This sort of fits both under aero mods and weight reduction. Nothing major just a little project to take up some of my time for the day. Hopefully this will help someone out later on. Any comments / suggestions / questions are more than welcome.
Tools used :
- Phillips screwdriver
- Flathead screwdriver
- Adjustable wrench
Here is a before shot :
Here is an after shot :
Here are my steps :
The rack was installed by the previous owner to carry his kayak. He put it on by drilling right through the metal on the roof instead of using channel clips.
Had to first remove the visors and the rear-view morror. Each visor had a total of three screws. Two holding in the pivot point and only one holding the visor clip. Rear-view mirror mount was covered by a snap-on plastic piece that I had to pry off and was held in place by three screws.
Next was the "Oh *hit!" handle on the passenger's side. Simply had to pry off the two screw covers and remove the two screws. The picture looks like four screws but both ends of the handle had stabilization pins rather than another screw.
Next came the black trim around both the driver's and passenger's sides. Only had to pull off enough so that the A and B pillar interior pieces could be snapped out. Each side was held in by seven clips that just had to be tugged on until they came free.
Slid the roof panel forward towards the hood and it came free. Didn't need any of these tools they were there just in case. The black circle on the panel is a stick on interior LED light. Later on I do want to try the LED mod to the dome light.
Rack was secured by a total of eight bolts through the roof (4 for each corner).
This is what it looked like from the exterior X 4.
Sanded down all four mounting points so they looked like this. Just did it rought for now and will try to make it a little smoother later on down the road.
Under each set of two holes I put a little piece of clear tape so that the metal filler that I was using didn't seep through and get everywhere. The idea is that after I put a couple layers of the filler on and sand them down I will be able to simply peel this tape off. I also folded one edge of the tape onto itself so that there is a little pull tab to remove the tape later, no scraping at and tearing of the tape with my fingernails.
Used this stuff and hopefully it does the trick.
Here is a shot of everything that was removed sitting on my rear cargo cover.
While I was at it removed all of this stuff for a little weight reduction :
- Rear cargo cover
- Fold up trunk divider
- Locking storage bin cover
- Jack (there were two for some reason)
Now looks like this in the back.
Only took about an hour in all. Have not yet put the roof panel back in as I want to apply and sand a couple more layers of the metal filler before doing so.
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