qdude79

Still building the '90 Runner, and would really like to add a roof rack. Needless to say, it didn't come with one, and there's no rain rails on the thing to tie to. Is there a way to add? Not hot about drilling through to the ceiling inside, but open to suggestions.

Thanks!

SL_97

Thule and Yakima make towers that attach to the roof via the door frame. If you go to Yakima.com or Thule.com and enter the year/make/model it will fit a rack to your car and show you the different options.

dirtoyboy

If you look around you can probably find a good used stock rack

qdude79

Would definitely like to go the used/stock route. The Thule/Yakima route is a great suggestion, but I'd have almost as much invested in the rack as would the original price of the rig!

Anyone know of a used rack that'll work?

Red_Chili

Just FYI, a roof rack cost me 1.5-2 mpg on the highway. Hidden cost.

olharleyman

If you get the stock one and need some help let me know I did one on mine and can help thru here with a wright up I did when installing mine

qdude79

Heck yeah! I'll take any help I can get! Thanks!

norcalsvx

pm ranchotoyotatruck on this forum he can get a hold of a used rack for you

reggie 00

Just go to the Junk yard and find a style you like. Don't worry about the cross bars being to long. It is easy to shorten them.

I pulled pieces off of two different mini vans and cut things to length.

Harbor freight sells a thread sert tool for like $20 that works really well. You are drilling but with proper attention to detail and a little sealant nothing will leak.

I just drilled mine and did absolutely no type of sealant and watter tested it with the hose, no leaks what so ever with a mini lake up top.

This has been done a few times and documented both here and Ultimateyota that i know of.

olharleyman

OK so this weekend I had a pretty busy schedule with my 4runner. First off I installed my roof rack I bought from RUSTY DAVIS I repainted it first just for a new look not that it was in bad shape or anything truth is it was in real nice shape thanks again RUSTY DAVIS.

The first step was to pull the head liner and with the help of a good friend my mine who just happens to have 15 years working for TOYOTA we pulled the interior panels from one side of the truck to find the cross members. Once we found them and marked them with painters tape on the roof we then assembled the rack and found a suitable mounting point and marked it and set it up for installation then remembered one minor detail that we over looked. Thank god we thought of this minor detail that we overlooked THE SUNROOF.

Not that its a bad thing but we totally forgot to factor in the slide rail for the retract function of the sunroof , after rethinking the sunroof we came to the conclusion that the point that I choose to mount the rack was not going to interfere with the sunroof it was time to start the drilling.

First thing before drilling we taped the sides of the roof where we had the outsides of the rails and that gave us a good point to mark the roof with the sharpie.We then went back to the inside of the truck and reinstalled the interior panels and headliner.

We then went a got out the drill bits and a block of wood. The drill bit if I remember correctly was a 9/32s (don't hold me to that) then took the 2x4 and put the drill bit on it and cut the 2x4 to fit the length with we then took an extra 1/8 inch off so only the very tip of the drill bit was loner then the wood block.The reason for the tip of the drill bit being a bit longer was so after drilling Thur the block only that would come Thur and when drilling it to the roof it would not good to far Thur and catch the headliner tearing or ripping it.

Now came the drilling with the piece of wood set on the drill bit and the drill in hand it was time to commence with the task of drilling (Yes I was a bit nervous) but with the pre marked points in site I went to each mark with my punch and made a dimple in the roof so the bit would not walk.
Next was the moment of truth DRILLING the first hole. I went to the first mark with total appreciation and started to drill , this is where the dimple came into play because the wax on the roof made it rather slick and the bit would have slide pretty easily.

With the bit tip firmly in the dimple the drilling stated , first the metal shaving got me very nervous and then it happened the block of wood hit the roof stopping the cutting action and downward motion of the drill.

The first hole had been drilled and the block of wood did a EXELLENT job of stopping me from drilling Thur the headliner. After that drilling the next 11 holes was like walking , I didnt even think about it I just drilled next thing ya know all the holes were drilled and BRETT and I were pulling the tape off (the tape really was two purposes 1 good for making the marks for drilling and not hurting the paint and 2 it helps protect the paint if the drill bit slips no scratching the paint.(a trick I use when installing parts on a custom HARLEY or other high dollar parts)

Next step was to fit the (brass) inserts that BRETT graped from his tool box and see how they fit. I still don't know what they are called ( thread sert tool is correct name) but they work like a rivets but the inside is threaded for a 6mm bolt. Just a note Friday I went to the hardware store and found 12 1/4" and 2 1" long tapered head stainless steel bolts that fit the tread in the rivet thing. BRETT had also the tool (matco tools) that inserted these in the roof don't know what its called either. But its basically like a rivet gun but where you place the rivet there is a threaded shaft the same pitch as the bolts.You screw in the insert set it in the hole and just like a rivet gun pull the handle until you feel the insert mushrooming , but don't pull to hard or you will ruin the insert and have to drill it out hoping that you can install another one without any damage to the roof.

We did both sides and placed the rack on the roof finding that all lined up perfect YES, once I was sure that it fit right it was time to fit the rack for good.

All the bolts went into the new threaded inserts and a drop of blue lock tight had them holding like they where factory installed (better if you ask me) The roof rack looks great and holds even better total time for the install was about 2 hours and was really not to hard to do maybe a 7 out of 10 but with the correct tools and supplies needed it was a breeze and fun at the same time.

Hope this will help others in the future and later this week in the sunlight I will take some pictures of the finished product to add here. But all I have is a web cam so I could not take any picture since I did this at another friends shop and he was busy doing business as usual. So I didnt want to freak out his customers either had I had a digital camera.
If anyone has any questions feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer them and yes I will find out the proper names for the inserts and tool used to complete this install and add them later.
heres a picture with the rack completed I dont own a digital camrea so this is a picture my friend took for me so I had something to show here atleast