[MarshallCregg]

Does anyone know where I can buy a new Passenger side top rack rail plastic piece for my 98 D? I had a yakima rack up there and broke it? along with some other stuff. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
M

 

[Nav]

I'd try a local salvage yard for the best price.

 

[Swingshiftworker]

Does anyone know where I can buy a new Passenger side top rack rail plastic piece for my 98 D? I had a yakima rack up there and broke it? along with some other stuff. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
M

I assume this means you don't want to buy it at the Stealership, where you can obviously buy it. That's where I bought mine when I broke both of them while backing out of my garage with the ski racks on and the garage door partially down for some reason. :wall: :doh:

I replaced them myself, which was easy, however, the taps (don't know the technical term) which accept the torx bolts for the roof rack rails can come loose! preventing the tightening of the bolts. Two of them loosened up in my case and, although I was able to get one to tighten one of them, the other one is still loose.

When I consulted a body shop about it, I was told don't bother because if they were to "fix" it, they'd have to take off the entire rail and then cut out the roof around the tap, weld a new piece of metal in place and then install a new tap which would cost $100s of bucks, apart from the repaint. So, I never fixed it.

This would also be a good reason (for "insurance" purposes) to just let the stealership do it. If they screw it up, they'll have to fix it. Just make sure to check the rail bolts for tightness before accepting the car, in case they try to slip some loose bolts/taps past you.

 

[D Tyrone's Ride]

First off MC, welcome to your small section on the web.

Please update your profile to include a state where your located, and maybe someone nearer to your location can recommend/suggest a good savlage yard nearby. (And even sometimes D owners here remove their D's rails for a clean/slick look and might have a set laying around?)

Here's a couple of sites to explore:
www.usedpartscentral.com/search_minnesota.htm
www.autoswalk.com/minjunyarkz.html

Good Luck! :mrgreen:

 

[MarshallCregg]

Scored one $50 bux down in Farmington, NM. more?

And thanks for the advise about the loose fittings. I'll take it to New Country and have them screw it up. Lord knows they're damn good at that.

 

[DurangoDude]

Also try eBay. I have seen them several times there.

 

[FSTDANGO3]

I believe he's referring to the rail taht is attached to the roof John and at this moment there are none on eBay.
Comb the Bone Yards You'll find them and probably Cheap!
Steve
VP
DOC

 

[Durangoduke]

Lemme see what I can cook up at work. I work for advance and we just got a new system implemented called "everdrive". Its pretty much an online junkyard. The prices are pretty good and that's with everythign all the way to being delivered to your door. I'll check on that for yea.

 

[Big Al]

I replaced them myself, which was easy, however, the taps (don't know the technical term) which accept the torx bolts for the roof rack rails can COME LOOSE! preventing the tightening of the bolts. Two of them loosened up in my case and, although I was able to get one to tighten one of them, the other one is still loose.

When I consulted a body shop about it, I was told don't bother because if they were to "fix" it, they'd have to take off the entire rail and then cut out the roof around the tap, weld a new piece of metal in place and then install a new tap which would cost $100s of bucks, apart from the repaint. So, I never fixed it.

They're called nutserts, well nuts or rivet nuts and they can be replaced ? provided the old one can be drilled out so it leaves the hole in the metal of the body intact?? Of course, installing a new one requires a special tool (although it can be done without the tool "if" you know exactly what you're doing) but an "easy" DIY fix that often works is to drip a bit of superglue onto the area between the insert & the metal body to "glue" the insert in place so it doesn't turn. DOC member Colorado Dave had this problem quite a few years back when he removed his driver's side rail to route his ham radio antenna wire up to the roof and, at my suggestion, was able to get his bolts retightened using superglue.

Notes:<ul>[*]be sure to use the "watery" type superglue and not the newer "gel" type as it needs to <font color=009900>wick</font> into the crack between the insert and the body in order to glue them together[*]remember, a little bit of superglue goes a "long" way so only use 1-2 drops! (i.e. more is not better where superglue is concerned)[*]only tighten the bolts down snug (tightening too much can break the glue bond)[*]make sure the threads are clean so the bolts don't "catch" while going in (I'd suggest coating them with a bit of anti-seize to make them easier to screw back in)[/list]

 

[Swingshiftworker]

Hey Big Al:

Thanks for the info about "fixing" loose nutserts or whatever they're called.

However, the problem I have with the remaining loose bolt/nutsert is that the bolt is stuck in the nutsert and they BOTH rotate together. Guess I failed to mention that.

Not sure how you'd drill the bolt out of the nutsert if you can't keep them both from moving. Oddly, if I turn the bolt just so, it kinda tightens up the nutsert in the hole and, although it won't tighten up, it'll hold well enough to keep its section in the middle of the rail down.

The remaining bolts hold everything else together. So, I'm not going to touch it, unless I happen to bust the rail again. God forbid! :bugeyed: