Enough sealant when installing roof rack?

[jimday1982]

I installed the full-length Prinsu no-drill rack last week and am really impressed with it so far, BUT...a few other threads I've recently read have me concerned that I may not have sealed in and around the existing bolt holes correctly.

What I did was to clean out and around the bolt holes per the instructions. I then set the spacers on top and squeezed a thin layer / circle of Permatex RTV black gasket maker / sealant around the bottom of the spacers. I then set the rack on top of the spacers and snugged the bolts down tight.

I'm beginning to question if I should have also squeezed the sealant INTO the holes, ON TOP of the holes, or ONTO the threads of the bolts like I've read that some others have done. Did I miss this crucial step? Would you remove the rack and do anything differently?

For what it's worth, I've poured a couple gallons of water over all attachment points and haven't seen any signs of leaks (yet), but I'm obviously nervous about taking a hose to it or getting caught in a downpour at this point.

Greatly appreciate any and all advice!

 

[CRB Racing]

My body shop guy told me that silicone will corrode paint and possibly cause problems in the future.
He recommended to use butyl rubber.
You can either get butyl tape or as sound deadening. Put a good amount around the bolt hole, when you tighten the bolt it will squeeze into the threads and seal everything in up.


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[LA260]

I installed the full-length Prinsu no-drill rack last week and am really impressed with it so far, BUT...a few other threads I've recently read have me concerned that I may not have sealed in and around the existing bolt holes correctly.

What I did was to clean out and around the bolt holes per the instructions. I then set the spacers on top and squeezed a thin layer / circle of Permatex RTV black gasket maker / sealant around the bottom of the spacers. I then set the rack on top of the spacers and snugged the bolts down tight.

I'm beginning to question if I should have also squeezed the sealant INTO the holes, ON TOP of the holes, or ONTO the threads of the bolts like I've read that some others have done. Did I miss this crucial step? Would you remove the rack and do anything differently?

For what it's worth, I've poured a couple gallons of water over all attachment points and haven't seen any signs of leaks (yet), but I'm obviously nervous about taking a hose to it or getting caught in a downpour at this point.

Greatly appreciate any and all advice!

I get that your nervous to hose it down and I was in the same situation as you when I installed my Prinsu rack, but that's the only way you're going to find out if it leaks or not. Better off finding out now and fixing the issue than finding out during a downpour.

I used butyl tape and also PTFE on the bolts. Kept the hose on each side for 5 mins and did not notice anything leaking.

At this point I would put the hose on full blast and see if it's leaking. If it's not leaking I would leave it alone.

 

[jimday1982]

I get that your nervous to hose it down and I was in the same situation as you when I installed my Prinsu rack, but that's the only way you're going to find out if it leaks or not. Better off finding out now and fixing the issue than finding out during a downpour.

I used butyl tape and also PTFE on the bolts. Kept the hose on each side for 5 mins and did not notice anything leaking.

At this point I would put the hose on full blast and see if it's leaking. If it's not leaking I would leave it alone.

Agreed re: the hose test. Will give it a go tomorrow afternoon. Wish me luck.

 

[jimday1982]

Well I unexpectedly got an hour back in my day, so decided to take the hose to it.

Let it go full blast on and around each of the attachment points for 5 minutes or so and so far, not noticing any signs of leakage. I'm going to give it a couple hours before I declare complete victory in case some of the water just hasn't worked its way down yet, but so far, this is looking promising.

My very first car turned out to be a salvage title that had obviously been flood damaged and it was SUCH a giant pain in the ass - it's clearly made me hyper sensitive to the possibility of water intrusion.

I'll be sure to update this thread if there are any more developments on this.

 

[fkheath]

The factory knows best. Look at how they install roof racks at the factory. They use a foam washer below the bracket and a fiber washer on the mounting bolts. the hardware with the washers is included in a roof rack delete kit such as: Genuine TOYOTA 4Runner 04-18 and Rav4 06-17 OEM ROOF RACK REMOVAL DELETE KIT | eBay

Look at the installation instructions for a factory roof rack such as PT278-89190. Some of these installation instructions are hard to find on line, but your Toyota dealer can pull up any of them on their data base.

The foam washers that the factory uses are not available separately, so many people use silicon or butyl rubber as recommended above.

Another point, accessories such a a roof rack, are not actually installed at the factory in Japan, rather they are installed at the port of entry after arriving in the US.

 

[keph13]

FWIW I just squirted a fairly significant glob of silicone into the washer before putting the bolts in (as well as setting the washers into a ring of silicone in the first place). I haven't been through too many rain storms, but no leaks thus far.

 

[the_fornicator]

Good ol prinsu. I hate those racks for this whole reason lol No matter how good you do the sealing job, the thought will always haunt you in the back of your mind.

I have dozens of different ways to seal the prinsu rack but they're all long-winded and super painful. The easiest way to seal the prinsu rack is buying entirely new spacers from a different roof rack and jimmy rigging things.

Take a look at these while ignoring the 3 empty holes (pretend they're not there and that it's just a solid block of aluminum with 2 holes): https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/...RKOCd3Esfzua9QhbWww/IMG_1332.jpg?format=1000w

Those are from a place called greenlane offroad. They don't sell these but if you know a fabrication shot that works with aluminum, you could have them make you something. You only need the two holes that bolt directly into your vehicle.

Big ol block of aluminum. You can easily seal the top and bottom with a 1/16" thick sheet of high temp silicone that:
a) sits between your vehicle and the spacer and
b) sits between the spacer and the mounting bracket of the prinsu

Add lots of butyl on top and bottom of the contact surfaces. Use a butt load of loctite on the bolts to seal up the bolt threads that screw into your vehicle.

Bam. Done.

The spacers provided from prinsu blow chunks. It'll indent your roof and/or possibly damage the paint and/or painted sealant along that channel. They'll also act as cups that will hold water until it either dries or finds a pin hole in the silicone and leaks in your cab. Get rid of those and hit up a fabrication shop for properly sized and pre-tapped blocks of aluminum. Hit them with some of your own spray paint if you want.

 

[keph13]

Good info! Mine is a 2010 living in the Northeast, so I'm mostly worried about gross leakage and less concerned with cosmetics The next one I'll be more particular about!

 

[Mudballz]

Yes I am liking this thread I added a pro rack to my truck and developed a leak into the drivers seat belt pillar the water dries out after I leave the windows open so I think I will have to re-seal my roof bolts again
:tea:Mike

 

[jimday1982]

FWIW I just squirted a fairly significant glob of silicone into the washer before putting the bolts in (as well as setting the washers into a ring of silicone in the first place). I haven't been through too many rain storms, but no leaks thus far.

So, I continued to stew over this last night and ran over to AutoZone and purchased a tube of Permatex combination thread locker and sealant.

I unbolted all eight of the primary bolts, and like you, pushed a good-sized glob of the RTV silicone down in the bolt holes and coated the bolt threads in the thread locker / sealant before reinstalling.

Going to give it a few days to fully cure and then heading to the car wash to see how it goes.

 

[jimday1982]

Just to keep this thread updated in case it's helpful to others, we ended up getting caught in a torrential downpour for about 90 minutes yesterday afternoon and I'm happy to report that even after waiting and thoroughly checking a few hours later: no leaks!

Again, I'll keep this thread updated as needed.

 

[Hammer0313]

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