Push pin preparedness pays off princely

Every service department should be prepared properly for the potentially pesky push pin. Mishandling this common little fastener may prevent your team from meeting customers' expectations.

The accompanying photograph shows some used push pins. The heart of the device is a straight pin topped with a flat or mushroomed head.

Pushing this pin into the fastener body spreads out a set of segments or legs. Spreading them locks the fastener in place.

Over the years, vehicle manufacturers have adopted push pins as inexpensive alternatives to traditional screws. You may find push pins under the hood, under the vehicle and throughout the interior.

In fact, usage has become so common that it's difficult to avoid push pins.

For example, a technician may not be able to access some underhood components — including the battery — without removing a plastic cover or panel of some kind. Meanwhile, a large plastic panel under the vehicle may obstruct frequently serviced items such as the oil filter and oil drain plug.

In each of these instances, push pins secure these covers or panels to the vehicle.

Note that some of these panels are basically ornamental but others are functional. For example, undercar panels help smooth air flow under the vehicle.

Typically, push pins are plastic. There are no guarantees that technicians can reuse these fasteners successfully. For that matter, there are no guarantees that all push pins are present and accounted for when a vehicle arrives at your business for service.

Sad to say, I have seen plenty of under-vehicle panels that are damaged — sometimes beyond repair — because someone didn't reinstall the push pins or substitute traditional screws, washers and nuts for them.

Other times, I have watched service writers try to calm an angry motorist who has returned to their tire dealership or service shop. After maintenance or repairs were performed, the car owner realized that a new, strange noise was a loose undercar panel.

In some cases, the motorist had to retrieve the panel from a busy highway.

Perhaps the tech who worked on this car was simply careless and forgot to install new push pins. Maybe he broke the old pins while removing them; new ones weren't handy so he tried to wire up the corners of the panel.

Dealing with push pins should not be a big issue. Be sure your service department has a robust selection of the most-common push pins.

Tell techs that pin replacement is shop policy — period. Source new push pins from regular parts suppliers and/or specialized automotive fastener companies.

Last but not least, I advise techs to equip themselves with push-pin removal pliers such as those shown here. The proper removal pliers are inexpensive, effective and readily available from several tool companies.

I have found that the curved, pointed tips on these pliers really ease push pin removal on any vehicle.

At first glance, this may not seem to be a headache — until you've seen someone try to do it with a seal pick, tiny screwdriver or similar tool on a stubborn push pin or one in an awkward location.