I have a 22,000 mi GTA and I noticed a squeak in the back. I assumed it was the hatch squeaking but to my surprise it was actually the tail lights are falling out. The reason for this is the plastic bolts that hold the tail lights in place disintegrate. I tried to tighten one and it fell apart in my hands and other ones were missing. These Wing nuts are pretty expensive to replace ($30US per light) and I wanted to let everyone know that I found good replacements that are handmade on Amazon for $10. I tried them and they work very well and fit nicely.https://a.co/d/0fcWuaFq I put a review up there but it's not showing as of this post. I got the much quicker than expected they came within 3 business days even though Amazon told me it would be weeks.

I mention this to everyone as you may not know that your tail lights are having this issue. My car is pristine and has been well cared for yet it has this problem so if you've never replaced these you should probably look into it and see what condition yours are in. I believe these plastic wing nuts just disintegrate over an age. Everyone will be affected.

 

Those nuts were used on several different GM cars over the years, so seem to be fairly-common, and useful to have an inventory of if you have late-80's to mid-90's GMs in the paddock. I will usually grab a handful when I'm walking around junk yards, just because. Yes, they're subject to disintegration, too, but some individual pieces seem better than others.

 

Well now I have to go home and jiggle my tail lights.

 

Yeah the original wingnuts will be cracked, broken, or will when you try to turn them and maybe just turn to dust.

Been there and done that. LoL

I thread the wingnuts before installing so as not to put too much force on the self-threading studs molded into the tail lights. Those are rubber washers. They are a little stiff. I might try some closed cell foam rubber washers next time.

 

Yeah. Or open your spare tire area and check those pieces

 

TTT

 

if I recall the original ones were a softer rubber? that got hard and brittle and fell apart.I got some off of a last gen grand Am and if I recal lthey were a harder plastic but seemed more durable and fit perfect!

 

So you 3-D printed them?!? Are they available? Or a .stl file for those with printers??

OTOH, they used these nuts on the 94-96 B-body cars, too. Maybe even 4th Gen F-body cars?

 

I don't think the newer ones work for the older cars but they are similar but black and white two piece I think

 

Sorry I've took so long to answer your questions about the wingnuts. I saw it when you posted it.

Each time I was going to reply I just broke down crying and couldn't do anything. I just felt paralyzed.

I didn't 3D print them but they were 3D printed. I got the file for them here on the third gen forum years ago. I don't remember where at though.

My best friend on Earth had them printed to replace the broken ones on his 1986 Buick Grand National. We were working on the car and took the taillights out and they were broken or broke when removing them. I told him about the 3D printed ones I saw here. He had a friend at work and his teenage son was into 3D printing so I sent him the file and his friend's son printed them for him. He gave me enough to do my Firebird.

I ended up with the rest of them and a bunch more of his stuff because he suddenly and unexpectedly died at 44 years old. I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to him.

Every time I was going to reply it turned into a story about my friend and him finally getting his lifelong dream car and all the time we spent working on it and having fun out driving it making memories in it. We drove the wheels off it and had an absolute blast doing it.

But I just couldn't click on the Submit Reply button and closed the browser. I was like no one wants to hear this. I haven't talked about his passing and it kind of helped a bit just typing out the replies I never posted.

 

People live on through us and as long as they are remembered, they're still here. At least that's my take.
We had a wonderful friend pass at an early age. Every Friday night the group of us would get together, play darts, tell stories, and enjoy a few drinks. One Friday my granddaughter (about 6 years old) says to her mother, "hey that man in the picture (of his obituary pinned to the wall) is sitting in the corner smiling". The daughter in law never let on, so as not to alarm the child, but what do we do with that information? I opened my perception of what's possible, and moved on to enjoying the world for both of us, and for all the others who physically have left us too soon.

 

So sorry to hear that, I didn't know. Sometimes, it does help to talk about it, sometimes, not so much. As trite as it sounds, I am sorry for your loss. We've lost some dear friends this year, and even though they were older, it's still not easy.