DIY No hole License Plate mount

Nov 14, 2012 | 09:32 AM

stas2007

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Joined: Oct 2012

Posts: 124

Likes: 2

2013 ML

DIY No hole License Plate mount

This what i did to mount my license plate without any holes drilled. This mount is very nice and alloys for a lot of adjustability, only downfall is all the screws rust out very fast, i am gonna swap them for stainless steel as soon as I get some free time. I would recommend swapping the screws out before you put the plate on. Most important keep reminding your dealer not to make holes in the front bumper. If you dont remind them they will forget and drill holes! Also bring zip ties when you take delivery, because the dealer wont be able to give you an inspection sticker without front plate. Either zip tie the plate to the front grill so you can get a sticker right away or come back for the inspection sticker after you put on your mount. The mount took me about 5 minutes to install, and other 10 minutes to play around and see which position i like.

This is the mount I used, they sell it in Autozone for 10$, its made by Bell:
http://www.bellautomotive.com/Licens...-1-46230-8.htm

The license plate mount is held by a wall anchor on the back side of the lower grill, actually this picture is pretty much what i did:

I also put some protective padding where the bracket is flush with the chrome bumper strip

You can kinda see the anchor in this picture:

DIY No hole License Plate mount-img_1730.jpg

And the end result looks like this:
You can adjust it up/down/in/out in many ways.

DIY No hole License Plate mount-img_1724-2.jpg

Last edited by stas2007; Nov 14, 2012 at 09:44 AM.

Nov 14, 2012 | 11:48 AM

sparc

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Joined: Oct 2012

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coche

Which screws rust out?

Nov 14, 2012 | 12:35 PM

stas2007

Thread Starter

Member

Joined: Oct 2012

Posts: 124

Likes: 2

2013 ML

Quote:

Originally Posted by sparc

Which screws rust out?

6 allen key screws on the plate holder, you can see on my picture they already have the rusty look after being on my car for a week.

Nov 14, 2012 | 08:45 PM

iankayem

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Joined: Jul 2010

Posts: 625

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From: Australia

X350d GLE500e 2017, ML350 BlueTec 2012(sold), A200 2013, ML350CDI 2009(sold), Aston Martin DB7 2003

Do not use stainless bolts!
If you do, you will start getting rust marks on the "chrome" bracket.
Best bolts would be galvanised, but zinc plated will do, provided they are a silver colour, not the gold coloured passivated finish.

Why? Because the zinc plating will be the sacrificial material with any corrosion, leaving no staining or harm to other components.

Jan 30, 2013 | 06:56 PM

Dino34

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Joined: Jul 2012

Posts: 13

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2012 ML 350

Thats happened to me before..rust inside the allen screws. What I did was buy some silver metallic spray paint and spray it inside the cap until you have a little puddle. Then u dip a q-tip inThe paint and paint inside the allen screw using the q-tip..looks like new.