940 Wagon roof rack removal.

[Ursan]

This is the "spacer" in the roof that the roof rack mounting screw goes through. Anyone know what size it is? It's just a threaded tube.

 

[Ursan]

Turns out that the hole is M10x1.5.

So I bought stainless button head screws and neoprene washers and went from this:

To this:

Nice thing is I got 40mm long bolts which means I can make or modify the stock rails and make them removable.

 

[Khrrck]

Looks good to me. If you wanna be fancy you can punch the bolt through a sheet of cardboard and spray the head to match... but who's gonna be looking at your roof anyway?

 

[Ursan]

I like the rugged "steam punk" look.

 

[Khrrck]

I like the rugged "steam punk" look.

Then it's too shiny. Grunge it up a little.

 

[Ursan]

Then it's too shiny. Grunge it up a little.

I'll copper oxide it.

 

[noz-e8tr]

Wow...I'll just bump this 11 year old tread instead of starting a new one. I'd like to remove the roof rack off my 91 945 so I can sand and re-paint the rack and top of the car (clear coat has shat the bed) . I can see screws from the outside holding the lower mounts on, but I'm not sure what those go into. Can the rack be removed from the outside without having to pull the headliner? Not wanting to plug anything as the roof rack will go back on after paint.

 

[DET17]

I removed the rack off my 90 745; presumably the 9 series are identical. Mine simply used a stainless steel sheet metal screw and some sealant around same. I choose to recycle mine as I like the long roof smoothness.... to each his own.

I used a tiny rubber gasket along with weatherstrip adhesive (black) to ensure the screws remained water tight..... the IPD plug kit is a joke, and they disintegrate within a couple years of sunlight. Further details in my wagon thread.

 

[noz-e8tr]

I removed the rack off my 90 745; presumably the 9 series are identical. Mine simply used a stainless steel sheet metal screw and some sealant around same. I choose to recycle mine as I like the long roof smoothness.... to each his own.

I used a tiny rubber gasket along with weatherstrip adhesive (black) to ensure the screws remained water tight..... the IPD plug kit is a joke, and they disintegrate within a couple years of sunlight. Further details in my wagon thread.

Great info thanks. I was hoping I could remove it for paint without having to mess with the headliner. Looks like that is possible.

 

[945T]

Wow...I'll just bump this 11 year old tread instead of starting a new one. I'd like to remove the roof rack off my 91 945 so I can sand and re-paint the rack and top of the car (clear coat has shat the bed) . I can see screws from the outside holding the lower mounts on, but I'm not sure what those go into. Can the rack be removed from the outside without having to pull the headliner? Not wanting to plug anything as the roof rack will go back on after paint.

The 940 wagon stock roof rails are attached by a single hex head screw and washer under the roof at each of the three mounting points. You need to either remove the headliner or be willing to punch a hole through the headliner to get to them. Not a fun job no matter how you slice it. In your case I'd definitely just mask it off and paint the roof and roof rails separately as desired. It will be tedious to sand close around the cleats, but probably easier than dropping the headliner. If you do a good job of feathering your sanding and fanning out the clear coat it shouldn't be all that noticeable.

 

[noz-e8tr]

The 940 wagon stock roof rails are attached by a single hex head screw and washer under the roof at each of the three mounting points. You need to either remove the headliner or be willing to punch a hole through the headliner to get to them. Not a fun job no matter how you slice it. In your case I'd definitely just mask it off and paint the roof and roof rails separately as desired. It will be tedious to sand close around the cleats, but probably easier than dropping the headliner. If you do a good job of feathering your sanding and fanning out the clear coat it shouldn't be all that noticeable.

Just a quick followup. My roof rack was 100% removable from the top without the need to mess with the head liner. There are tight fitting rubber grometts with a threaded metal barrel in the center that the screws from the rack thread into. Two on each corner. These are designed similar to a bushing but with the metal barrel tapped. Both my 91 and 93 940 wagons use this mounting method. Now I will be removing the headline regardless as after seeing how it looks with no rack, I have decided to weld up the 4 holes and go rackless.