006 Repairing Broken Windshield Trim Tabs The great things about this forum is the fantastic ideas that we get from each other. This one is so good and so easy that I sure would like to take credit for it but the fact is, the idea came from expanding on a post made by SteveO where he used these type clips to take the slack out of the holes that the tabs actually snap into. His post gave me an idea for repairing the tabs that were actually already broken. The tabs on the back of the plastic chrome windshield trip break very easily. Most people who have ever had the piece off, have broken at least one of them. The following is an easy way to repair them to better than new condition. I had a couple of them broken off and this is so much better and stronger, I actually broke the other two off and did this on all of them. Here is a picture of one of the broken tabs. At most auto parts stores, you will find these clips. They were called "Speed Nuts" at Autozone and I believe these were size 14. It was the smallest ones that they had. Here is what they look like when you take them out of the package. Now...as the top picture shows, there is a center "bar" or "Support" in the center of what is left of the broken tab. In order to slide the "speed nut" over the broken support, you will need to cut the center out of the back of the clip. Also, because the clip is just slightly too wide, you'll have to shave just a bit off each side of the back side of the clip that you just cut the center out of. I used a Dremel tool with a thin cutting disk to do both. Here is what you end up with. Now, simply slide the clip over the broken support and you have a brand new clip that fits right into the slot where it should. It fits pretty tight but just to be sure, I filled the grooves with two part epoxy. They aren't going anywhere. 1
Recommended Posts