Best way to fill roof rack holes? (1 Viewer)

[weejub]

The PO to my FJ62 put some kind of putty/weld on the rack holes. Its a huge glob-like mess, but honestly looks tough as steel and seems to be fine and tough for a long time. He apparently painted it, too.

I may try the POR Putty or similar product on the luggage holders, but not sure that is the issue.

I got water dripping by the hand guard on my driver side pillar. I have the 3M sealer and will try that first on the gutters.

Anyone use denatured alcohol vs brake cleaner for prepping for DIY paint/filling/sealing?

 

[timer00]

The FastSteel I used is still rock solid and no leaking.

I used Faststeel on my roof rack holes.. rock solid as NX said but not pretty since its gray.. will have to sand down and paint or something eventually. Though you can't really see the roof.

The rear spoiler holes though are different story on mine all the inserts were broke after I took out the screws. Right now covered up with silicone but really want to do the plastic plugs with HD silicone like e9999 did.

 

[fj40charles]

OK, there have been several threads on how to fill good nutserts with finish washers or rosettes or whatever they are called. Good way to handle the good nutserts from the outside...

But now, what about plain holes? I have access to the underside of the roof (yea!) and will end up with some removed nutserts. What's the best way to do these holes? Of course, I could put new nutserts back in if I can find a tool. But is there a better approach? A round head stainless steel bolt over a rubber washer on the outside with a lock nut on the inside? I'd rather not take the headliner off again so it has to be secure, and the rubber gasket if any better not shrink or crack in a couple of years...
Rivets?
Metal screw from the outside?
Anchor?

what?

E

Quit being a cheap bastard and pay a professional.

 

[rbdave]

Hey guys,

Almost 2 years ago, I went thru the same thing, trying to figure out how to eliminate these holes.

after taking up waaayyy too much time, I took the hillbilly approach, and used jb weld. The 2 part putty version.

Worked like a charm, has held like a champ. The stuff is super plyable until it dries, it is sandable and paintable. Didn't do any of that to mine, as it kinda matches the paint, and it is up too high for most to notice, and oh, yea, always dirty

I didn't want to take out the headliner, and I didn't want to pay a bodyshop, and this approach is certainly the least invasive, lowest cost, very little time spent. For me, this meant that if it didn't work, or didn't like it, I could then have it welded, or try something else. I bet this will last as long as the truck.

My 2 cents.

 

[e9999]

well, finally the plastic plugs as in post 35 / 41 gave way. I just saw today that one or 2 had cracked / separated.

So, 16 years... Not too shabby...

(of course, it would have been better to find out before I pressure washed the roof... )

 

[cartercd]

If you have a sunroof and rear speakers, you can somewhat access the roof rack holes from the inside without removing the headliner. Here's what I did:

1. Rear holes. Remove rear speaker covers and speakers. You can pull back the insulation to expose the holes. The access is not direct enough to weld, but there is enough space to place a backing plate or perhaps some fiberglass. I cut a small circular piece of scrap metal, piled on some fiberglass reinforced body filler, and pushed it up against the inside of the roof to cover the hole. You can then smooth the body filler from the top side.


2. Front holes. This is a bit more difficult. Open the sunroof and fish a string from the outside of the roof rack hole then forward along the sunroof until you can grab it. Then run the string through a small hole you've drilled in a backing plate and tie a stopper knot. Apply your choice of panel adhesive, fiberglass reinforced body filler, JB Weld etc. to the backing plate. Pull the string from the outside and the backing plate will travel along the sunroof top until it cinches up to the roof - patching the hole. Smooth the body filler from the top side. Detailed CAD drawing below.

For the rear holes I was able to get a Dremel tool with a wire brush to do some surface prep. For the front holes a used an acetone-soaked rag on a long stick that I used to clean the underside of the roof the best I could. The patches have worked for a few years with no issues. I was a little concerned about thermal expansion and contraction, but it's been from the mid 20's to 120 degrees with no problems.

 

[WCBlueSky]

I used 3M Marine Adhesive Sealant 5200 to seal the roof rack holes, with the thought that since it works on parts of boats that go under water, it should work to keep out a little water on the roof

 

[Cruiser4Lyfe]

I used 3M panel bond adhesive to plug the holes In the roof and also the fender flare holes in the body.

Works great! Seems like really, really durable stuff that will last the life of the vehicle.

 

[Guru]

Great to see all the history.. and I am in a similar situation as to weld or block the holes for future use. Pulled the roof liner out and fortunately no rust inside but there is some rust and pitting on top. Any updates whats the best options will be of great help..

 

[NLXTACY]

Although Im currently out of stock

80 Series Roofrack Elimination Hardware

80 Series Roofrack Elimination Hardware (REH-1)

absolute-wits-end.com

 

[LandLocked93]

Although Im currently out of stock

80 Series Roofrack Elimination Hardware

80 Series Roofrack Elimination Hardware (REH-1)

absolute-wits-end.com

Yeah you are. For a while now. You act like the world stopped for a year.

I used ss screws and metal roofing screw washers with a tiny dab of FIPG103.
The washers seal the rack screw hole, and the FIPG seals the screw/washer mate surface.
~$6 all in. M5x25 IIRC, but could be off a little.
Admittedly, the solution still looks a bit 'warty', but not too bad. I'll add a pic in a bit.

It's what had to be done when one of your fav vendors is perpetually busy with much greater things.

edit: pics

 

[NLXTACY]

@BILT4ME

 

[NLXTACY]

Finally secured production on these. Big batch headed to me now. I should have next week.

 

[ajordan1975]

Finally secured production on these. Big batch headed to me now. I should have next week.

View attachment 2871164

That's great news! I can finally pull the Duct tape off that's been covering my holes since June of this year!

 

[e9999]

beautiful screws but not helping much without nutserts still in I fear -unless I'm missing something...

 

[leonard_nemoy]

@e9999

If your missing the nutserts than you can weld them shut, or glue them up with your choice of glue, epoxy, Bondo, etc ....

If mine had been missing the nutserts I would have filled the holes with JB weld and called it a day.

 

[WCBlueSky]

If your missing the nutserts than you can weld them shut, or glue them up with your choice of glue, epoxy, Bondo, etc ....

Yeah the nutserts in my '94 were long gone and I couldn't easily drop the one-piece headliner to weld the holes shut. I'm still very happy with the 3M Marine Adhesive Sealant 5200 I used.

 

[Mosez]

@e9999

If your missing the nutserts than you can weld them shut, or glue them up with your choice of glue, epoxy, Bondo, etc ....

If mine had been missing the nutserts I would have filled the holes with JB weld and called it a day.

That's pretty much what I did. Mine's a '93 and I have yet to see the first success story of removing the headliner without completely destroying it.

 

[e9999]

^ umm, maybe check the earlier posts?

but anyway, I've had my holes covered with electric tape for about a year now and they only recently started to lift some corners (but still holding), so that's a reasonable solution as well actually.