Roof rack help

[jpeth1]

I am also trying to put a roof rack on my 97 Limited. The roof already has the rubber strips on either side, which leads me to believe that there was a roof rack on it at one time or another. I am wondering if I can put an aftermarket rack on these without having to drill any new holes. I called my local toyota dealership and they told me that the original racks were no longer available for the 97's. Any ideas??

Thanks,

John

 

[lee]

yes you can. you need to buy feet and crossbars.

the feet are what goes into the tracks, the crossbars are... the rack

if you have any more questions let me know, i did all this crap recently.

btw, ill let you know from now that youre going to need a 3/4" drive wrench and a star bit... i cant remember what size.

 

[jpeth1]

Any suggestestions as to which feet and crossbars to buy and where to buy them from online?

Thanks again,

John

 

[ErikJeanna]

btw, ill let you know from now that youre going to need a 3/4" drive wrench and a star bit... i cant remember what size.

Lee's right... you will need a tool that is not that "basic" in order to get the end caps off. The "star bit" Lee speaks of is actually a Torx screwdriver and the size is T25. At least it is on my '98. My Surco Urban rack required a 15/32" socket for the brackets and a phillips head screwdriver as well.

Hope this helps.

 

[jpeth1]

I do not actually have the tracks, just rubber strips in place of where the tracks should be?

 

[lee]

I do not actually have the tracks, just rubber strips in place of where the tracks should be?

ohhhhhhh... that could be a problem. you need to get the stock tracks in first. im not sure about that process unfortunately.

as for feet and crossbars, i like my surco ones, but you can get thule's or something as well. theyre all about the same price, but i think surco's might be slightly cheaper

 

[neliconcept]

you can either get tracks and put a rack on or you can get gutter towers from yakima that would fit over the rain gutters above your doors.

either way its going to cost you about a good 199 dollars for everything from yakima and about the same from thule

surfco is probablly like 150.. but their bars are different and you wouldnt be able to use bike racks and snowboard racks that i am aware of.. yakima has a lot for them but usually their name is more money.

 

[ErikJeanna]

A picture is worth a thousand words... take some photos of what you have on your roof and we can help you out better.

 

[lee]

surfco is probablly like 150.. but their bars are different and you wouldnt be able to use bike racks and snowboard racks that i am aware of.. yakima has a lot for them but usually their name is more money.

nope they have attachments for bike, snowboard and ski as well.

 

[neliconcept]

didnt know that.

very cool.

personally i love my yakima rack but id rather have tracks to put them on in case i wanted to take em off easily.

get the tracks first dude or you might have to have it somewhat stuck to the roof for a bit.

 

[DblA]

I've got a similar situation on my '01...just the rubber roof strips. Are the factory tracks the only option for something that would mount to the pre-existing holes? Anybody know a good place to get those? Thanks.

 

[mastodonj]

jpeth

I had the exact same situation with my
96 4Runner

1. Your dealer is wrong unless things
have changed in the last 6 months. I'd
check with 1sttoyotaparts.com also. I bought the rails from the dealer for $75.
They fit perfectly in the holes left after
removing the black plastic strips that
you mentioned.

2. For Yakima, you need "Control
Towers" which used to be called "Rail Riders".
I purchased all four for $45 on ebay.
I got new Yakima bars for $40 on craigslist.

3. Total: $160 for a complete top quality
rack.