Question- 3rd Gen 4Runner Roof Rack Rehab

[markeike]

I removed my roof racks and rear air deflector to give them a thorough cleaning and/or repainting, and like a bonehead, I neglected to take notice of how the square track nuts go back into the track when I took everything apart.

There are 4 nuts that retain the two raised cross-bars, and 6 nuts that retain the 3 bars that are mounted flat against the roof. The little plastic spring nut carriers for the two types are slightly different, but my best guess is that for both types, the curved surface of the nut should point upward, and the plastic carriers should be on the bottom providing protection for the sharp points and allowing the nuts to slide in the track without digging into the metal.

If I am correct, the result is that the springs for the raised cross members are on the top and force the nut downwards, while the springs for the flat bars are on the bottom and force those nuts upwards.

Anyway, I'd appreciate it if anyone out there could take a look at their roof rack and clue me in on how they should be reinstalled. Please take a look at the photos and see if they look right. In both images, the nut for the raised cross-bars is on the left, and the nut for the flat bars is on the right.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Mark, if nobody gets a chance to respond to you I'll unscrew mine tomorrow and tell you the answer. Too late tonight...

 

[markeike]

Well, nobody is replying. I probably should have attached one of those "question" icons on my original post but I'm not sure how to. Any chance that you check yours in the next few days? I'd appreciate it. Thanks.


Yay! I figured out the "question" icon. Still don't know how to bold the title. Looks like everyone else knows how to though. :-(


I spoke too soon. The icon isn't showing up on the main 3rd gen page. Oh well. :-( :-(

 

[markeike]

I just realized that the raised crossbars are threaded into the track so you'd need to remove the tracks to see how those nuts are mounted. Forget that!

On the other hand the flat bars that sit flush with the roof are not captured in the track. You just need to unscrew one of the little bolts with the tie-down features on top and lift the cross bar a few inches. (In fact, you may want to remove them yourself as they prevent rainwater from draining off the roof.)

Anyway, I'm begging for help on this! If someone out there can take ten seconds and pop one of their flat bars off and let me know if the points on the curved nut are pointing up or down, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks!

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Okay, that picture up above you have? The one on the right is the flat bars and it is upside down as to how it sits in the track. Ergo the black square retainer sits facing the sky.

I took a pic of mine. If you PM me your cell # I can shoot you the pic if you need me to.

As to removing them, the rails have weep holes and will drain water. I do however remove mine when I wax the vehicle as they do collect dust underneath so I make sure to clean under them and then wax under them when I do the roof.

 

[markeike]

Hmmm. That seems odd. I went to the Toyota dealership used lot today and although they didn't have a 3rd Gen 4Runner on the lot, they had a Honda Pilot with exactly the same roof racks (except the end caps had screws in them. Oddly enough, my roof has plastic nuts in exactly those positions that are un-used since my endcaps do not have the screws). My racks came with my 4Runner when I bought it new in '98 so I assumed they were Toyota brand, but I guess they were OEM from a third party.

Anyway, I pulled the flat bar and it had the curved point facing up as you describe (I assume to dig into the rack), however the plastic glides were on the bottom (I assume to slide easily when positioning without metal to metal contact). Are you sure the plastic was on top of, and hiding the metal nut? It seems like when you tightened the bolt down, it would lift the sharp edges of the nut into the top surface of the rack and cut right through the thin plastic glide, No?

Anyway, maybe I'm not getting this. I'll PM you my email and cell in a few. Thanks very much. I really appreciate this!

 

[Blitzkrieg]

I sent you the picture.

 

[markeike]

Blitzkrieg - Thanks very much for the picture. It was very helpful.

Although that is what your flat bars are attached to, what you picture looks exactly like the nut that my raised cross bars are attached to, while my flat bar nuts look completely different. I suspect that your rack has all 10 nuts of the same configuration, while mine has a different plastic glides for the flat bar nuts. Installing my flat bar nuts with the plastic up would allow the nuts to cut right thru the plastic springs on the glide.

Thanks again. I'm getting closer. At least now I know for sure how the raised cross nuts are to be installed, and I suspect I know how the flat bar nuts are installed.