Roof Rack Mounting point broken

[Ma_Teo]

Welp... I feel like this is going to be a really painful fix. No idea how this happened, I was tightening the last nut for my light bar mount (Using OEM nut it came with) and no tighter than the rest..... BOOM, snapped in half. Didn't even feel really right :| I'm going to say it was over torqued, but didnt feel like it was when I was tightening.

So the question is, are there any easy fixes or is this going to cost an arm and a leg? Looks like the metal plate holding the bolts are welded on.


Here are pictures of the damage:

Any advice/help with this would be appreciated

Why not just have it welded back on. The break is at a pretty low point. It shouldn't interfere with you roof rack or other accessory. Just an idea.
On similar note, what is the special bolt called that works with that screw? I got a roof rack and those were missing.

Sponsored

 

[Jpdisco]

Welp... I feel like this is going to be a really painful fix. No idea how this happened, I was tightening the last nut for my light bar mount (Using OEM nut it came with) and no tighter than the rest..... BOOM, snapped in half. Didn't even feel really right :| I'm going to say it was over torqued, but didnt feel like it was when I was tightening.

So the question is, are there any easy fixes or is this going to cost an arm and a leg? Looks like the metal plate holding the bolts are welded on.


Here are pictures of the damage:

Any advice/help with this would be appreciated

Did you talk with your dealer about if it’s covered under warranty? I installed a new rack and RTT today and the same thing happened.

 

[Oaklandoverland]

Did you talk with your dealer about if it’s covered under warranty? I installed a new rack and RTT today and the same thing happened.

I had issue as well….didn’t snap but one bolt seemed cross threaded over factory paint when I removed it. Putting new rack on, put on factory bolt…and it spun and got stuck in place. These are tiny bolts that seem super weak so just leaving it. Just be super careful with these things.

 

[Oaklandoverland]

After reading this, I was super careful when installing my new light bar. I was pretty surprised to see how small the studs are and I’m a lot less confident they could support any kind of load if I ever used them for a roof rack.

Anyway, the instructions said to torque the nuts to 7.7 ft lbs. sure enough, at about 6 ft lbs one of the nuts started getting easier to turn. I backed it off and the threads were stripped clean. I guess I can get it rethreaded but hopefully Ford will acknowledge these studs are practically made of silly putty and come up with a fix.

Did ford warranty for you? How u fixed?

 

[Br0nc0_Badlands_Sasquatch]

I have the same issue, and so far it seems Ford will NOT cover this under the warranty. Not for me at least.

 

[jbacon47]

Same thing almost happened to my Bronco. One of the nuts wouldn’t tighten to spec, either the stud was spinning free or the stud was stretching out. Glad mine didn’t break, but I’m sure it was close. I left it on very loose.. Not too confident about the strength of my roof rack though. Seems so simple, why would ford use such small cheap metal studs

 

[Loughmasta]

For anyone looking for a update. Ford approved the Warranty, sent parts immediately and it went to the body shop. Body shop took about a day to repair. No damage to my vinyl or the screen protection I had on the windshield from the tack welds.

The plate requires 4 tack welds to be put back in place.

Results:

Do you happen to have the invoice of the repair with part numbers that were used?

 

[ATugz]

Hearing more of these stories sadly.

Ford warrantied the issue! It's going to a body shop to get repaired luckily. Will let you guys know how that goes, hopefully won't require to much work... But who knows.

How did you convince Ford to warranty this? I just had the same issue while installing a light bar and according to Ford Motor Co, this problem isn’t covered under the bumper to bumper warranty. We only have 22k miles on our bronco and are being told we have to pay for our stud to be replaced

 

[C6ZZGT]

Do you happen to have the invoice of the repair with part numbers that were used?

M2DZ-78537A48-A

 

[texasteven]

I just broke two of my studs on the same side today trying to install a lightbar, hopefully the dealership will cover it under warranty, only for 2200 miles on my 2025 Bronco.. ugh if they don’t, not sure how to put the cap back on if they don’t cover it.

 

[swamp2]

Looks like an obvious place for an enhanced part. Thinking out loud:

A thicker plate, combined with a larger diameter stud.

Not sure if a revised plate could be perimeter TIG welded instead of spot welded (as factory). Would depend on what interior trim is behind/nearby and if it could take the heat.

Also not sure about plating for corrosion resistance as most types can't be welded through and one shouldn't rely on installing a nut over paint like Ford did. Stainless steel could work, but I dislike the way threaded SS tends to gall/sieze.

Should be very easy to slightly drill out a rack or light, etc. to accommodate a larger stud.

Sponsored