Tourer roof rail trims - How do they come off?

Axolotl · 22nd January 2012, 11:51

Can anyone explain how the roof rail trims are held on, and how to remove them so I can seal underneath the back end?

By judicious pouring of water and observing when the drip starts, I've traced the water leak into my load area to somewhere under the back end of the driver's side roof trim and I want to get it off to get some sealant on the seam I assume is underneath the trim.

Once the roof rails are off, do the trims slide out longitudinally, or lift off clips?

Has anyone done this? Do the clips break and can you get new ones etc.?

Thanks.

Petetourer · 22nd January 2012, 11:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by Axolotl

Can anyone explain how the roof rail trims are held on, and how to remove them so I can seal underneath the back end?

By judicious pouring of water and observing when the drip starts, I've traced the water leak into my load area to somewhere under the back end of the driver's side roof trim and I want to get it off to get some sealant on the seam I assume is underneath the trim.

Once the roof rails are off, do the trims slide out longitudinally, or lift off clips?

Has anyone done this? Do the clips break and can you get new ones etc.?

Thanks.

If you look at the inside of the roof trims you will see 3 sections made of rubber....

These are like flaps... Pull them down and you will see 2 bolts behind each of them...

Undo these bolts (6 in total) and then the roof rail will just lift off....

Simply the reverse for refitting.....

HTH

Petetourer · 22nd January 2012, 11:56

Just Noticed you are in Reading....

If you are ever passing Wycombe, drop me a message and I can show you mate

beinet1 · 22nd January 2012, 14:50

Hi,

After removing the roof rail, the trim is undone by pulling sharply up. Some of the clips migth break, but the roof rail will hold the trim in place when fitted. That was the case when I did mine

Axolotl · 22nd January 2012, 15:03

It was the trim under the rails I was worried about, not the rails themselves. There's a very handy "How to" I found on fitting new rails to a ZT that explained how they're held on, but he didn't take the trims off.

As long as the rails hold the trim in place when they're back in place, I'm not too worried about breaking the clips.

Thanks again. A mine of useful information as usual.

kaiser · 22nd January 2012, 15:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Axolotl

Can anyone explain how the roof rail trims are held on, and how to remove them so I can seal underneath the back end?

By judicious pouring of water and observing when the drip starts, I've traced the water leak into my load area to somewhere under the back end of the driver's side roof trim and I want to get it off to get some sealant on the seam I assume is underneath the trim.

Once the roof rails are off, do the trims slide out longitudinally, or lift off clips?

Has anyone done this? Do the clips break and can you get new ones etc.?

Thanks.

It is strange if you have a leak there. The roof rails trim sit in channels in the roof, which are completely sealed, except for a couple of bolts, which are sealed with some paste. These bolt holes are the only physical holes into the car from the rails, or, rather, should be, if the car has been properly manufactured.
If I remember correct, I pulled the whole insert out of the channel towards the back without any problems

Axolotl · 22nd January 2012, 16:21

Kaiser, thanks for the tip about sliding the trims out.

For info, the last few photos in this thread on the other site shows where I think the leak is.

http://forums.mg-rover.org/showthread.php?t=408729

The thread shows someone else's Tourer with exactly the same leak and the steps he took to track it down. I've done similar, and the drips only appear when I put water in at the rear end of the trim behind the rear rail mount.

It isn't down the roof rail bolt holes, it is between body panels where they join underneath the rear end of the trim strip.

The water goes in there, and emerges as a drip below the side window after running down the inside of the rear pillar.

The theory is that the join has insufficient caulking from new, and it eventually starts to leak. (Mine did 85,000 from new before the leak started).

I'll confirm when I have the trim off and seal it with some silicon sealer.

Cheers.

kaiser · 22nd January 2012, 17:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Axolotl

Kaiser, thanks for the tip about sliding the trims out.

For info, the last few photos in this thread on the other site shows where I think the leak is.

http://forums.mg-rover.org/showthread.php?t=408729

The thread shows someone else's Tourer with exactly the same leak and the steps he took to track it down. I've done similar, and the drips only appear when I put water in at the rear end of the trim behind the rear rail mount.

It isn't down the roof rail bolt holes, it is between body panels where they join underneath the rear end of the trim strip.

The water goes in there, and emerges as a drip below the side window after running down the inside of the rear pillar.

The theory is that the join has insufficient caulking from new, and it eventually starts to leak. (Mine did 85,000 from new before the leak started).

I'll confirm when I have the trim off and seal it with some silicon sealer.

Cheers.

I had a look on the other side. I think if you clean your channels, you should be able to see if there is a potential leak there. When I checked mine, there was a visible layer of sealer under the paint, and the paint surface was unbroken and not rusty. Looking at the pictures on the other site, there are clear rust damage visible. Obviously then there can be leaks. But strip, clean and have a careful look. Mine were dirty, but fully like new, when cleaned.

beinet1 · 22nd January 2012, 17:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaiser

I had a look on the other side. I think if you clean your channels, you should be able to see if there is a potential leak there. When I checked mine, there was a visible layer of sealer under the paint, and the paint surface was unbroken and not rusty. Looking at the pictures on the other site, there are clear rust damage visible. Obviously then there can be leaks. But strip, clean and have a careful look. Mine were dirty, but fully like new, when cleaned.

Hi there!

Its my thread you are refer to

There was no traces of rust or anything at the leak spot. The only rusty places where the flange where the rubber seal for the tailgate was fitted. I have no idea how long mine had been leaking, but it leaked the day that I bought it. It is still 100% water tight to this day

I should take I picture before I added the automotive body sealer to the leak spot, but forgot it

Tip: add grease to the potential leak spot and test for watertightness before messing with the sealer. I used an automotive body sealer as this one can be painted over with the correct color when dry.

Good luck!

Axolotl · 23rd January 2012, 13:02

Today I took off the roof rail and trim, and removed the door seal rubber from round the top of the tailgate opening to get at the plate joints.

The whole area was dirty, but no signs of any rust.

I've cleaned it all up, and there are maybe a few pinhole spots in the weld / sealant where water could be leaking in.

I've now sealed all the plate joints with duct tape, including the joint under the rail trim and reassembled the roof rail and trim.

And... the leak is still there.

I hosed water onto the roof and a few minutes later, the drips started inside. Trouble is, the water from the roof also ran off down the side window, so it could still be the window rubber that's leaking.

I seem to be able to start the drips by hosing the side window, which didn't seem to happen before. Maybe I just didn't wait long enough between hosing different areas, and the first drips take time to come through.

I'll let it all dry out and try just hosing the side window and nowhere else.

Oh happy days!

22nd January 2012, 11:51	#1
Axolotl Regular poster Rover 75 Tourer Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Reading Posts: 89 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Tourer roof rail trims - How do they come off? Can anyone explain how the roof rail trims are held on, and how to remove them so I can seal underneath the back end? By judicious pouring of water and observing when the drip starts, I've traced the water leak into my load area to somewhere under the back end of the driver's side roof trim and I want to get it off to get some sealant on the seam I assume is underneath the trim. Once the roof rails are off, do the trims slide out longitudinally, or lift off clips? Has anyone done this? Do the clips break and can you get new ones etc.? Thanks.

22nd January 2012, 11:56	#3
Petetourer This is my second home None at present Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Portishead Posts: 5,337 Thanks: 203 Thanked 246 Times in 194 Posts	Just Noticed you are in Reading.... If you are ever passing Wycombe, drop me a message and I can show you mate __________________ My First Ever Rover!! A 2002 75 2.0 V6 Club SE Tourer Then a 2002 MG ZT-T CDTI + in Starlight Silver Then a 2003 ZT-T 2.5 V6 180 + in Royal Blue Then a 2002 Rover 75 2.0 CDTi Connie SE Then a 2003 ZT-T 2.0 CDTi + In Le Mans Green 2004 1.8T ZT-T + In Goodwood Green [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

22nd January 2012, 14:50	#4
beinet1 Posted a thing or two Rover 75 2.0 V6 Auto Join Date: May 2011 Location: Sandnes - Norway Posts: 1,560 Thanks: 64 Thanked 283 Times in 174 Posts	Hi, After removing the roof rail, the trim is undone by pulling sharply up. Some of the clips migth break, but the roof rail will hold the trim in place when fitted. That was the case when I did mine

22nd January 2012, 15:03	#5
Axolotl Regular poster Rover 75 Tourer Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Reading Posts: 89 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	It was the trim under the rails I was worried about, not the rails themselves. There's a very handy "How to" I found on fitting new rails to a ZT that explained how they're held on, but he didn't take the trims off. As long as the rails hold the trim in place when they're back in place, I'm not too worried about breaking the clips. Thanks again. A mine of useful information as usual.

22nd January 2012, 16:21	#7
Axolotl Regular poster Rover 75 Tourer Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Reading Posts: 89 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Kaiser, thanks for the tip about sliding the trims out. For info, the last few photos in this thread on the other site shows where I think the leak is. http://forums.mg-rover.org/showthread.php?t=408729 The thread shows someone else's Tourer with exactly the same leak and the steps he took to track it down. I've done similar, and the drips only appear when I put water in at the rear end of the trim behind the rear rail mount. It isn't down the roof rail bolt holes, it is between body panels where they join underneath the rear end of the trim strip. The water goes in there, and emerges as a drip below the side window after running down the inside of the rear pillar. The theory is that the join has insufficient caulking from new, and it eventually starts to leak. (Mine did 85,000 from new before the leak started). I'll confirm when I have the trim off and seal it with some silicon sealer. Cheers.

23rd January 2012, 13:02	#10
Axolotl Regular poster Rover 75 Tourer Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Reading Posts: 89 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Today I took off the roof rail and trim, and removed the door seal rubber from round the top of the tailgate opening to get at the plate joints. The whole area was dirty, but no signs of any rust. I've cleaned it all up, and there are maybe a few pinhole spots in the weld / sealant where water could be leaking in. I've now sealed all the plate joints with duct tape, including the joint under the rail trim and reassembled the roof rail and trim. And... the leak is still there. I hosed water onto the roof and a few minutes later, the drips started inside. Trouble is, the water from the roof also ran off down the side window, so it could still be the window rubber that's leaking. I seem to be able to start the drips by hosing the side window, which didn't seem to happen before. Maybe I just didn't wait long enough between hosing different areas, and the first drips take time to come through. I'll let it all dry out and try just hosing the side window and nowhere else. Oh happy days!