car fastener question- HELP!

[ironraven]

So, other day, I pull into my spot in the driveway while it was raining cats and dogs. On top of snow. I seem to have misjudged where I was due to the weather and me just being tired and put it too close to the bank. Apparently, things shifted, and when the rain turned back into snow... yeah. Mess. Yesterday I go to move my car, and I"m stuck. Spent most of the afternoon trying to dig out enough and after several hours, I'm clearly just stuck, hung up on something. Call a tow truck.

My bumper was what I was hung up on and/or it was frozen to something, becuase all the little plastic rivetish things broke off. I've asked google for "plastic piece holds car bumper" and I'm getting no where with the search. Does anyone know what the damn things are called? I can't find them anywhere. Right now I've got some 16ga stainless wire holding my bumper on, but that isn't going to pass inspection. It looks like they are a barbed, push in fitting that I should be able to fix myself, without having to put it up on blocks like every youtube video and how to I've seen shows. Or am I just going crazy?

HELP! What is that part called? And is this something someone with hand tools and an engineering degree can do? Or shoudl I just throw in the towel?

[Higgins617]

Google auto trim plastic rivet.... there's a whole bunch of types and sizes so you'll have to take a peek and see what type you have.

[Kev D]

A lot of mechanics just call them christmas tree fasteners because they look like little christmas trees

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/christmas-tree-fasteners

[ironraven]

trim rivet, aka christmas tree fasteners. Yeah, I can see the latter. So it should just go in with maybe a little rubber mallet work.

I had a feeling that someone here woudl know what they were called. Some people go to college indefinantly to continue their education- they should save money, buy tools, go to MTO.

[Sparky415]

Warm them in your pocket before installing them 

[Grant Lamontagne]

Warm them in your pocket before installing them 

Absolutely.  Plastic parts get very brittle in the cold and flex nicely in the heat.

Also, if it helps any in the future, these are exactly the same doodads that hold the interior panels on, like door panels and the like.  If you ever have to replace a window motor (or hand crank) or a lock or something along those lines, be prepared to replace several of them as I've never managed to get into a door without breaking several of them.

Def

[ironraven]

And... it's fixed. Mostly. Enough to not fall off, and be legal. It was a matter of knowing what to call them.

And once I had them in hand (thanks for the tip to warm them), tap with a mallet, and their in. I'm afraid to try to do the math for how much that would have cost if I took it to a body shop.

[NKlamerus]

Those things are a PAIN!!

Would strongly recommend getting a kit of various sizes and keeping them around (plus zip ties)

[Grant Lamontagne]

I'd agree with Nathan.  They are cheap enough and small enough that you could keep a variety in the glove compartment and not worry about them.  They also seem to be designed to be the failure point on a lot of cars nowadays- it seems like every time someone gets too close to a snowbank or needs to be pushed/pulled from someplace the plastic almost always gets ripped off, at least part ways.

A few days ago I watched a woman almost rip the plastic panel off the handle on her Honda CRV because the trunk lid was frozen and she just kept pulling on it.  I told her to use one hand to press the release button but to pull from the metal on bottom edge so she didn't rip the panel off.

I also once encountered a kid trying to push his buddy's rice rocket out of a snowbank..... by the spoiler.   

Glad yours worked out ok though!   

Def

[NKlamerus]

Most vehicle parts these days are one time use and replace

Pedestrian laws have gotten so strick that bumpers and valences need to be soft enough to absorb a person hitting them.

[Don Pablo]

Most vehicle parts these days are one time use and replace

Pedestrian laws have gotten so strick that bumpers and valences need to be soft enough to absorb a person hitting them.

I'm kind of glad that they're trying to keep up with the trend of people driving worse and worse.   

[AlephZero]

Most vehicle parts these days are one time use and replace

Pedestrian laws have gotten so strick that bumpers and valences need to be soft enough to absorb a person hitting them.

I'm kind of glad that they're trying to keep up with the trend of people driving worse and worse.   

Agreed! 

 

[Don Pablo]

Most vehicle parts these days are one time use and replace

Pedestrian laws have gotten so strick that bumpers and valences need to be soft enough to absorb a person hitting them.

I'm kind of glad that they're trying to keep up with the trend of people driving worse and worse.   

Agreed! 

 

Soon we'll all be driving expensive bumper cars. 

[WoodsDuck]

Most vehicle parts these days are one time use and replace

Pedestrian laws have gotten so strick that bumpers and valences need to be soft enough to absorb a person hitting them.

I'm kind of glad that they're trying to keep up with the trend of people driving worse and worse.   

Agreed! 

 

Soon we'll all be driving expensive bumper cars. 

Every time I go out these days I see people who shouldn't be licensed to drive anything heavier than that.

[Dean51]

They go by lots of names, push pins, push rivets  or for the ones that are ribbed.

[pfrsantos]

And... it's fixed. Mostly. Enough to not fall off, and be legal. It was a matter of knowing what to call them.

And once I had them in hand (thanks for the tip to warm them), tap with a mallet, and their in. I'm afraid to try to do the math for how much that would have cost if I took it to a body shop.