I have a pro roof basket and for some reason the other night I was just thinking if I should be worried about covering the screws. I'm using the stock screws from my 19' sr5 since I did the whole butyl and washer route so the original pro basket screws and mounts don't fit.
Am I tripping or is this a legit concern? I couldn't find anything about it on here when searching hence this is my first legit post.

Also testing to see if I'm able to post now

Did you use the rubber washers that came with the stock bolts?

I do not I went with the McMaster's

Why didn’t you just use the TRD Pro rack install kit ? Comes with bolts and washers. But you still need to add the support brackets.

Tried to but it wouldn't fit after the butyl and rubber McMaster washers were on so I just used my old stock ones

Are you worried about them rusting? The heads of the factory screws/bolts are fairly well protected from rust with a coating. Your main worry is moisture getting below the bracket to the threads, then eventually into the head liner. That is the purpose of the washers or silicone sealant to keep moisture out of the threads.

If you are worried about the head of the screws/bolts rusting, then you should get some stainless screws. They are readily available in the Allen socket head to match the factory screws, although the head will be a smaller diameter, so you may want to augment them with some stainless washers.

Precisely, I guess what I'm really trying to ask is:
- Are the stock screws from the oem sr5 rails sufficient/ stainless steel?
- what size are the screws if I need to get new stainless steel ones?
- is there a way to check for moisture without having to take everything off? ( yes that's what she said)

If water is getting in typically your seat belts will get wet or damp after a big rain. Pull the belt as far out as it goes as the ends are what get wet.

In my experience the heads wont rust but the threads will have signs of rust on them. I suspect the bolt isn't rusting but rather the nut in the roof is what rusts if water is getting in.

You are not being OCD- there's a thread on here about a guy who had holes thru his roof, like freakin' daylight holes after he tore off rack then headliner.
There was also lot info about wrong kinda silicon (home depot) that chemically reacts and increased rusting, etc.

A little leak over time could be a big deal.


I redid mine this summer after leak and for shits and giggles just went and checked and sadly front driver seat belt is wet again- guess I know what Im doing tmrw.
Good tips here for sealing things up.

EcoTechne Roof Rack Installation (5th Gen) - Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum

Yea but if you would of used this kit in the first place, you won’t need butyl and rubber washers.

Toyota engineers designed the roof rack to be used with these components, why contest them ?

This is what I did but I didn't put another washer on top just under. So it was screw> rack> washer/ butyl> into screw hole

And Daytona didn't want to risk it, as you can see my overthinking my overthinking got the best of me haha

The stock screws are not stainless, but I have never seen the heads rusted. When I replaced my SR5 rack with the TRD Pro rack, I did see some minor rust on the threads. Most screws/bolts on Toyotas, and other manufactures, are coated with rust inhibitors such as galvanize (zinc), chromate, or anodize (aluminum fasteners).

The size of the screws are standard metric, but they have that flat, Allen socket head fitting. Any hardware store has a gauge to measure the size.

No way to check for moisture without removing the screws.

The factory washers are very thin, and compress when you bolt on the rack. Thus, they should always be replaced with new washers or sealant when removing/replacing any of the fasteners. Some people say not to use silicone sealant, but that is what I used when I put on my new TRD Pro rack. Just be sure to get a quality product.

To prevent the threads from getting rusty, you could put an oil on the threads or use an anti-seize on them. Remember, that even if you replace the screws with stainless, the threaded holes in the roof are still mild steel and will rust if moisture gets to them, that is why you must use good/new washers or sealant.

One other suggestion: go to your dealer and get the installation instructions for the Pro rack. Toyota has all installation instructions in their document library and the dealer can find it using the part number. Sometimes you can find instructions on line, but I was not able to find them.

With the instructions, you can see all the parts and assembly steps needed to insure no moisture gets into the headliner.

I put anti seize on when I installed the pro rack
Thanks for input everyone, I'm thinking I'll keep it the way it is for now and keep an eye on them for now and if I see rust on the heads I'll check it out and replace them if needed
I'm in central Cali so I don't think there's too much to worry about, it's just that I went up north when it was raining and the thought popped up