Expert: William Forster - 12/15/2007

Question
2001 Mercury Villager.  I need to remove the plasic panel below the windshield that covers the wiper mechanisms.  I need to replace the tubing going to the windshield washers.

I removed the wiper arms and all the regular screws except the row along the bottom, which will not unscrew.  They just spin.  Looking underneath they screw into little metal things that look like the wall anchor things you put in sheetrock to hold heavy pictures, that when you tighten the screw they expand inside the wall.  These look like they work like that, except they won't unscrew, they just spin inside the anchor-looking thing.  How do I get them out?

Thanks.

Sam McKerall

Answer
They are plastic, and the phillips head is purely cosmetic. You need to insert a very small flat srewdriver between the outter ring and the screw head. Expect to do some damage to the clip. Pry the screw head part up and out, levering against the outter ring. Once you get it to pop up a bit, use a pair of side cuts and gently pull the pin out. Once the pin is out, the clip will easily  be removed. Bill