New to Forum. Fixing up my '03 Tahoe

[TahoeRestore]

Prepping For Paint Job - Removing Roof Rack

I was warned not to use too much force when breaking loose the 10 screws (Torx head M6 1.0 x 40mm) holding down the roof rack because you can spin the nuts that are embedded in the roof. I applied PB Blaster and let it sit overnight. A couple came loose, but it took repeating PB a few days before all broke loose. I used care not to put too much PB in the screws for fear of it leaking through to my new headliner.

Notice the condition of the roof metal around the nuts (pics). Some have a lot of rust around them. Only one was OK. I'm glad we're doing the paint job now before they rusted through.

I will be disassembling and painting the roof rack myself.

More to come....

 

[TahoeRestore]

Prepping For Paint Job - Removing Roof Rack

I was warned not to use too much force when breaking loose the 10 screws (Torx head M6 1.0 x 40mm) holding down the roof rack because you can spin the nuts that are embedded in the roof. I applied PB Blaster and let it sit overnight. A couple came loose, but it took repeating PB a few days before all broke loose. I used care not to put too much PB in the screws for fear of it leaking through to my new headliner.

Notice the condition of the roof metal around the nuts (pics). Some have a lot of rust around them. Only one was OK. I'm glad we're doing the paint job now before they rusted through.

I will be disassembling and painting the roof rack myself.

More to come....

When posting this I noticed the little hole in pic 3. Yep. After wire brushing the loose rust, there is a hole. I'll have to cover this because the truck is outside till the paint job on 1/3.

 

[OR VietVet]

That is one nasty lookin' rust/hole.

 

[Miami-Dade]

When posting this I noticed the little hole in pic 3. Yep. After wire brushing the loose rust, there is a hole. I'll have to cover this because the truck is outside till the paint job on 1/3.

If you want this thread moved over the Under Construction section or the 03 section just let me know.

You doing a excellent job!

 

[TahoeRestore]

When posting this I noticed the little hole in pic 3. Yep. After wire brushing the loose rust, there is a hole. I'll have to cover this because the truck is outside till the paint job on 1/3.

 

[TahoeRestore]

That is one nasty lookin' rust/hole.

Yeah and probably going to be bigger when I finish cleaning. I'm going to talk to the paint shop tomorrow and see if I should remove the headliner for them to make a good repair.

Do you know if there's only one layer of sheet metal on the roof. In other words, will I be looking at the bottom of this hole when I remove the headliner or does roof consist of two layers of sheet metal?

 

[OR VietVet]

I believe it is braced/gusseted single layer but I am not certain.

 

[Tonyrodz]

Yeah and probably going to be bigger when I finish cleaning. I'm going to talk to the paint shop tomorrow and see if I should remove the headliner for them to make a good repair.

Do you know if there's only one layer of sheet metal on the roof. In other words, will I be looking at the bottom of this hole when I remove the headliner or does roof consist of two layers of sheet metal?

I'd def take out the headliner.

 

[Rocket Man]

Yeah and probably going to be bigger when I finish cleaning. I'm going to talk to the paint shop tomorrow and see if I should remove the headliner for them to make a good repair.

Do you know if there's only one layer of sheet metal on the roof. In other words, will I be looking at the bottom of this hole when I remove the headliner or does roof consist of two layers of sheet metal?

It’s only one layer with bracing. I believe the rivnuts are blind though but that might depend on year and model.

 

[TahoeRestore]

Roof Rack Removal

Thanks for all the input. I probed through the rivnuts to see what was underneath. There was hard metal under some nuts, including the rusted one, and others felt like I was hitting the back side of the headliner. It seems like there are gussets/braces as vietvet said. I took the Tahoe to the paint shop to show the rust-through. He said they would repair that from above. He added that I should take out the headliner anyway to coat with some stuff (forgot the name) under the areas and others that might have rust on the inside.

BTW - I plugged the screw holes with plastic washers on the screws to make sure no rain gets in before Monday's trip to the shop.