05 Uplander-removing the taillight lens cover to replace rear turn signal

[ben kirby]

I tried to remove the two t-30 torx bolts in order to remove the tail light lens housing and replace the rear turn signal, but the bolts just spun. I looked into the rear interior panel in order to locate the nuts and they were concealed behind the sheet metal framework. Any suggestions on how to replace these signals would be helpful. The service manual portrays standard phillips screws fastening the lens cover but I have a sneaky suspiscion that is secured by a nut and bolt apparatus.

[AJT1961]

IF I remember correctly, there are two "nut backs" that are fitted into holes in the body sheet metal that must be either stripped or spinning around. After they are removed, the tailight is still held in place by two retainer pins that protrude from the tailight assembly that have little balls on them that fit snuggly into two rubber grommets that are pressed into additonal holes in the body sheet metal. Therefore, the normal procedure is two remove the two torx bolts, then gently pull the tailamp assembly straight back so that the pins pull themselves out of the rubber grommets. Your problem is a difficult one. It's hard to say what I'd do, but would probably first try to slip some sort of thin prying tool under the tailight assembly and apply outward pressure while trying to remove the bolts. If that failed, I'd probably then carefully see if I could simply pry out the entire assembly without breaking it. You are going to have to replace those nut backs anyway. The last option would be to try and drill out the bolts, which seems like it would be difficult if they are spinning freely (sometimes you can wedge a screwdriver tip along the edge to hold it in place). On a brighter note, last time I checked, new tailight assemblies were available on ebay for $60. The hardware though (depending on what you can salvage) is about $10 to $20 worth of special order dealer stuff. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

[consultIII]

take the other side off and inspect...you may see a way to hold the studs.

[gmowner176]

If your turn signal bulb is burnt out, the back-up light bulb might be a good spare. The back-up light only uses one filament of the two. I swapped the turn signal bulb with the back-up light and both are working fine.