Roof Rack & Roof Ribs Removal

[Fitzer]

I Finally bit the bullet and pulled off the rack and rear spoiler after getting a tree limb caught under the spoiler in reverse and cracking the plastic mount and exposing rust...as expected rust around most of the anchors that will require some work. My question is has anyone pulled off the 4 ribs that sit on the roof between the rack that gear would sit on as too not scratch the roof. I pulled off 1 screw and it looks to be the same type of anchor as the rack feet, but didnt see any rust (maybe just luck). I also noted that the ribs are adhered to the roof with a long strip of adhesive which still seems to be holding strong and will probably be a pain to remove. I figure if I am going to fix all the rusty holes, what's 8 more for the ribs. I may see what a body shop will charge as grinding off the rust, filling/patching, sanding, painting will be time consuming and I know it wont look as good and more importantly last as long without rust creeping thru in 10 more years. Any advice appreciated.

 

[voorland80]

Type "roof rack removal" into the search feature and you will find plenty of posts for some ideas.
I removed the rack not too long ago but not the ribs.
How bad is the rust? I did the clean-up myself.
I used Permatex "Water Pump & Thermostat Housing RTV Silicone Gasket" to plug and seal the holes.
If for whatever crazy reason I want to reinstall the original rack, the holes are still there.
Make sure whatever brand silicone you use it is RTV so it doesn't cause the metal to corrode.
Here are before and after pics of the clean-up (before sealing the holes).

 

[Brentbba]

Search feature will also net you suggestions on removing that nasty adhesive. Personally, I got lucky. The installer of my roof rack forgot to take off the protective tape to expose the adhesive strip so mine just lifted off! I've not heard of anyone else being so lucky tho.

 

[SF80]

I removed mine, just JB Welded the holes. Lotsa elbow grease to remove that adhesive strip.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/286541-roof-line-x.html

 

[jlg32281]

I pulled mine about a month ago and I got out my dremel tool and put a little wire wheel on it. I took it down to bare metal anywhere there was rust. I then took a spray can rust inhibitor and sprayed it. I then took some screws that fit and put some sealing washers on them and screwed them in. Then I taped it off and sprayed it with a can of bed liner. I was extremely satisfied with it. I was a little worried about messing with the paint since I've never done any body work. It came out fine. I'll post up some picks when I can.

I wouldn't pay a shop to do this unless you just have extra money. First off, it's on the roof, not really noticeable. Second, if you do what I did, bedliner doesn't have to be on a perfect finish, it hides a lot and seals well.

 

[Fitzer]

Thanks for the input. I did see alot of posts when I searched and saw some of the issues others have had. I ended up lucky with no spinning nutserts. Rust was similar to yours-voorland80, maybe a bit more 'bubbly' where it has gotten under the paint on a couple of them. I do have a big hole where one of the nutserts came out that held the rear spoiler on thanks to the tree branch, it will have to be wire brushed down and bent back flatter- looks like big zit with a crater.

If I opt for welding the holes shut, does the headliner need to come down? My guess is it will probably burn the headliner if I dont. Maybe a restoration shop can do some sort of 'cold weld' if such a thing exists. Hopefully the quotes I get wont give my a stroke..

I just want the holes gone and rust-proofed. I dont care how the final paint/sealer looks even if its just small squares of new paint buffed in as good as possible since it is the roof. Once this PITA effort is over I can start looking into a real rack and start having some fun improving the rig instead of fixing someone else's bad decision to drill holes in the roof and installing garbage racks.