Roof Rail Leak Free Fixing.

[Transportus Maximus]

I done this a few weeks ago. I did use OMTEC bars but they were one piece. Not sure if it’s a two piece set on the LWB van but mine is SWB. It just be said, they’re largely a cosmetic item and if you are expecting to heavily load the roof up then you might be better off with a proper rack or more substantial bars.

I followed the guide in this thread, using SS M6 threaded rod, roofing epdm washers and SS nylock flanged nuts for the lower nut end regular SS nylocks to affix the bars to the bolts. Despite others advise, I did go belts’n’braces and put some silicone into the roof holes before putting the bolts in, not loads, just enough to fill the small void in and around the roof holes, and a little excess to squeeze between the washer and form a bed when the bolts were tightened down. It certainly hasn’t made a mess of it all all and I could clearly see the washer compressed nice and equally around the bolt.

Don’t want to tempt fate but I’m pretty confident that it’s all nicely sealed up.

 

[Pelicansquawk]

I done this a few weeks ago. I did use OMTEC bars but they were one piece. Not sure if it’s a two piece set on the LWB van but mine is SWB. It just be said, they’re largely a cosmetic item and if you are expecting to heavily load the roof up then you might be better off with a proper rack or more substantial bars.

I followed the guide in this thread, using SS M6 threaded rod, roofing epdm washers and SS nylock flanged nuts for the lower nut end regular SS nylocks to affix the bars to the bolts. Despite others advise, I did go belts’n’braces and put some silicone into the roof holes before putting the bolts in, not loads, just enough to fill the small void in and around the roof holes, and a little excess to squeeze between the washer and form a bed when the bolts were tightened down. It certainly hasn’t made a mess of it all all and I could clearly see the washer compressed nice and equally around the bolt.

Don’t want to tempt fate but I’m pretty confident that it’s all nicely sealed up.

Thanks for the reply. I’ve got feet for the front and back, but just the centre bits none. Is that what you had on the one piece bars?

The reason I’m slightly not confident is because I bought them off eBay from someone who has clearly opened them before, so I don’t know if anything is missing or not.

 

[JumpShip]

Same as these ? Even got the instructions in the ad -

Pardon our interruption...

 

[Pelicansquawk]

Same as these ? Even got the instructions in the ad -

Pardon our interruption...

Yes those are the ones. Thanks! Actually the two square sticky foam pads which go under the centre are missing…but I guess I can use the six round ones as I won’t be using them, due to following the method in this thread.

One good thing about these split rails is that the bases fit easily over the washers…and there is no narrow gap to get the nut in. It’s pretty straight forward.

 

[JumpShip]

Yeah anything under the feet to stop them marking the paint , I was gonna cut up an old mouse mat and use that .

 

[Jack M]

Hi All, I need to do this repair as my roof rails are leaking. Is there a captive nut on the inside of the roof or do I need to take the headliner out to have access from inside and outside? Apologies if this has already been made clear previously. Thanks for any help, Jack

 

[Skyliner33]

Hi All, I need to do this repair as my roof rails are leaking. Is there a captive nut on the inside of the roof or do I need to take the headliner out to have access from inside and outside? Apologies if this has already been made clear previously. Thanks for any help, Jack

Captive.

 

[Jack M]

Captive.

Thanks very much!!

 

[Tully80]

Just noticed today that I have a soggy headliner, water must be coming in from the roof bar fixing points. At the moment I have a c-channel and then the bar sitting on top. What's the best fix for this?
Threaded bar with liquid selent, put on the c-channel and roof bar followed by a nylon nut?
Thanks all.

 

[sgh]

As per my previous, a few post up, and I’ll say it again, (no offence intended I promise ) but use liquid PTFE on the thread. It is a proprietary product for sealing THREADS. Silicone is NOT. By all means (if you feel the urge) you can back it up with Silicone on the mating surfaces (ie roof to bracket, I didn’t bother) but the silicone will not flow into the lands on the threads. This stuff seals LP water and I’ve used it in anger on many pressurised water systems.

View attachment 310133

Just installed my roof rails using this.

 

[dannymassive]

Just jumping on the band wagon here....

I've just done mine today, albeit my rails are unidentified so I just checked for clearance of the nuts and cut the threaded bar 10mm longer than the original bolts, so 6x 50mm lengths. Looks much better in my opinion!

Like others, I purchased the stainless steel threaded bar, nylock nuts and EPDM M6x16mm roofing washers from Toolstation, then bought some individual stainless steel M6 nuts and washers from my local fastenings store.

Fingers crossed no more leaks, although the barn door seals are questionable!

 

[Tully80]

Nice. I've bought all the bits to attempt the same fix the next dry day we get in Ireland which should be around August

 

[Wieczor]

Inspired by this thread, I decided to fit my roof rails as well.
All metal parts are stainless steel




I tested various combinations on a drilled bucket with half a liter of the water. No leaks after few days




Stainless steal rods fitter with loctite 246 (blue one)




My "bucket test" said the best combinations are EPMD bonded washers + flanged nyloc nuts.
In order to sleep better also used chassis wax (just in case) to prevent potential leaks.




Fitted roof rails and roof bars as well. VW looks much better right now



What really surprised me - It's not significantly noisier