Destroyed Factory Roof Mounting Locations
- Thread starter OutBreak
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Heavy_GD
New member
All of these things, I'll grab the
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kenwilliams0803
New member
Well what else can you do there, do you have any other suggestions? Cut a whole roof off of another vehicle and weld it on? Weld patches? I don't see either of those as a viable alternative so you either drive it until the rust perforations create so much mold that it's a health hazard, then scrap it (the honorable thing to do), or you dump it for cheap now. Perhaps it's fixable but it doesn't look like it to me.
I have never sold or traded in a vehicle with issues like this but I'm not sure what else can be done here. Send it to auction and the buyer that gets it cheap gets it cheap for a reason. Happens all the time. More often than I'd like to think. Probably no worse than a previously flooded vehicle.
Its one thing to trade it in while being up front about the damage.
One could probably bondo it, respray the section and trade it in which is highly screwed up to do.
Cutting the roof off and welding in a new roof would fix the problem but would be a pretty costly solution. Might be able to find a junkyard and weld in new roof sections as well but i'm not sure how well that would go.
Surprisingly a new roof isn't that expensive but the body shop hourly rate would be: Roof & Components for 2013 Toyota 4Runner | Camelback Toyota Parts
Charlievee
Senior Member
Learn how to weld.
kenwilliams0803
New member
Would the roof skin alone like that even be enough? I'd think you would have to replace all the parts the rust is creeping into as well.
spartacus
Senior Member
Whats done is done.If you trade it in or sell it (be upfront). you probably wont get much for it.Take it to a body shop that deals with classic restoration and ask them to evaluate it and see what it costs. If you can afford it get it fixed and make it your forever vehicle or cut your losses and move on. In either case it's going to be costly.
scionicboom
Member
I really want a rack, but this got me scared as he!! now. Did you see any damage to the inside headliner at all that would indicate any issues? I would assume with that much damage that you should have started see water issues in the headliner or at the inside starting to smell all the time.
Also, is there a reason that you removed the rack multiple times in the past? I had a rack on my last 4runner for over 6 years (parked outside) and never once thought about removing the rack once it was already up there.
Also, is there a reason that you removed the rack multiple times in the past? I had a rack on my last 4runner for over 6 years (parked outside) and never once thought about removing the rack once it was already up there.
In the pictures it appears the inside of the roof is scraped away as if a grinder was used on it. The bolts and brackets also appear to be a mis-matched set. Did you have to drill new holes and such for the full length rack? If so, did you repaint the cut metal to protect it or just seal with permatex?
Classy.
Screw over some poor sucker that might be foolish enough to believe that some people still have ethics...
my overall point is that parts available and reasonable cheap for this fix. The real $$ is going to come from a body shop doing the work though.
I want to know how the owner didn't notice his vehicle leaking though. It clearly wasn't sealed to begin with and had to leak A LOT during rain.
Hans Moleman
New member
This is why I don't want to mess with my roof rack or install a new one. The factory installed one is probably the best you can get at having proper sealing.
OutBreak
New member
All of these things, I'll grab the
I am going to try and answer some of the questions and responses to the thread.
I bought the truck brand new in 2014 and half of its life garage kept in San Diego. The next half was in Hawaii not garage kept, the issue both places is I was frequently gone often so the vehicle sat static for periods of 6-7 months.
The roof was line-X in 2016 when I got to HI as well as the rack (1 of the times I took the rack off, I can't remember why I removed it the 2nd time). I never saw any indications of the roof leaking and never had water coming in. I deployed several times from HI and the vehicle was left outside for long periods of time. I assume had there been water leaking, it would have been apparent when I returned with either mold, foul smells or some sort of sign, but there were none. The photos posted are of the top of one mount with one bolt in and one out and the inside of the same mount, as well as the headliner(excuse how dirty). My intent in the photos is to show it did not really show signs or indications, not like you would expect with the amount of rust
The original photos I took were after I did some scrubbing of the area and some of the bolts were different due to the sale of the rack I also gave up the original hardware, so I put something to place hold until I can get more factory bolts.
For those concerned about an aftermarket rack I assure you this was pretty much self-induced. Had I sealed properly and regularly checked the seals this probably wouldn't have happened, also the factor the truck sat static for periods of time allowing water to soak in didn't help.
I don't really plan on selling it, I'm going to figure something out. I will probably hit a pick-in-pull or something to try and pull the sections I need. I have no idea or experience how to weld but I do have youtube. I love this truck and very much love not having a car payment. The truck is also in great mechanical shape I barely broke 60,000 miles a couple of days ago. Hopefully, this just serves as a reminder to CHECK YOUR SEALS!!
On the upside, I'm stoked this post has over 2,000 views and a ton of comments ..lol
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Jetboy
New member
That's kinda remarkable how badly it rusted. I have pieces of raw steel that I've left outside longer than that - just raw mild steel sheets - and they look better. The rate of rust is similar to some hardware I've taken off the underside of mine that look worse than bolts on my 1974 FJ40 that lives in the same climate. I think Toyota has some real problems with metallurgy. If you had sand blasted the roof entirely - I'd still expect it to take a decade or more to actually rust through the metal. Strangely the places I've actually scratched through the paint on mine to the metal - there's no rust at all. Not even an orange color on the bare metal. I assume there must be a galvanic protection coat applied to most of the body panels.
Over the LINE
New member
Just a guess but was the rack still in really good shape like not corroded at all? Was the metal of the rack directly touching the metal of the roof maybe where paint had worn off? Factory racks have a rubber or plastic spacer and I'm sure factory bolts are chosen specifically to avoid a dissimilar metals issue. Your rack I'm guessing did not have a spacer and or the hardware was a dissimilar metal. Again just guessing.
Galvanic action occurs when two electrochemically dissimilar metals are in contact and a conductive path occurs for electrons and ions to move from one metal to the other. One metal corrodes as its ions are deposited onto the other metal. ... Cathodes are noble, or stable, metals that are not prone to corrosion.
If I'm correct, your roof acted similar to a zinc anode on a boat prop shaft or the zinc outer coating of a galvanized steel beam. It sacrificed itself protecting your roof rack.
Galvanic action occurs when two electrochemically dissimilar metals are in contact and a conductive path occurs for electrons and ions to move from one metal to the other. One metal corrodes as its ions are deposited onto the other metal. ... Cathodes are noble, or stable, metals that are not prone to corrosion.
If I'm correct, your roof acted similar to a zinc anode on a boat prop shaft or the zinc outer coating of a galvanized steel beam. It sacrificed itself protecting your roof rack.
Jetboy
New member
It definitely seems like it could be a galvanic corrosion process given the speed of the corrosion. Probably depends on the rack material. Aluminum is normally the anode - so the aluminum gets eaten not the steel. That rack was mild steel. So you could have either the bolts or the rack that's a cathode compared to the body panel that's made of ???.
I like to use clear-bra strips to isolate things like this from the body. Easy to install. Low profile. And very inexpensive. I keep a small roll in my garage and some "stickers" in my 4Runner. Then if I need to run a tie down or whatever that might rub on the paint - I just pop a sticker on there while I need it and peel it off and throw away when I'm done.
As far as fixing this goes - I'd probably use fiberglass myself. If done right it'll be as strong as the steel that was there, and you can do it without the heat and welding issues on a finished interior of your 4Runner.
I like to use clear-bra strips to isolate things like this from the body. Easy to install. Low profile. And very inexpensive. I keep a small roll in my garage and some "stickers" in my 4Runner. Then if I need to run a tie down or whatever that might rub on the paint - I just pop a sticker on there while I need it and peel it off and throw away when I'm done.
As far as fixing this goes - I'd probably use fiberglass myself. If done right it'll be as strong as the steel that was there, and you can do it without the heat and welding issues on a finished interior of your 4Runner.
OPs name is sure fitting for the subject.
Maybe you can cut a large portion off the roof and be the first 5th gen to look like a 1st gen 4Runner convertible top?
What ever you do to repair or salvage the roof, please keep us updated with pics.
Full tube frame with a custom soft top? If OP is still in Hawaii then it would be a great setup!
Similar to this suburban, bout shaped to better hold the 4Runner body lines Buy used 1986 Chevrolet k10 Suburban Convertible Go Topless Custom Build 4x4 Bad to Bone in Sarasota, Florida, United States, for US $10,000.00
This. Sadly, it's not too hard to imagine that people would do such a thing. I hope you are above such dishonesty. Especially since you admit to at least being somewhat responsible. Imagine being the guy that bought it without knowing.
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