[DominicG]

So.. what a long day!

Dave and i attempted the removal of the roof rack today. Got hung up on 3 bolts. one was stripped, one became stripped, and one is almost impossible to turn. basically, we failed the mission. 9 of the 12 are removable.




Went to toyota of huntington, and they wanted a couple hundred dollars worth of time to get them out..Eff that. Went to a goodyear center and they wanted about $90. Nope.. We have come to the conclusion that neither dave nor i have the skills to remove these bolts..


Anyone have recommendations?? I've got the screw/bolt removal kit, but have never done it before. I bet my dad could do it but he is not around right now.

 

[FJ-Piper]

Cant you drill out the heads?

 

[Guest]

Dom got one of those bolt removal tools (the kind with the reversed threads - as you tighten the tool, it backs the screw/bolt out). But we didn't wanna destroy the bolts. See, I still need bolts for the rack (unless someone else has some). The stealership quoted me $45 for a set of bolts for the rack. I guess I'll still have to buy those.

 

[DominicG]

yeah this was seriously a retarded ordeal.


that stupid worm at the dealer pissed me off so much.

 

[FunJunkie]

X2 on the ez out tool, you just drill a small pilot hole and tap the ez out in and turn em with a wrench. also use a little penatrating oil, spray it on and let it soak for an hour or two. Wow, I thought the biggest thing was the anchor nuts snappin off in the headliner. This is a first I heard of this.

 

[FJVP]

Dom, You may want to drop the headliner and put some towels up in there so no penatrating oil stains the headliner.

 

[Guest]

Yeah, Weasel Boy at the stealer really got to me, too. Now normally, I'm Mr. Referee. But man...this guy...every time we talked to him his prices jumped $30. It started at $40, and was over $200 when we left!!

 

[CADavebert]

There's a place in Mission Viejo (and may be others) where you can buy factory parts.... I keep thinking of stopping by to check prices, but haven't yet. I go to a pet store near there for some special Guinea Pig food.

I'm not sure of the name or address, but I know where it is.... see the map...


On Via Fabricante between Alicia and Oberero....

Toyota parts

 

[FJ-Piper]

So.. what a long day!

Dave and i attempted the removal of the roof rack today.

Why you getting rid of the rack?

 

[GTKrockeTT]

just go to the hardware store and find bolts that match...no one looks up there anyways.

 

[Guest]

Dom is getting a new rack with optional roof top tent. So.....I get to take his old rack off his hands. That is, IF we can ever get it off his truck!! I was going to use my bolts/plugs to seal his roof holes until his new rack came in...It's supposed to rain this week (MUD!!!!). We don't want his headliner getting wet/stained.

 

[SoCalOcFj]

That Sux.

 

[CADavebert]

If you guys are still having trouble by Sunday, and are working on it then, let me know. I think Dom has my number, or at least an e-mail that I check (on my phone). I have some time Sunday and could help.

 

[DominicG]

The rack is off!!

try the ez outs, but they got pretty close to breaking point, so me and the pops used our own method.. pics to come!

 

[Guest]

Can't wait for the pics...how'd ya do it?

 

[DominicG]

ill just quote myself from the blue room thread

Yesterday me and FJDave met up to put my roof rack on his FJ, Since i am getting http://www.bc4x4.com/inthenews/images/2007-08-20_arb_roof_tent_1.jpg"]This.[/URL] But wee were not successful One of the stupid Torx head bolts was already stripped, I stripped one, and another was almost seized.

So, a couple of hours ago, my dad and i went to get them out using EZ-outs. Did not work. Toyota's method of thread locking the bolts is composed of the Blue and Red Loctite, Gum, Gorilla and Super Glue. That combination almost snapped the EZ-out in half :boohoo:.

The next idea was get a larger drill bit, and remove the head of the bolt, pull the rack and use some good 'ole vice grips, success! Except for the left rear mount that fell into the headliner :flame: Ill get that out tomorrow..

Since i dont have the plugs yet, i covered it all up with duct tape :rocker:

Here are the pic's:

And the end product:

 

[Guest]

Holee moleeeee! Wow. That was more work than it's worth....except your new rack is definitely worth it. How bad did you scratch up my new rack? ;D

Glad you got it off, but dang. Toyota never meant for that rack to come off, did they? Sheeeeeesh.

 

[Guest]

Oh, and your truck looks cool topless! I bet that duct tape kinda takes away from the look, though....

 

[DominicG]

it actually took about 40 minutes, pretty quick when someone knows what they are doing! ;D



10 bolts of 12 survived

 

[WESBC]

Make sure you clean off all the metal particles off the roof. I made the mistake of not doing so, and now I still have some rust specs even after a whole lot of scrubbing/cleaning.