dynamo

Well, after having a great time playing in the rain/snow all last week, I had to pay the price. Apparently, the roof rack end-cap on the rear-right of my 2000 LTD 4Runner has snapped off a little plastic piece that sits under a screw, and the water has literally flooded the whole rear the car. The carpet, the mat, everything. I spent about 8 hours with rags, blow dryer, fans and a space heater and got most of the moisture out, only to repeat the procedure tonight.

What pisses me off even more is that I had this problem last year right after I bought the car - they sold it to me without the front end-caps, and the water leaked in. I replaced the front ones, and checked on the rear ones, and everything seemed to be fine. Voila, 8 months later I am screwed again.

While I was at the dealer (ordering the new end-caps), I saw that most 4Runners on their lot had the horizontal (adjustible) bars moved to the very end of the vertical (stationary) rails, so that they were "covering" the problem spots on the end caps. Does this mean that I am not supposed to adjust them, and they have to sit on the very ends of the rails to cover up the screws? Kind of ruins the point of making them adjustible, but I would rather move them apart and wrestle with the snowboard rack than get another "flood" in the back of my car.

Also, does anyone know how to properly replace the end-caps without snapping off the little plastic piece (the culprit of this whole ordeal) that sits under the screw?

TIA

Roadtripr

I have only taken off the end caps once. When you replace the end cap make sure you add some silicon to the screw before you put it back it to make it waterproof. I think the hole for the screw should be the only place it can leak from, maybe they added a roof rack and forgot to seal all the holes. You can do this yourself to avoid a future problem

dynamo

Did you have to do anything to get the end-cap on there without snapping off the piece that goes under the screw? When I did the front ones, I almost snapped one of them off - they are super flimsy, and I had to force the end-cap to get it into place. Since these are $10 each and are special order, I want to get it right the first time. Any suggestions?

li_runner

The clear plastic piece below the endcap is what seals up the the interior from the exterior. The black plastic piece covering it does nothing except protect that interior clear piece. You can just load up on silicone, around the piece before you insert it and then for even more safety inside the piece as well. I don't see how you caused the problem I have wires running through mine and with a some silicone no water has ever passed through to the interior. If installed correctly you will have no problem.

dynamo

By the "clear plastic pieces" are you referring to a white plastic cover that sits inside the roof? Also, where do I apply the silicone- all around the end cap, or just on the screw?

It seems to me that the water is leaking through the screw hole, since the white plastic piece sits flush with the roof (doesn't look like that's where it's leaking), and the only area that can be penetrated with water is due to the missing plastic cover piece that sits under the bolt. That is why I'm so concerned with not breaking it off during the install, but I want to take all the precautions I can to ensure this doesn't happen again.

Also, what kind of silicone do I use?

li_runner

Since you don't know where the water is coming through I would apply it to both areas. Around the plastic piece below the endcap and on the screw. As for silicone itself almost any will do except for painter's caulk, just make sure it's clear and for sealing. Don't be worried about putting a good amount in you can clean it up very easily once everything is assembled.

dynamo

The new end caps came in this morning. Any suggestions on how to put them in without breaking them?

And, I'm picking up some silicone sealant on the way home from work. Is there an automotive-specific kind, or will any (i.e. home depot) do?

dynamo

Update: I replaced both rear end caps last night. It turned out the left one was broken as well, but apparently either the dealer or the previous owner chose to re-attach the broken plastic piece with super glue, so spent some time ripping it off and then cleaning it off.

Otherwise it didn't take too long, and the part I was worried about (getting the caps in place without breaking off the plastic tip) was taken care of by loosening another screw on the rack to give it more play, so the end caps went on pretty easily. I siliconed all the possible areas the water could leak through (or so I hope), and am now waiting for a 3-day storm that's coming in tonight to test whether it will hold up.

Thanks for the replies.

Roadtripr

well you should get plenty of rain to test over the next few days. Good luck