Retrofit factory roof racks on 99 legacy?

[Alex Hyder]

Now that kid #2 is on the way I'm going to have to put the skis on the roof
somehow - no more folding down half the rear seat.

My 99 legacy wagon doesn't have a factory rack, and I'm not wild about how
the Thule and Yakima clamps fit into the window seals. Aftermarket bars on
the factory rails seems to be the ideal set-up.

Rails were obviously an option in 99 (because my car doesn't have them) Were
they installed at the factory or at the dealer? One idea is to find a set of
rails at a junkyard (probably not a high demand item, unlike headlights,
fenders and the like) and have them installed, either by the dealer or by
myself.

Does anybody know
1) Do they just screw into the sheet metal, or is there a nut on the
backside?
2) Is there an installation kit - would dealers still be able to get it?
3) How difficult? Am I crazy?

Any thoughts?

Remove the obvious in my address to email. Thanks,

Alex

 

[Marshall Banana]

Now that kid #2 is on the way I'm going to have to put the skis on the roof
somehow - no more folding down half the rear seat.

My 99 legacy wagon doesn't have a factory rack, and I'm not wild about how
the Thule and Yakima clamps fit into the window seals. Aftermarket bars on
the factory rails seems to be the ideal set-up.

Rails were obviously an option in 99 (because my car doesn't have them) Were
they installed at the factory or at the dealer? One idea is to find a set of
rails at a junkyard (probably not a high demand item, unlike headlights,
fenders and the like) and have them installed, either by the dealer or by
myself.

Ah, been there, done that. I ended up finding a great deal at a junkyard
(20 bucks for everything) but before I did, I was about to order from this
place: http://www.a1-autoracks.com/roofpermanent.html They claim to
supply the exact same roof racks that many manufacturers use, and indeed
the rack I pulled off a Ford Explorer is identical to their "Four
Seasons" model.

Does anybody know
1) Do they just screw into the sheet metal, or is there a nut on the
backside?

The one I pulled off the Explorer screwed into rivnuts, which are blind
fasteners, similar to a pop-rivit with threads inside it. Since I
am a perfectionsit sort, I decided to use the original fasters. Luckily, I
hang around my local airport a lot and know a mechanic who had the tool to
install rivnuts. Unluckily, the stock bolts had metric threads and his
tool only worked on SAE, so I had to install them by hand, which is time
consuming but not difficult. The racks that the webpage sells come with
self sealing screws, and I assume you need no special tools for them.

2) Is there an installation kit - would dealers still be able to get it?

I would guess that the roof rack was probably a dealer installed option to
begin with, it's quite likely that they can still get the factory rack and
install it, but I'm sure they'll charge a good bit for it.

3) How difficult? Am I crazy?

Not hard at all, took me maybe 2 hours tops. Just remember, measure
twice, drill once.

Any thoughts?

I like cake.

Dan