I HATE them!!! i changed my belt this morning and i had more problems and head scratching getting those rivets out of the wheel well liner than i did when i installed my sc pulley. i cant stand those things and i broke two of them.

Is there a trick to removing them besides cursing and throwing little temper tantrums

 

do they have the phillips centers or the plain ones? I grab a cool little tool from sears...a knurled bit holder and put in a phillips bit. As for the others, a small flathead screwdriver and then a panel pop tool is all you need.

 

toyota make some good ones for mr2 spare wheel/under hood cover, push middle with a pen and they pop open, re-useable again and again......

 

did you use a screwdriver, and it just spins freely? if so, just hold the outer edge and grip tightly, then turn the screwdriver. this will allow the center piece to spin out and the outer piece will remain still. after you unthread partially, pull both units out together, with your fingers, or pry lighly with a flathead screwdriver. you can thread it out completely then pop out the remaining piece, but its kind of hard to grab onto alone, and if u use a screwdriver, it'll fly away lol

 

Yeah, hold the outer edge while you unscrew. You can get replacement rivets at Lowes or Home Depot. They probably won't be the exact same style but they should work fine as long as the working end is the correct diameter and length.

 

yeah, i havent had a problem with the phillips head ones,but the ones that are flat on top are a nightmare. i've been having flashbacks all day- that belt better last for a long time

 

My other ride is a 98 Dodge Cummins 3/4 ton truck... and I recently had to take a wheel well off...

the wheel wells have the same **&%# rivet things!
Flat head, not phillips or slotted...

Well when I tore 'em off I assumed i could just replace with something from the local autozone...but nooo....

And the dealer wants $3 a piece! Seriously!
I haven't gone back to autozone to see what doodad might work anyways..

but cripes its crazy what car manufacturers have been up to...

 

Funny, I got a bag of 10 from the dealer for 8$ and since then never broke one . A small flat screw driver is all you need. There are 2 small recess in the outer rim of the rivet, stick the screw driver in one of those recess and pop the plunger up, pull it all the way up by hand, pry the rivet up withe the screw driver and its out in one piece! Takes more time to describe it than do it .