roof rack EXTREMELY disconcerting

[nycnml2]

i have a yakima mega load warrior basket mounted to my vx crossbar (wing?) racks. lo and behold this weekend, i noticed that the attachment point at the bottom of the crossbar has come loose from it's contact with the bracket that's connected to the rail along the roofline. there is no hardware screw there, and it simply seems to be a failed bit of adhesive, though i admittedly don't have much of a clue as to what might actually be the culprit. does anyone know if there's any daylight between the roofline rails and the bracket that attaches the crossbar? if so, i'd likely use some cable clamps as an interim fix. the thought of another attachment point failing, sending my load warrior basket airborne at highway speeds, is EXTREMELY disconcerting, to say the least. oh, the basket's been on there since i picked up the VX new, in '01.

[nycnml2]

i am being told by the dealer that i need a new wingrack bar (cost: $129). i can't get him to tell me if the wingrack comes with the attachment arm (or foot) that secures to the raingutter. does anyone know if that's the case?

[nfpgasmask]

Well, Sorry I cannot be of help here, but if your dealer can get a roof rack, let me know, because I thought these were completely discontinued...???

Bart

[nycnml2]

i will post it if he's actually got them. i am preparing myself to drive up, only to have him tell me that he thought i said "amigo" or something... sure hope i'm wrong about that.

[mbeach]

The 'wing' bar is bolted to the upright 'foot'. there should be no daylight there.

You can remove the endcaps and see how the crossbar is attached to each upright. This allows the uprights to slide left and right -there is more distance between mounts on the front bar.

Without pics, it's tough to understand what you're really describing -is it possible that someone tried to pry off your roof rack?

[nycnml2]

it is possible, though i did not see any damage. i will try to take photos tonight, and post them. also, i looked at the place where the wing-shaped crossbar attaches to the foot; i did not see any hardware there. if there is, i would definitely prefer to fix / replace that hardware than to part with 129 of my hard-earned, US grade-A dollars. i am trying to figure out how to post a photos, but meanwhile, if someone's eager to see a diagram, i can email one.

[nycnml2]

diagram is now posted in the "modifications" section of the gallery.

[mbeach]

I'm having troubles uploading photos, but there is definately a bolt holding the crossbar to the "foot".

It's sort of a T-nut arrangement, with the T residing in the channel on the bottom of the crossbar (this channel has a rubber strip sealing it). If you remove the rack, you will clearly see this bolt (it's an 8mm oval head bolt IIRC).
Loosen this bolt to adjust the feet in or out.

Since this bolt is oriented "head down" when on the vehicle, it's possible that Manhattan potholes have caused your bolt to drop out. In this case, you'll hear the "T" sliding around inside your crossbar (unless it fell out somehow).

[nycnml2]

thanks for that info. i will look into it. as for uploading photos, try clicking "gallery" then the dropdown menu "gallery links" to find "upload photos." i put my diagram in the "modifications" section. you likely already tried all that, but just in case not.

[Moncha]

To view the photo just click on nycnml2's name in his postings and scroll down to view "Member's name" gallery.. Should be the first link on the menu....

As far as the problem, yes there is a bolt in there.. you'll need to take it apart and look to see what is missing... There's a complete manual on the roof rack showing parts and diagram here:
http://www.vehicross.info/modules.php?name=Downloads&file=viewfile&id=3

[mbeach]

I saw his diagram, I was having error messages whenever I was trying to load a relevent picture.

It was probably my connection. I'll try again tonight.

[WyldWeasel]

Just got my rack from psychos2, which conveniently has the towers assembled. So I took pix to illustrate how the towers work with the crossbars. Note that the lights are not standard, they were added by psychos2 and part of the deal when I bought the rack.

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/thumbs/rackpix_003.jpg (http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/rackpix_003.jpg)

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/thumbs/rackpix_004.jpg (http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/rackpix_004.jpg)

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/thumbs/rackpix_002.jpg (http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/rackpix_002.jpg)

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/thumbs/rackpix_001.jpg (http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/rackpix_001.jpg)

Hope this helps

[mbeach]

Those are far better than my pics.

Mine were in the gallery for my $3 ski rack mod.

[nycnml2]

these pics (and the manual) are FANTASTIC. appreciate the info and effort. and now to further complicate things, i've remembered that a buddy of mine swapped the hex bolts that secure the wing racks to the roofline with security hex bolts (the ones with the small "pin" that protrudes from the center of the hex hole). naturally, i can't locate the security key he gave me when he did that, so i am hoping against hope that i can re-attach the wing rack without removing it from the roof. the part pictured as "A" is what i need to replace, as i have a feeling that's what came loose. most-likely it's floating around inside the wing rack. now if i could just shake the VX a bit, and get it to gently fall out into my hand... otherwise, i need to find a suitable replacement part for that hardware. anyone got any winning ideas?

[mbeach]

Those "security bolts" are pretty standard. Is it a hex or a Torx? Either way, you can find "security bolt kits" (Google it) that you can use to open them up.

If you simply want to find that "A" plate, try using a magnet. The crossbar is aluminum, the plate should be steel. Maybe you can "grab" the plate and slide it down to where you can get your hands on it.

[nycnml2]

so, dismounted the roof rack (once i located my stashed security pin hex wrench) and removed the rubber endcap of the wingrack. i tilted the open end of the wingrack, and lo and behold, part "A" — the threaded plate nut — slid right out into my hands. brilliant. here's the new wrinkle: the machine bolt securing the wingrack to its footing had not — in fact — worked it's way loose, but instead had sheered off completely. nice. next step, removing that, and getting a machine bolt the right size and length to match part "A." my brainstorm was to remove one of the other assemblies, so i could bring that to the shop in pursuit of a match. i have to give some props here, and say that the mounting assembly is really straightforward, even if they did use some slightly "specialized" hardware (specifically, the threaded plate nut).

[nycnml2]

6x20mm machine nut, 3/4" long. natch, they didn't have stainless, but i figure metal will work fine (not to mention the red locktite). so, it's up, it's on, and it's tight. thanks to all who helped.