Roof rails leaking. How do I remove?

[nedkelly]

I bloody hope it doesn't. It was out of the side/bottom of the front "plug" i stuck a bit of silicone in there but only roughly, i am worried water may collect in these plugs and if mine has a couple of holes the size of a match head....... I was hung over this morning which didn't help. Man i hope it doesn't let water in or i can see me needing to get a new rail and plug. I threw a bucket of water over it and everything seems dry inside but not sure that is the same as being in a downpour..... The other side i could have done blind folded it was that simple.

[Mr Bagus]

Took my rail off and broke the 4 white and 1 black clip . Rang Bill Buckle Subaru and Subaru has plenty in stock of both types. WIn!

Glad I didn't take the headlining out! Thanks for posting this vital info guys!

[Mr Bagus]

For anyone who needs the part numbers, they are as follows:

White clip (4 each rail) "Clip 4x25x26" Item # 909130152
Black clip(1 each rail) "Clip 4x25x21" Item # 909130153

Don't ask the price.....

[Greg3.0specb]

Hi Shaheenis, I have to remove the roof rails on my Gen 4, 2007, (MY 2008) 3.0 Spec B Wagon. Reason is I have some rust bubbles forming on the roof along the edge of the rail. It's probably because I live near the coast and I carry a sea kayak on the roof. I expect that some salt water has settled in the gap despite hosing it down after use.

Your post says the rails can be removed without removing the head lining. When you undo the 4 bolts (M250082) the diagram shows there are associated nuts under. Do these not fall off inside the roof space between the head lining and the roof? Once the rails are removed, do the actual brackets that fix the cross bars (91066U) remain in place or can these be removed?

I want to get the rust fixed before it gets too bad and the roof starts to leak. A couple of body shops have told me that the roof lining needs to come out in order to re-spray the roof. However, from you post is seems that may be incorrect.

Appreciate your knowledge and help in understanding how I can best get this fixed..

Thanks

Greg

[Shaheenis]

Greg the hood lining does not need to come out. The brackets for the cross rails also do not need to come off unless of course they are badly rusted. Those brackets are bolted down and use a thick adhesive sealant like demastic so would require prying off if you needed to. Not sure on whether there are nuts on the inside for those but that would make sense. IF you needed to remove those you may be able to drop the sides of the hood lining but never done that on a Gen4.

[Greg3.0specb]

Hi Shaheenis
You are quite correct!
I managed to remove both of the rails. The rails are actually cracked so I need to replace them both. Expensive ?? (P.S. Did you buy new rails locally in Aus., or from overseas?. Spare parts in Aus. are expensive compared to the USA for example) To do it, I removed the 4 machine screws then used a plastic pry to "lift" the rails. The rail effectively "popped" off, leaving the all the plugs intact in the roof, so I assume that I will not get water leaks even though the rails are removed. A number of the white / yellow clips came off with the rail and a number stayed on the plugs, which I then removed. What I did not realise is that the correct way to remove the rail would be to pry up the rail at each end, then slide the rail a few centimetres so that the clips slide off their holders, inside the rail. In some cases the plastic holders inside the rail which hold the clip to the rail has broken away. Anyway, I can see the extent of the rust now and it's not too bad, except under one of the cross rail brackets, which the body shop will remove. Where the cross rail bracket is fixed, there is a shallow hollow in the roof pressing which can collect water. Also, although there is a rubber seal around the edge of the rails where it meets the roof, all that does is hold water in! Water will get in via the roof cross rail access panels. So, I am thinking that once I get the rust fixed and roof resprayed, I will leave the roof rails off so I can fully wash off any salt residue from my kayak outings and then it can also dry out. I think it is a poor design. Would have been better to have the long alloy rails like the Audi, or the Gen 4 Outback, then then water cannot get trapped underneath.

Thanks for all you help! Greg

[Shaheenis]

Greg I agree it isn't the best design. I was worried about cracking the rails when I removed them but luckily I did not. I was however extremely careful search with a plastic pry bar for the clips to apply pressure there. I may have even used two pry bars and to even the pressure and reduce the pry angle if you know what I mean. I actually cleaned, polished and applied a heavy wax to the duco beneath the rail while they were off to help repel water.