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Roof rack removal


4x4le
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I have a 2000 le and was wondering what was the easiest way to remove the adjustible bars on the top of my roof. I dont think that just unwinding the crank thing will remove them. Do I need to unscrew the cap thing at the front of the rail and then slide the thing off?

 

I also am going to need to be able the put them back on, Im having my friend make light mounts on them. 4 in the front and 2 in the back. I figure it would look too acward to just drill holes in the rack and have the lights mounted on top so im having him make a "step down" mount wich will drop it down and bring it forward. Does anyone have any suggestions on a better way?

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The only way to take the adjustible bars out is to take off the cap on either the front or the back or the roof rack. There are two "star" screws holding the front one on. First, undo the screw closest to the rear, then undo the screw that is imbeded in the actual cap. Then just slide the bars out. To get the bars out between and behind the main bars, just slide all the bars out.

 

 

As for the roof light situation, I purchased a cheap ($145) basket to go up top so I can mount lights later. When you run the wires for the roof lights, run them under the roof rack to the back of the truck, then peel off a little weather striping and pull them through there. Make sure you use sealer after running the wires under the striping. You then have to take the panels off iin the cargo area and route the wires under the panels until you get to the front of the truck.

 

 

If this didn't make sense to you, just pm me and I'll try to help you out. I just woke up and I'm not exactly fully alert right now.

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Well IIRC the crank thing that you are talking about screws into a plate that is in the channel of the roof rack. I believe you can unscrew the crank all the way to pull the bars off and leave the plate(kind of like a nut) there since you are going to be putting the crossbars back on there. Since the end caps are still there the plate thats in the channel isn't going anywhere.

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i just took the rear cap off and slid them back and it was easy as can be. but perhaps my '01 is a different setup.

I'm quite sure the devil made the ones on mine...

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come on guys, you dont have to take any caps off, just unscrew the things and they pop off!

 

 

i do this all the time! Like DJ dank said, the plates stay in the channels so no worries. If you want to protect them from rust or debris, just put some short 10mm in them.

Edited by FUELER
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come on guys, you dont have to take any caps off, just unscrew the things and they pop off!

Mine didnt have any screws to unscrew, or even what looks to be dials on them... I had to pull them off the rack by pulling them down the rails, and off then ends.

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come on guys, you dont have to take any caps off, just unscrew the things and they pop off!

 

 

i do this all the time! Like DJ dank said, the plates stay in the channels so no worries. If you want to protect them from rust or debris, just put some short 10mm in them.

I think he is refering to the removal of the nut-like piece that holds the rack on as well.

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So your racks freely slide from front to back?

 

 

How do you lock them in place for carrying something on the roof??

It wasnt all that free to move, it was a lot of work to shove them to the ends... We never found any screws or the like to loosen. Theyre off now, and wont be back on as long as I have it...

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I think he is refering to the removal of the nut-like piece that holds the rack on as well.

 

 

You guys must have a different rack than I do.

 

On mine there are two big crossbars to tie stuff to as well as 3 support cross bars to lay stuff down on and not dent the roof.

 

 

the 2 main cross bars have a big twisting dial that you can loosen to slide them back and forth. Twist this enough and those bars pop off

 

the 3 remaining smaller support bars have knobs that you twist, for the same purpose to slide them back and forth but if you twist it enough, it pops off.

 

After all is said and done, only a small plate (maybe 3/4" x 3/4" with a 10mm hole in it) remains within the channel and it stays in there unless you pull that endcap off....

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So your racks freely slide from front to back?

 

 

How do you lock them in place for carrying something on the roof??

I need a special $14.00 CDN (don't ask how I know the price :D ) tool to tighten/untighten the lock screws that are covered by a black piece of plastic, which is also held on with lock screws. Not very user friendly thats for sure.

 

I have never tried to completely unscrew the lock screw to see if the cross bars would then lift off rather than have to slide them off the ends.

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You guys must have a different rack than I do.

We have the same rack, you still aren't getting me. The metal piece that the rack bars screw into is what I'm talking about. To remove those metal nut-like pieces, you have to take the caps off.

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Im getting the mesurements I need without removing it. I was wanting to remove it to make it easier to measuer but my knobs stop turning and no "pop, its off"

 

Wonder why? oh well

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  • 10 months later...

FWIW, on my wife's 04 SE, the cross bars do not come out by lifting them up after completely removing the knobs. The little threaded plates referred to above are retained in small slots within the cross bar end caps. These slots ride in the channels of the left and right longitudinal bars.

 

So, I removed the rear end caps. These have plastic covers that snap off in an upward direction (away from the ground). Once the cover is off, you can access two torx screws. A third torx screw resides in the channel of the longitudinal bars where they meet the end cap. With all three torx screws out loose, the end cap separates from the roof and from the longitudinal bar. With both end caps off, the loosened cross bars slide out the back.

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