Protege engine splash cover bolts fused

[limey]

Three of the bolts holding the engine splash cover of my 1999 Protege are fused/rusted in place and I have had an autoshop offer to remove and replace them for $40 per bolt.

Should I have these replaced, or just remove the splash shield all together?

I have limited tools and unable to do this myself.

 

[concept]

How many bolts are there? What is behind the splash shield? If there isn't anything delicate behind it, I would remove it (if it is dangling) or wait until you need to remove it and just throw it away.

I can almost understand why they would charge that much if each bolt must be drilled out and possibly coil-inserted. Really, Mazda should have used 18-8 stainless steel bolts.

 

[limey]

There's about 8 bolts in all, so still 5 remaining. Since I'm going to have to buy new tires soon I think I'll just save the money and use it for those!

 

[Maxx Mazda]

If you don't care if the splash shield goes back on, just snap them off. It is not difficult to drill out old bolts.

 

[pcb]

I just cranked the bolt heads until they broke. Then I bought some small self tapping screws and drilled them in right beside the broken ones. All you need is a drill with a screwdriver bit and 3 or 4 bucks for the screws. I wanted to keep my splash shields in place,... I even made one out of a black krazy carpet for the drivers side.