Tail Light Extruded U Nuts

[amsuco]

I pulled my tail lights to clean them and do Cruiser's ground upgrade.  (Thanks Cruiser!)  Some screws were already broken and others broke when I removed them (even though they had been sitting with penetrating oil on them for a few days).  I found stainless steel replacement screws that look to be an exact match.  But I also want to replace the u nuts that they screw into.  A search in my rural area has been fruitless.  The hardware store, the Jeep dealership, Autozone, O-Reillys, Napa, Fastenall, Rural King...nada.  Spring (or speed) nuts were all I could find.  Nobody around here stocks an extruded u nut this small.  The screws I bought were labeled #8.  But before I blindly order these from somewhere and hope they fit, does anybody have a part number or source that has worked well for them?

[Jeep Driver]

Go to a body shop supply house..........ie..........automotive paint store. 

[HOrnbrod]

https://www.clipsandfasteners.com/Nuts-U-s/115.htm

[AZJeff]

I just learned a new term--"U-Nut"

 

I always called them "Tinnerman nuts" or "clip nuts"    When I was a design engineer working for a living, we used them all the time, and we bought a lot from the Tinnerman company.   

 

I guess it's a bit like Kleenex versus "tissues"

[DesertRat1991]

We call them u-nuts or speed nuts.

 

I found them in the bins at the local ACE hardware.

[gogmorgo]

Our drawer at work is labelled "speed nuts" but all the mechanics call them something different; threaded clip, clip nut, captive threads...

[amsuco]

This was new to me as well.  I had to go to the internet and find a picture and description to match what I had.  The extruded u nuts have an extension below the clip that is threaded.  What I found locally that I consider to be speed nuts have no threads.  They are just stamped in such a way as to catch the threads of a bolt or screw that is inserted into them.  My assumption is that the u nuts were stock, but I could be wrong.

[amsuco]

Thanks for the input above, but I ended up going a different direction.  Local parts availability had a lot to do with it.

 

I have one tail light back in.  So I know that what I bought fits.  Time for an update, so that maybe the next person won't have to fight this like I have.  There are people who do engine swaps a WHOLE lot quicker than I've pulled and replaced a pair of tail lights.  It's embarrassing!

 

So I removed what I considered to be stock fasteners.  The screws I was able to match up at the hardware store.  1" #8 stainless steel screws seemed to be an exact match to the screws I had removed.  But I never did find a u nut to match those threads.  I could have used speed nuts, but I'm anal.

 

What I ended up doing is hopefully an upgrade from stock.  I bought screws and u nuts from Fastenal with an 8-32 thread pitch.  The screws I went with are stainless with a head that takes a T-15 security bit.  I was able to order the screws individually.  But the u nuts only came in a box of 50.  So if anybody needs u nuts anytime soon, feel free to PM me.

 

https://www.fastenal.com/products/details/X20140032SSX300

 

https://www.fastenal.com/products/details/11120364

 

 

[mjfrancesca]

I knew I messaged you wanting to buy some of the u-nuts but I decided to just go ahead and buy the box also to use on my Jeep and my husbands if we ever needed them (for some reason my messages aren't working ) but just wanted to say thank you for the links and the thread in general! Happy Jeepin'

[amsuco]

3 hours ago, mjfrancesca said:

I knew I messaged you wanting to buy some of the u-nuts but I decided to just go ahead and buy the box also to use on my Jeep and my husbands if we ever needed them (for some reason my messages aren't working ) but just wanted to say thank you for the links and the thread in general! Happy Jeepin'

 

You are certainly welcome!  Pm me anytime.  Regarding the messages...I don't know what problem you're having, but a few years back I had as issue as well.  Messages through CC that showed up in my email account didn't always seem to go through if I responded through email.  What worked best was to just come back to CC and respond directly through the site.  I've never had any missing communications doing it that way.

[JMO413]

I needed these for my tail lights also. There best part about working at a dual line dealership is you see both sides parts. Therese are about an exact replacement for the OEM. GM used them in the S-10 tail light.