Installing oem roof rack the right way?

I have been reading horror stories about everyones roof rack leaking after the install. So I just wanted to confirm with everyone if this might be the final methodology to create a leak proof install.

1. Bend the mounting bracket arm from the beginning to ensure a more snug fit where the end meets the front of the roof.
2. Put down a 1/4 hole rubber washer on the truck top
3. Put the mounting bracket on the truck
4. Put another 1/4 hole rubber washer on top of the bracket hole
5. Put loctite non corrosive bolt sealant on all thread of the bolts. I assume doing this over top of the sealant that is already on the bolts that come with the kit is okay to do?
6. Put bolts in hole lol
7. Put a glob of non corrosive silicone over top of the bolt head.

I figure putting the washers like this will seal the bottom of mounting bracket to the roof of car, and the second washer will create a seal from bottom of bolt head to top of mounting bracket. Then the sealant is just overkill to ensure it does not get in. Anyone see something wrong with this setup or if there are any cheaper alternatives to any of the items mentioned?

Rubber Washers:

$7 Hard-to-Find Fastener 14973211813 Rubber Washer, 1/4 x 1-1/4", 8

https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Find-Fa...=1505331551&sr=1-1&keywords=1/4+rubber+washer

Bolt Sealant:

$24 LOCTITE Automotive Head Bolt & Water Jacket Thread Sealant - Eliminates Corrosion, Prevents Premature Loosening - 50 ml, 1 Pack

https://www.amazon.com/Loctite-1158...05331782&sr=8-1&keywords=loctite+bolt+sealant

Non Corrosive Silicone :

$51 Loctite 234325 Clear 51388-CQ Super Flex Silicone Non-Corrosive RTV Adhesive Sealant, 300 mL Cartridge

https://www.amazon.com/Loctite-2343...5331964&sr=8-2&keywords=non+corrosive+sealant

 

I went to install mine myself and the factory cut holes were no aligned with the actual body so the screws wouldnt go in. Took it to my dealer and they said it happens, and charged me $200 for install. I called toyota HR and explained and are gonna reimburse me the $200. I havent had any leaks yet, its been in a tropical storm and multiple car washes

 

Yea I am not trying to get the dealer to do it since i probably wont get reimbursed lol.

 

Not sure how kosher it is but I used black RTV on my bolts when I installed my LED bar brackets in my factory roof holes and never had a drop of water enter the cab. I paired that with a rubber washer under my bracket.

Looking back I would've made sure NOT to put the RTV on the end of the bolt but instead A little off from the tip....once you gum up the threads if it's on the tip of your bolt it's hard to tell if you aren't crossthreading or not since you get so much resistance. I'm sure that's common knowledge (like when applying loctite) but it didn't cross my mind at the time.

I didn't even use anything around the bolt heads themselves and had no issues so I'm sure a good rim of silicone under the bolt heads would be good for extra measure. Most water will make its way under the weather seal rather than bolt head though.

Edit: I think I actually used permatex black silicone now that I'm thinking about it.

 

I just bought a set of the OEM racks and plan to install them soon (maybe tomorrow). My set came with 8 foam washers to put between the truck top and brackets. Are you planning just to not use the foam washers and replace those with the rubber ones?

 

Mine did leak after install, but I applied silicone to the bolts and that stopped.

 

Mine is an aftermarket FrontRunner. I gooped up the bolts with silicone before inserting. Hasn't leaked yet. I'm pretty sure this is what FR recommended.

 

Did you apply to the outside of the bolts or did you remove each one and put silicone down in the threads?

 

A little in the threads and a little around the outside. Doesn't take much, seems my leak was in the thread hole. The sticky washers they give you don't water seal it very well.

 

so use silicone ?

 

That's what I did, so far so good. I'll pull it up and check one of these days to see if the silicone is still in good shape. But by doing that, I would then have to apply more since it would pull it all apart... so... maybe in a few months..

 

Can someone provide the length of the m6 pivot bolt. I broke my bolt and need to find a replacement. Thanks

 

Dug this thread up from the grave. I recently purchased an OEM rack so I was researching the best way to install it. Already had some permatex rtv clear silicone on hand. This is great stuff, I've found several uses for it, better than glue in some cases. it peels off of most surfaces without leaving any residue. Purchased 10 rubber washers from Ace Hardware then got busy installing. Applied silicone around each hole then placed the rubber washers on top of the silicone; blue loctite on the bolt threads and a dab of silicone under the head of each bolt. I didn't use the foam washers that came with the rack. Hopefully this will prevent any leaks. Thanks to the OP & others for their input.

 

OP says to bend the bracket. Can anyone confirm whether or not this is necessary?

 

I needed to bend one side but not the other. For a snug fit, you can bend & adjust the front rack mounts after the fact as needed. I'd say it's nearly impossible to know how much to bend it before hand.

 

Just installed the rack today. reasonably easy. make sure to start all the bolts before tightening them down, I had some holes that
weren't lining up too good, but with a little work I got everything in tight. I used the foam washers that came with it but also
put plenty of silicone under, around, and over each one making sure to get it in the threads. i feel pretty confident that it will
be water tight. I DID NOT need to bend any brackets. To be honest this OEM rack seems a little cheap, for the money I'd expect
a more robust unit. I kinda wish I had spent the money on a Prinsu but seeing how i dont overland and will only use the rack for the
occasional 12' length of lumber I couldn't come to spend $700+ on the Prinsu.
Toyota should have made a higher quality rack, the rack that came stock on my old crappy Honda Element was MUCH more
solid than this one. WTH Toyota.

 

How many rubber washers are needed?

isn't one big difference that prinsu style racks (there's Hooke Road that's cheaper) cause lots of wind noise, whereas a folded-straight OEM one does not?

 

I returned my OEM one because the crossbars didn’t fit properly. It was silent stowed, but deployed the crossbars were /loud/

 

didn't fit properly, or made noise?
Wind noise is probably normal, hence people's tendency to keep it stowed straight when not in use.
But some insulation added to the roof past the headliner could help.
I wonder how hard it is to remove the headliner to add that.

Just installed my roof rails. Man those were some bad instructions.
They seemed to suggest using the small bolts on the front mounts.
But then on the final (medium) bolts holding the top plastic to the metal mounts, they didn't want to screw in all the way, and may have cross-threaded at the end. And/or strip easily at the torx head.

The fronts don't sit flush. Maybe I should've test fit it first dry, before applying silicone.
Because now it might not be wise to take off, to bend the brackets/mounts.
I hear they have to be bent down, which even though I tried with it on the truck, it didn't help much.
Gonna keep researching what to do.
The weather seal basically is lifted up off the truck where wind and rain can flow in, rather than keeping it out

 

I could grab my crossbars in the mounted position and move them up and down a quarter inch. Very sloppy. The wind noise probably is Toyota “normal” but atrocious compared to other OEM racks such as Subaru.
Yeah i made sure all the bolts were in before i tightened it, and i only used the supplied seals so it leaked.

The smallest torx screws tighten the plastic to the metal mount. I had to use a dowel in one hole to line it up to install the screws.

Insofar as the large “seal” at the base of the plastic, it didn’t seal tightly on mine either — but i was able to get it visibly flush.

Just not a good design IMHO