Body/Trim: 70: Fitting rear number plate holder

[IWantedADiesel]

So I’ve got a nice rear number plate holder that I want to fit to the factory mounting points on the boot lid.

Volvo recommended these:

six point socket screw (986216)
expanding nut (987282)

Tried using the screws, however they seem to only go in so far and are quite hard to turn, meaning there’s a sizeable gap between the boot lid and the plate holder.

Any ideas?

[4x4]

It's possible the expanding nut has dirt/muck/corrosion in the threads, you could try running a tap through in the hope of clearing the threads out. Another option depending on how much of the six point socket screw is going into the expanding nut is to cut enough off to allow the bolt head to seat tightly.

Personally I would not fit the plate holder, the bolts usually rust and eventually cause holes behind the number plate. 3M double sided tape is my preference

The expanding nuts should be factory fitted to your car


Double sided tape keeps the rust away and a slightly larger number plate (520x140) fits nicely in the space

[ITSv40]

I'm with 4X4 on this. All our cars have the plates attached with 3M Industrial self adhesive Velcro. 50mm wide tape fixed vertically in three strips -centre and both ends. In one case the plates have been on for ten years with no issues. No screws in the bodywork or plate.