OEM Roof Rack Issues . . .

I picked up this OEM roof rack to haul a couple of surfboards. Super pumped! The installation was relatively easy - some of the holes didn't perfectly line up, but not bad. But the swing arm bolt . . . literally the LAST bolt to call it mission complete, is giving me hell. It just drops all the way into the hole. Straight to the bottom. Doesn't grab anything. That thing will fly right off if I even try to put a board on it. Anyone have any experience with this?

 

The small plate with the welded nut came loose from the rail assembly, it's only held down by small plastic tabs that can easily break. You will have to unbolt that rail and check. I had this happen on my 2020 SR5 (sold), which I installed the rack.

 

What a bummer, thanks for the beta. Does the bolt need to have any play in it for the swing arm to open/close? Wondering if I just skip the BS and load if full of loctite . . . not saying it's a smart idea but sometimes I'm lazy.

 

I think I’m having the same problem. Was just about to put the final bolt in to latch the swing arm and when I dropped it in and tried to screw it down nothing was catching. I shined a light into the hole and don’t see any threads so I’m assuming there was a plate in there which dropped out…. To make matters worse I’m having a hard time getting one of the other bolts out now to undo the thing as it stripped. Anyone else having problems with this crap hardware?