In this HOW TO guide we will be going through the process of drilling out the holes in your engine bay that the plastic clips insert into so you can replace them using our well nuts and titanium hardware. NOTE: Not all plastic clip holes need to be enlarged for well nuts to work. To determine if the holes in your car are already big enough please refer to our Well Nut Specs below.
Tools Needed:
- A Drill
- A step bit or at least 2 drill bits you can use to enlarge the hole
- Plastic Trim Removal Tool
- Microfiber Towel
- Vacuum
- Permanent Marker
- Painters Tape
Well Nut Specs:
- M4 well nuts - Requires a 8mm or 5/16” hole
- M5 well nuts - Requires a 9.5mm or ⅜” hole
- M6 well nuts - Requires a 13mm or ½” hole
Already have holes sizes in your car that fit the above requirements? Click Here to watch a simple well nut install video.
Step 1 - Removing the plastic clips
Tools for this section:
- Microfiber Towel
- Plastic Trim Removal Tool
- Permanent Marker
Place the microfiber towel around the plastic clip and use it to protect the car from any potential damage when you are using your Plastic Trim Removal Tool to pry up the plastic clip. We recommend removing all of the plastic clips holding in the trim piece you are working on so you can see if it is covering up any additional holes underneath. If you find additional holes underneath, a good way to prevent confusion when drilling is to take a permanent marker and go into the hole(s) and just make a little mark on each one so you know which ones to drill into when you remove the trim piece.
Step 2 - Preparing to drill
Tools for this section:
- Painters Tape
- Microfiber Towel
Now that you have access to the holes and you have identified which ones need to be drilled out, the next thing you want to do is take some painters tape and place it over the holes and just press down with your fingertip so it gives you a nice impression of where the hole is underneath the tape. We recommend you do this for any type of material: plastic, metal, etc. to give you a nice clean hole when you are drilling.
The next thing you want to check for before you start drilling is if you could potentially make contact with a part of the car on the other side of the hole that you don’t want to potentially damage. If there is a possibility of contact when you go through the hole you want to put some tape over that as well and place a microfiber/rag on top of it to protect the surface as much as possible.
Step 3 - Drilling the hole
Tools for this section:
- Drill
- A step bit or 2 drill bit sizes
Now that we are ready to start drilling it is really good practice when you are drilling to not automatically go for the largest hole size you need. If you have a step bit you can slowly drill out the hole using it to the desired diameter. For those that don’t have a step bit you can start out with a smaller drill bit first and then jump up to the size we need the second time we drill into the hole. This just ensures we keep the holes aligned and clean when we are finished.
Step 4 - Clean Up
Tools for this section:
- Vacuum
With the holes drilled out to the size you need, we recommend taking a vacuum to suck up all the loose material that came off when drilling. This is especially important when you are working with metal. Placing the microfiber under the hole in Step 2 before you drill also helps clean up any mess and the microfiber works well to catch small shavings. You can then take off the painters tape and now you have a nice hole for the well nut to seat inside of.
Step 5 - The Install
Tools for this section:
- Well nuts
- Titanium hardware
Now you can insert the well nuts into the holes and they should have a nice tight fit. You will then want to reinstall the trim piece and start to install your bolts by hand. It doesn’t take a lot of pressure for a well nut to expand. The torque spec on our well nuts is 5 - 8 inch pounds which you should be able to finger tighten to that spec. If you do decide to use a ratchet be cautious of over tightening the well nut. Over tightening can cause the well nut to start to twist until it separates the threaded insert from the well nut or rip the well nut in half preventing it from expanding into place. You will be able to feel it tighten with just your fingers and then you can check it by lightly lifting up on the trim piece to test that the well nut is holding it in place.
Quick Recap
- When removing plastic clips, use a plastic trim removal tool and a microfiber towel to avoid scratching.
- A marker should be used to mark the holes and painters tape placed over them to give a clean hole when drilling.
- Vacuuming or catching particles is recommended when drilling to avoid mess.
- Holes will be drilled out to fit the well nut, and a titanium bolt will be inserted inside.
- Well nuts should be tightened with just enough pressure to avoid over-tightening and ripping the well nut.