I finally found a local used rack on craigslist for $30. It was flaking paint so I got Marine on it, taking it apart to clean everything. That's when I broke one of the plastic end caps. (Welcome to the club...)
Then I got out the drill with the wire brush. Don't do that. It leaves animal-like scratches that are a b*tch to smooth out. Plus, it'll run off like an angry badger and start wire brushing your leg or hand.
So, I sand papered the rest and put on a coat or two of Duplicolor black primer, then Duplicolor Semi-Gloss (which is really Satin). [Note: on the Semi-Gloss it says if you wait more than 10-30 minutes after the last coat that you have to wait a week for it to cure. WTF?]
Anyway, it all came together in my haphazard way and I had to fix the broken plastic end cap. I called the dealer; $32 for a set of two, two business days, pre-pay... Not a terrible deal, but any self-respecting 4Runner owner would try to come up with a way to fix it.
With the smallest drill bit, I put two holes in the end cap where the little screw hole arm broke off. Then, I fed some wire into both holes leaving a loop where the screw hole was and twisted the ends on the other side. Presto! Something for the screw to hold onto. And I'm really sorry I didn't take pictures but, really, who thinks a wire fix on an end cap is picture worthy?
Perhaps this is the least significant 'mod' possible.
Then I got out the drill with the wire brush. Don't do that. It leaves animal-like scratches that are a b*tch to smooth out. Plus, it'll run off like an angry badger and start wire brushing your leg or hand.
So, I sand papered the rest and put on a coat or two of Duplicolor black primer, then Duplicolor Semi-Gloss (which is really Satin). [Note: on the Semi-Gloss it says if you wait more than 10-30 minutes after the last coat that you have to wait a week for it to cure. WTF?]
Anyway, it all came together in my haphazard way and I had to fix the broken plastic end cap. I called the dealer; $32 for a set of two, two business days, pre-pay... Not a terrible deal, but any self-respecting 4Runner owner would try to come up with a way to fix it.
With the smallest drill bit, I put two holes in the end cap where the little screw hole arm broke off. Then, I fed some wire into both holes leaving a loop where the screw hole was and twisted the ends on the other side. Presto! Something for the screw to hold onto. And I'm really sorry I didn't take pictures but, really, who thinks a wire fix on an end cap is picture worthy?
Perhaps this is the least significant 'mod' possible.
