Roof rails leaking. How do I remove?

[Baird_43]

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[NRV155]

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But can they get those damn rails off?

[Shaheenis]

LOl that was random wasn't it. Seriously though if you need help/advice on removing let me know and I will explain it is not that hard and I have photos somewhere. You need to be careful not to break them but takes 10m to remove both.

[nedkelly]

Hi Mate, i would love to see some photo's or instructions on how to do this. I have to do it this weekend ans the roof racks i purchased from Thule crushed the rails on my wagon. I have new rails ready to go on but pretty nervous about tackling this blind. Would love some pointers/pictures if anyone can help?

[Shaheenis]

You are in luck, I have some pictures which I will post tonight as I just did this again recently.

• Basically you need to remove the inspection panels being careful not to scratch the paint. My suggestion is a very small flat blade screwdriver with some masking tap to cover the metal.
  
• Once removed, undo a single securing bolt from each panel.
  
• Once removed, grab the rail with your finger tips on the inside of the rail and your thumbs on the outside as levers with you hands about 30cm apart.
  
• Roll the rail back towards you being careful to apply even pressure. Do this along the length of the rail.
  
  NOTE: The risk is that you crack the rail if you roll one end to much while clips are still attached on other sections so you need to try and loosen the whole rail evenly. There are around 7 clips either side evenly spaced. Start at the front of vehicle.

There are clips and plugs (seals). The clips seat in the plugs and in my experience the plugs will remain stick to the car, leave them this way unless you want more work ahead of you. If the plugs do lift, I have assumed they will leak and have cleaned down both surfaces and stuck them back down with a water proof adhesive sealant (I used Subaru 3-bond grey). Wait for it to fully dry before attempting to reseat roof rail of you risk breaking the seal and water will pour into your hood lining as the holes sit in the natural water channel on the roof.

I strongly suggest doing this when you can store your vehicle under cover as until you put the rails back on, the roof will not be weather sealed.

It is not a hard job at all despite how I make it sound. Good luck.

[nedkelly]

Brilliant and tbanks. Would love some images. My rails are cracked be ause thule spe ified a roof rack that soesnt suit the car. I dont need to be careful getting them off but not knowing how the new ones go back on as i cant see tbe way it is assembled worries me. I am hopi g it slides on or so.ething? I can see the 4 screws to take off but that is as much as i know.

[nedkelly]

So if i take the cracked rails off that are on there now off, will it let in water? I was just fiddling with the passenger side rail and broke the clip holing the front down, it looks like one of those barbed press-in things is still pushed into a retaining thingy in the roof but one of the wings off the T has snapped off so it doesnt hold the rail down firmly any more. The wife has taken the car out now and it is pissing down, is it going to let in water? I havent got the replacement rails yet as Thule ordered the wrong parts in an attempt to right their wrong.

wish i could publically flog the knob at Thule who recons their racks fit ono the mounting points without any dramas! This has been going on for 2 months now.

[Shaheenis]

If it just that clip then it shouldn't leak but your new rails will hopefully come with new clips, I have no idea which bits they come with. I have found the clips are extremely difficult to release so 2 out of the 3 parts stay permanently attached to the rails on my car. I am uploading some pics now and you will see 3 parts, lets call them: a) seals, b) plugs and c) clips. The clips are the bit it sounds like you have broken one of. The plugs on mine stay clipped into the clips so when I pull them off the seals stay behind and the plug slips out of the seal. The plug does not need to stick to the seal, it actually sits on it and around it to create a water seal. It is the seal that you don't want to pull away from the roof (which it probably will) as then there is no raised area preventing water ingress as it runs past. Having the seal in place provides some protection from water flowing. Having the plugs inserted into the seals is what seals it off but you need to put the rail on to do that (as the plugs are attached to the clips in the rails). This will make more sense when you see the pics and see in person. I will PM you my mobile. Call me tomorrow if you need advice.

This shows the roof with rails removed. On my car the second one from the front on both sides had the clip plug stuck in the seal. Almost like this one is meant to stay:


Close-up of seals. There are 14 in total, 7 each side including two smaller ones each side, one for each end. The seal actually fits INSIDE the base of the plug.



Close-up of plug on seal and just seal stuck to roof:


Roof rail showing the white clips and the plugs that clip into the 'clips'. Note the green and pink work the same way despite look a bit different. The green ones are just the smaller size for each end:


What you want is for the whole rail to come off such that the plugs slip out and off the seals and stay attached to the rails while the seals stay attached to the car. To remove the plugs from the clips you would end up breaking the clips unless there is something I have missed. You shouldn't need to replace anything unless they are broken. The clips do slide out of the rail (so you could replace them).

Good luck.

Cheers,

[nedkelly]

Cheers mate i really appreciate your help. Do you reckon i should order all new plugs also? Are they likely to come unstuck and if so are the new ones self adhesive?

[Shaheenis]

PIcs and more comments added above.

[nedkelly]

Mate i cant thank you enough. That has explained it perfectly. Assuming the new rails i will buy come with clips but not plugs or seals do you think i will need to but 14 new plugs or chances are they come fitted to the clips? How about the seals, should i buy all 14 or do you reckon they will stay stuck? Have you bought new seals before, and are they self adhesive - how do they stick to the roof and if not self adhesive what is strong enough to do the job?

[Shaheenis]

Ned,
I can't see how you can break one of the plugs or seals so you shouldn't need to replace them, clips may be a different story, we have all broken the wing of a clip before that is why I was avoiding trying to pull them apart. I did try but gave up. I used an old toothbrush and CT18 (or other general purpose cleaner) to give the seals a clean. I am not sure how the seals originally sealed to the roof as mine had been pulled off by a previous owner. I suspect either a)they were stuck down with a thin adhesive or b) no adhesive at all and the system is designed to keep them in there. I actually suspected that the way to re-install them is to clip the plugs into the clips as mine are in the rails and then to insert the clean seals into the base of the plugs and then when you fit the rail to the roof the little barbs on the end of the plug clip into the hole in the roof and hold it down with a pressure seal. I say this because I saw no sign of adhesive when I first pulled mine off but it may have been clear and very thin. I took the precaution of sticking them down. I did this after cleaning the seals and roof holes (IPA is good / Isocol or wax and grease remove) and drying so I would get a good seal. If you do this, don't use excess product, just smear a small amount around the base of the seal and carefully put it into place such that it lines up perfectly with the hole as once it dries, the plug needs to push down through the seal and the hole. As mentioned before if you use this method let it dry to full cure before re-inserting plugs. My advice if the seals remain firmly stuck, just leave those ones alone. Only go through the process above for ones that have peeled up a bit or off all together. They won't be disturbed when you re-install, only when you remove.
Cheers,

[nedkelly]

Thanks mate, you have been more help than you will ever know! I am still waiting for the rails to be delivered, not available till mid June so i will tackle the job then. I can now get into it with a little more confidence. Looking at the schematic of what Subaru will supply i think all i am getting is the rails. Hopefully the plugs and roof clip things (stuck on the roof) are still usable.

[nedkelly]

Well finally got around to sorting it this morning. Was all going well until the front pushin rtainer wouldnt come out so i drilled it out carefully but managed to put a small hole in the "tub" seal which sucks the big one! Shoved some silicone in there and now i have everything crossed hoping to chrost ot doesnt leak into the car. The other side was so simple but i am hoping this one doesnt leave me with a water stained hood lining.

[Shaheenis]

I don't think that will cause a problem. The first time I had the issue the side of my hood lining was almost dripping wet and the a-pillar trim was saturated. It all dried out without any staining whatsoever using a chamois, a fan and water absorbers.