Roof Rack Won't Secure. Help! Video.

[jonathang86]

Please help. What am I missing here? Is it staring me right in the face?

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[PWillette]

I sold my rack not long after I took delivery, I remember it was a PIA. If I remember correctly the bolt needed to be fully backed out and the mechanism that it threads into had to be pushed in as far as possible to grab the cross bar mounting bracket.

 

[jonathang86]

I sold my rack not long after I took delivery, I remember it was a PIA. If I remember correctly the bolt needed to be fully backed out and the mechanism that it threads into had to be pushed in as far as possible to grab the cross bar section.

It's AWFUL! I hate it. I figured it out. The torque wrench is probably set to like 4-5 ft/lbs. The loc-tite from the first time being removed was gumming up the treads making the supplied torque wrench hit its threshold earlier than it should. Which I would have never known had it just been a normal bolt and not that stupid Ford triangle bolt. Thanks for your help!

 

[ToddGreen]

It's AWFUL! I hate it. I figured it out. The torque wrench is probably set to like 4-5 ft/lbs. The loc-tite from the first time being removed was gumming up the treads making the supplied torque wrench hit its threshold earlier than it should. Which I would have never known had it just been a normal bolt and not that stupid Ford triangle bolt. Thanks for your help!

So how did you end up fixing the situation exactly?

I removed my rack for the first time back in April and will be putting it back in late November. Any tips on what you did to clear out the loctite or whatever else you did would be much appreciated.

 

[Dantastic]

It is indeed a PITA to take off and put on but man do I think it really completes the look.

 

[Five-O Donut Hole]

I don’t know what all the fuss is about. I take my OEM rack apart/off a lot and put it back together without any issues.
I’ve found that only tightening all the pieces/screws a few turns first helps a great deal. Then once everything is placed/secured back together I then tighten everything down.

I’ve seen a few videos showing people take the whole thing off in one piece but that required two people. I tried it that way once and it was not easy even with two people to take it off.

 

[jonathang86]

Well, I mean, your experience isn't the same as everyone else's. Obviously, I made a whole video going nuts over a screw not pulling the rack down, with everything done as instructed.

 

[jonathang86]

So how did you end up fixing the situation exactly?

I removed my rack for the first time in April and will put it back in late November. Any tips on what you did to clear out the Loctite or whatever else you did would be much appreciated.

The stock bolts in the rear have loc-tite on them from the factory. Only a small amount. After taking everything back apart the 3rd time and confirming for the third time it was done correctly, I decided to clean up the threads of Loctite. When I did this, the torque wrench that we are supplied with did not meet the resistance it was meeting when the loc-tite was on the threads. It then went in fine and secured the rack. I'm sure mine is a one-off instance. It sure is strange, though.

 

[ToddGreen]

The stock bolts in the rear have loc-tite on them from the factory. Only a small amount. After taking everything back apart the 3rd time and confirming for the third time it was done correctly, I decided to clean up the threads of Loctite. When I did this, the torque wrench that we are supplied with did not meet the resistance it was meeting when the loc-tite was on the threads. It then went in fine and secured the rack. I'm sure mine is a one-off instance. It sure is strange, though.

Got it. Thanks for this tip. What did you use to clear off the loctite? Would Goo Gone work?

 

[EOSeabee]

A wire brush will work. And it's less messy than Goo Gone.

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