HOW TO: Plugging Roof Rack Delete

(EDIT: i improved this mod and added trim so i re-did this how to thread, so it's old and new pics mixed)

In June I bought this Tahoe and did the roof rack delete that day. I didn't think those threaded nubs would bother me, but they did after a little bit.

Here are the supplies I used.

- Flat head screw driver
- Tape Measure
- T25 torx screw driver
- Permatex thread sealant
- Clear silicone
- Meguiars Scratch X swirl remover
- 10 set screws (m6-1.00 threads by 20mm long, you could use longer or shorter)
- Tree branch shear
- 1" universal black door trim (it came in a 16ft roll with the tape already on and i found it at pep boys for like $15)
- Drill
- Drill bit, Endmill, or something to pocket the trim out and some sort of stop. I drilled through the wood and then I could set the depth of the bit so I didn't drill through the trim.




Here's the old way I did it just to hold me over until I figured something out.



There are 5 bolts on each side rail that hold the rack on. 2 in the front, 1 in the middle, and 2 in the back. The end caps pop off easy, you might need a flat head screw driver to pop them off.



Step 1: Pop the caps off and use the T25 Torx driver to remove the 10 bolts and simply lift the whole rack off at once.

Step 2a: This will leave you with 10 holes that are threaded inserts. Being that my truck is a 2001 I had some light staining on the clear coat where the rack sat all those years.




Step 2b: If need be, use a scratch remover to take that staining off. I personally used Meguiars Scratch X swirl remover.



Step 3a: Put some thread sealant on your set screws and screw them all in.

Step 3b: Over the top for added protection I put clear silicone on them. You could always pick it out and remove all of this if you wanted to ever put the rack back on.



Step 4: Unroll your trim so it can flatten out some.



Step 5: Measure out the length you will want. It's a roll of 16ft and you only need less that 12ft so you'll have left over. The stock trim that is up there was centered with the old roof rack so I just went about 5.5" longer on each side (you could go less). The stock trim is 7/8" by 59" long so I took my 1" universal trim and cut it 70" long. It even says on the instructions to use pruning shears and tree branch shears is what I had in the garage to cut it. I cut mine straight up and down, but if you have another set of hands you can bevel it at a 30* or 45* to match the stock trim cuts better.



Step 6: Then I used my cardboard to make a template so I know where to pocket out the trim. Double check your measurements, as you can see I made a mistake, but caught it in time.



Step 7: Start pocketing it out, bring it over to the truck and keep on double checking your postition after pocketing a little bit. Take your time because you don't want to wreck it and have to start over with a new roll of trim.



Step 8: Once it looks good up there, remove part of the adhesive backing and start laying it down. To keep water out I put a tiny drop of clear silicone in between the adhesive strips at the start and finish of the strip.



Here it is all done and on. Even though it's a 1/8" wider it matches the stock trim very well and the height is the same.

Thanks to "chrias" with his Suburban for giving me the idea.

Good write up....i did this but i used set screws and put silicone inside to keep the water out...looks good

Set screws sound like a better idea.

they are nice but around the hole where the bolt is still sticks up...i would like to shave it off or maybe pop them off with a screw driver and get some kind of caps that are flat and would seat right.....

I just bought some 1" body side moulding that closely matches the rest of the roof molding and covered my holes. I chamfered the spots where the bolts are so the moulding sits properly. No more unsightly bolts!

Here's a pic of my Suburban

I want to do this but having little nubs would drive me nutty....

Nice write up though....

chrias said:

I just bought some 1" body side moulding that closely matches the rest of the roof molding and covered my holes. I chamfered the spots where the bolts are so the moulding sits properly. No more unsightly bolts!

Here's a pic of my Suburban

Click to expand...

close-up?

so you popped out the threaded inserts?

burb looks good.

Unfortunately I don't have any close-up pics. The bolt inserts are still there. I just made a channel slot in the moulding so it would go over the inserts. That way if I ever want to put the rack back on I won't have an issue.

You can somewhat see the molding in the pic. It's nearly the same as the original molding that is on the roof.

chrias said:

Unfortunately I don't have any close-up pics. The bolt inserts are still there. I just made a channel slot in the moulding so it would go over the inserts. That way if I ever want to put the rack back on I won't have an issue.

You can somewhat see the molding in the pic. It's nearly the same as the original molding that is on the roof.

Click to expand...

i'm going to redo mine with set screws and then redo this how to thread. then i might look into doing that molding over it.

Drgnblood said:

Good write up....i did this but i used set screws and put silicone inside to keep the water out...looks good

Click to expand...

X2... set screws are the way to go, i used a silicone on the threads prior to inserting the set screws in the roof, havent had any problems yet. Although i like the idea of painting the reast of the assembly white, i am gonna do that as i have a little tube of this stuff laying around.