Roof Rack Broken Bolt (anybody has had this and got it fixed?)

You will need to drill it and use a screw extractor..... pick one up at your local hardware store.

oops... no that is a stud..... okay I would drill it out and see if I could then tread it with a thread tap. then you would have to use a bolt down through.... if there is enough "meat" to hold the threads. Also now you would need to seal it up really well. silicone?

Unicorn

You will need to drill it and use a screw extractor..... pick one up at your local hardware store.

oops... no that is a stud..... okay I would drill it out and see if I could then tread it with a thread tap. then you would have to use a bolt down through.... if there is enough "meat" to hold the threads. Also now you would need to seal it up really well. silicone?

Great! thank you ! that's good. I am going to hit up the hardware store and get this. New Project.

josiefoshow

Great! thank you ! that's good. I am going to hit up the hardware store and get this. New Project.

I wish you good luck. That sucks to have happen.

Yeah, sad to see your broken stud - Can happen to anyone though. I see in your pic that these studs have painted threads. No expert here, but that seems like a good way to strip the threads. Ford has a 7.7 ft. lb torque spec, so am guessing that's light enough on those painted treads to avoid damaging studs. Obviously, these roof accessory mounts are pretty lite-duty..

Hope u can re-thread. Heck, I'd probably just drill hole thru, set a stainless bolt 'n nut and seal with silicone. That would be stronger.

Cheers

JK.😂

Kenneth

Yeah, sad to see your broken stud - Can happen to anyone though. I see in your pic that these studs have painted threads. No expert here, but that seems like a good way to strip the threads. Ford has a 7.7 ft. lb torque spec, so am guessing that's light enough on those painted treads to avoid damaging studs. Obviously, these roof accessory mounts are pretty lite-duty..

Hope u can re-thread. Heck, I'd probably just drill hole thru, set a stainless bolt 'n nut and seal with silicone. That would be stronger.

Cheers

The problem with getting a nut up in there is that I believe that is all double walled as part of the roll cage. very hard to get up in there even to the lower "wall". You would probably have to drill through both sides of the hollow "tube" structure to be able to get a nut on it. I could be wrong but I just recently ran wiring down through that area just a few inches over.... Had to drill through both "walls" of the "tube".

It is possible that the "double wall" does not extend that far down so maybe? It is forward from where I was at.

Unicorn

The problem with getting a nut up in there is that I believe that is all double walled as part of the roll cage. very hard to get up in there even to the lower "wall". You would probably have to drill through both sides of the hollow "tube" structure to be able to get a nut on it. I could be wrong but I just recently ran wiring down through that area just a few inches over.... Had to drill through both "walls" of the "tube".

It is possible that the "double wall" does not extend that far down so maybe? It is forward from where I was at.

Yeah, you may be right. I haven't drilled this area, but seen a roof light bar install that did. Check-out ~ 3 minute on this YouTube vid

Cheers

Kenneth

Yeah, sad to see your broken stud - Can happen to anyone though. I see in your pic that these studs have painted threads. No expert here, but that seems like a good way to strip the threads. Ford has a 7.7 ft. lb torque spec, so am guessing that's light enough on those painted treads to avoid damaging studs. Obviously, these roof accessory mounts are pretty lite-duty..

Hope u can re-thread. Heck, I'd probably just drill hole thru, set a stainless bolt 'n nut and seal with silicone. That would be stronger.

Cheers

That makes total sense. mmmmmm the other option I was thinking is perhaps taking this to a steel shop and have them remove and grind off the current stud and weld the threaded rod onto the frame. Though I do like the option of drilling it out and doing it myself. I am wondering tools and hardware costing vs just paying for the welding.

Kenneth

Yeah, you may be right. I haven't drilled this area, but seen a roof light bar install that did. Check-out ~ 3 minute on this YouTube vid

Cheers

Looks a little thinner than the area I drilled. I custom cut my factory roof rack to fit above the light bar bracket. That area may well be able to fit a nut.... I would go with the nut as a stronger option!

That this bolt has paint on top looks like bad news, as it seems that it needed to be installed during early assembly because it wasn't accessible later. that means there's not going to be a pretty way to resolve this. 😕 I think you're gonna need this:

josiefoshow

Hey guys, I trie to install a roof rack on my Bronco. I used a wrench to tighten the rack and went too far. The bolt that is embedded into the framing of the Bronco came off. Anybody has had this happen? if so how did you fix it?

Hi there, I'd be happy to look into your Bronco concerns on my end. Will you send us a message with your VIN and dealership info? I can look into things on my end.

Ford Motor Company

Hi there, I'd be happy to look into your Bronco concerns on my end. Will you send us a message with your VIN and dealership info? I can look into things on my end.

WOW! great! yes
Dealership : Galpin Ford (Los Angeles)
VIN :1FMEE5DP2NLB59082

thank you so much for looking into this.

I had to use an extractor and then re-sleeve it as it was stripped out after extracting the bolt

deaconagent

I had to use an extractor and then re-sleeve it as it was stripped out after extracting the bolt

Can you please provide a little more detail on your fix? I was going to drill out the stud and try to tap it, screw in a SS bolt, epoxy it then grind off the bolt head to leave a stud...but not sure if there will be enough material to thread.

josiefoshow

Hey guys, I trie to install a roof rack on my Bronco. I used a wrench to tighten the rack and went too far. The bolt that is embedded into the framing of the Bronco came off. Anybody has had this happen? if so how did you fix it?

Just want to make sure you see this thread which deals with the issue. There was also extensive discussion on Bronco6G, but I couldn't locate that thread. It's a common mishap. A Bronco buddy and I were installing our Trailrax together, and the front mounting brackets cover those bolts pretty closely--a major nuisance to get the nuts seated, then tightened. I noticed my friend is left-handed, and we found that (righty) I could do the driver's side better, and he did the passenger's. The main thing is to use a ratcheting wrench, and now (as you've learned) not over-tighten.

https://thebronconation.com/accesso...during-rack-installation-t.11468/#post-308211

BostonBadlands

Just want to make sure you see this thread which deals with the issue. There was also extensive discussion on Bronco6G, but I couldn't locate that thread. It's a common mishap. A Bronco buddy and I were installing our Trailrax together, and the front mounting brackets cover those bolts pretty closely--a major nuisance to get the nuts seated, then tightened. I noticed my friend is left-handed, and we found that (righty) I could do the driver's side better, and he did the passenger's. The main thing is to use a ratcheting wrench, and now (as you've learned) not over-tighten.

https://thebronconation.com/accesso...during-rack-installation-t.11468/#post-308211

Thanks. I thought the video of the light bar install was insightful too. Apart from drilling out the stud and trying to tap it, I now have a plan B: drill through the frame and pass a bolt through from the underside, then epoxy/seal it. That should work.