Gross roof racks

[PRG3K]

I was disassembling my factory roof racks off my ‘98 to paint since the factory paint had flaked off all the way down to the bare steel.

The rails were packed so tight with crap that the threaded inserts barely wanted to move. When I punched the last rails out the end I half expected a flock of bats to fly out.

That’s what 20 years of detritus looks like.

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[iszT4R]

Oh man, now i gotta go check mine!

 

[Ghostrider]

I pulled mine off at about 11 years to powder coat but had nothing like that. As an fyi - unless they changed again - Toyota does not make the gasket kit for the bolts. Yours may be gone but there was a fiber washer between the mounting plate and the roof. I used some rubber grommets from Lowe's and sealed everything with silicone caulk. Too late to mention but be careful with the end caps - they are not cheap unless you have a junkyard near. And make sure you put the cross racks going the correct direction or you have to pull the end caps again:jump:

 

[xdustin]

Had to take mine off for the rocky mountain rack and mine had a fair amount of debris packed in there as well. Also impressed with how dirty it was under the crossbars laying on the roof (not the big ones). I still need to get up there and clean it up a little better, but figure most people won't be seeing the top of the 4runner, lol

 

[HappyHooligan]

I did that last week and found a bit of stuff in there myself. I also had the opportunity to wax the whole top! Since it's only done every 18 years, you might want to do that also. I put silicone in every hole also as I tightened it all back down.

It looks 100% better all painted up again.

 

[Mudeprived]

I had the rear most end piece fall off and did not notice it till i saw water stains on the headliner. Make sure you guys seal up those screws and holes very well.

 

[octanejunkie]

WTF is that square push-plug thingie under the rear cap, it's a huge hole in the roof!

 

[HappyHooligan]

WTF is that square push-plug thingie under the rear cap, it's a huge hole in the roof!

I was wondering that myself? I just filled it with silicone before I re-attached everything. I looked and thought maybe some little piece fell out when I took it apart but I was sure I got every part.

 

[JZiggy]

My roof rack was making compost when I bought the truck.

 

[PRG3K]

Thankfully I didn’t lose anything. The hardest part was getting the end caps off and then back into place those effers are in there tight.


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[HappyHooligan]

Thankfully I didn’t lose anything. The hardest part was getting the end caps off and then back into place those effers are in there tight.


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No, there is an actual square hole in the roof under the end caps. Nothing was in mine.

 

[RPMFAB]

We see this weekly on installs, even newer racks have a ton of build up and compost happening...