I was trying to move my crossbars on the roofrack today and I was not able to losen all of the screws by hand. I was able to losen 4 out of the 8 screws by hand. How do you unscew the crossbars on the 4th gen roofracks? What tool can I use that would not scratch anything? I tried very hard by hand but it just kept ripping my finger apart. Thanks!

Are you trying to remove them or just move them? If you are only moving them, no screws need to be removed, just loosen (by hand) the 4 black plastic wing-nuts on each cross bar.

I am trying to move them. A couple of the wingnuts seems to be stuck and will not move. I have gotten some to losen, but around two will not budge.

Mine certainly are not that tight. Maybe you could try placing the tip of a screwdriver on the edge of the wingnut and gently tap the screwdriver with a hammer to see if that will loosen it.

Sorry I can add anything else.

i had same problem....i used a set of vice grips, but wrapped the wing nuts with a cloth first to avoid scratching...i just clamped on to two of the wings with the grips, and gently nudged it until they came loose.

Taking this one step further....

I will be wanting to remove the crossbars on the roof rack to install a Thule rack system - how does one go about removing the cross bars alltogether???

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If the Thule rack is like the Yakima, where it clamps over the factory rack and the rack mounts pull inward, I would not remove the factory cross bars and they reduce or remove the side pressure exerted from the aftermarket rack. You might want to seek advise from Thule.

As you can see above, I have a Thule rack. With the factory crossbars still in place things were a little crowded up there so I removed them to decrease windnoise and allow access to the roof for cleaning, etc. The rack remains solid and the roof is much more accessable.

To remove the crossbars, one pair of the end caps need to be removed. It's not hard, but it's a little scary because they fit so tight that it's possible to mar or break them. I had one of the mechanics at my dealer show me how to do it and he chipped the first one before he got it loose - (yes, they ordered me another one )

There are four lugs on the bottom flange of the endcap, two on the inside and two on the outside, that engage with the mounting plate that's bolted to the roof. Spreading the bottom of the cap, starting at the end that straddles the bar, will release them, but they do fit tight! When all four have been released the end of the cap can be raised and now you'll find that the end that is over the bar is clipped in a hole through the bar. By rotating the end of the cap upward the clip will release.

Once the caps are off, there are pieces of rubber that slide out of the grooves in the rails and the crossbars will slide out. Then just replace the rubber strips ans pop the caps in place and you're good to go!

Good luck and let me know if there's anything I didn't cover.

Just yesterday I had to loosten a few stuck ones ... I used a rag to cover the plastic handles and a large pair of adjustible pliers like this.

Good luck.

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Today I had time to work on my roofrack. My first try in loosening the wingnuts was to use the rubber grip that is used to open jars and try turning the wingnut using that. To my surprise, it worked like a gem. I was planning on spending at least 20 minutes trying to figure out a way to loosen these things. I just put the rubber grip around the wingnut, and it went. I did not even have to muscle it. It took so quick that I had time to get all of the glue stains off of my roof. For some reason, when the dealer prepped my truck, they totally forgot about removing the lines of glue on the roof.

Good thinkin'

I used the rubber grips that are used to open jars too when I needed to move my rack in March. Works like a charm!

Dan

I would add to ckon's removal info what I think is an ideal removal tool. Metal vegetable skewers. They're long, thin, and strong enough to do the job. My thinnest screw driver still seemed too thick and in danger of cracking the rail cap.

I took off the rear caps to remove my cross bars. I worked one skewer down the outside (closest to you) base of the cap. Once you get it worked to the end, pry back and forth a bit to feel both tabs pop loose. Leaving that skewer in place, I worked a second one down the inside edge of the cap. I was only able to get the first tab to pop out here. Work the cap a bit so that the outside edge rises up a bit so it can't reengage it's slots. Remove the oustide skewer. Next takes a bit of force...working upwards and inwards to try to pop that last inside tab. Remember there's also a tab from the cap into the rail itself, so you want to pivot around the rail.

For my troubles, the first cap came off clean, but bloodied my nose...yes I was leaning over my work. The second, I broke the top rail tab off the cap. Both caps snapped back on fine, but they're a bit looser than they were before. Right now, I don't think it'll be a problem.

My dealer was useless. I asked if they could show me the roof rack installation manual so I could get a better idea of how to remove the end caps. Claimed there wasn't one. Funny, the roof rack is listed as accessory for those that didn't get one factory installed. Surely there must be an installation manual.


Brent

Got it....I did break the inside rear anchor of each end cap, but the crossrails slipped right out. The end caps still fit fine, but I'll order new ones.

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I am trying to remove my cross rails on my 2006, and am having trouble following the directions here (I'm installing a JAOS basket and leaving the factory cross rails in place leaves it really busy with lots of wind noise).

Does the below apply to the 4th gen, or are there directions for that?

TIA
Al

Thanks Brent and CKON, i'm going to try this tonight and see how it works. I rob