Need advice on drilling screws into figerglass Leer Cap

This is my first post here, so I apologize if this is the wrong section.

My wife has a 2000 Tacoma with a Leer 100xl that needs some repair as
rear door lift prop rod brackets have come off the cap over time.
Each bracket look like it was mounted onto the cap with 3 screws and most of the screws have been broken with part of the screw still in the cap.

Can anyone recommend the best screws to mount the brackets back to the cap? The previous screws look like hex washer heads.. I picked up some hex washer head self drilling screws (8x1/2" ), but they are either not the right type or size. Does anyone here have experience with drilling screws into Tacoma Fiberglass caps?

 

Remove the lift struts after you determine the proper location for the brackets. Go to Lowe's or HD and buy a kit of Devcon 5 minute Epoxy, drill your holes the same size as the shank, using a syringe, inject the hole with the epoxy and install the screw by hand and just don't overtighten, allow the epoxy to set up before using door alot.

You can repair the old holes with the same epoxy and thin fiberglass laid over it. I have plenty of glass, syringes and tips, my job is building and repairing fiberglass, carbon and other multilayer composite rotor blade components. My hobby is building wood, glass and epoxy boats.

 

Thanks for the advice Darryle!

Do you basically just hold the screw in the newly drilled hole until the epoxy dries?
You mention don't overtighten.. I wasn't able to even get it to that point, so maybe I need to make a slighly smaller pilot hole than the screw.


-Chris

 

No, you drill the hole the size of the shank, the "threads" are bigger and will hold it in place. You can make a template out of anything plastic, like a piece of clear mylar on toy packaging, to mark the holes, then fill them with epoxy and cover it with fiberglass. I have plenty of glass, yards and yards of all weights, if you want to repair it once and be done, PM me an address and I will send you enough to cover quite a bit. You can YouTube videos on epoxy/glass repairs. I have cups, brushes, syringes, tape and pretty much anything else you might need or want.

The 5 minute epoxy is hard to work with, you can buy a small kit at West Marine or pretty much any other marine/boat place.

Don't buy it from an auto parts store or big box retailers, that is usually polyester resin and not quite as strong and sometimes will not adhere to gel coat.

Epoxy resin is the best stuff going, you want a slow curing version and you will want to work with it in the cool of the mornings or evening, try your best to avoid the heat of the day and working in the sun, a garage is even better.

 

Thanks for clarifying that and all the additional info, I can't thank you enough.
I may take you up on your offer. I will send a PM shortly.