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Wagon Roof Rail Removal

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125K views 91 replies 45 participants last post by  ytfgha20  
#1 ·
Image


Okay, That's not my car but it gives you a look how it will look like.

The removal of the wagon roof rails took about 2 hours. The headliner must be removed to access the hardware that holds the rail to the body.

The tools needed:

Phillips screwdriver
Straight screwdriver
10 & 14 mm sockets
Ratchet
Pickle fork door panel removal tool

1 - Remove the sunvisors including center visor. No brainer. Use a #2 Phillips head screw driver and just remove each screw.

2 - Remove all the grab handles. Under each end of the handle there is a cap. Becareful not to damage these caps because you will reuse them. I did not use anything to pry them off. The trick to get them off is to pull the handle and twist at the same time. With the other hand, simply pull on the covers. Be persistant. They will come off.

3 - Remove the seat belt attachments. All the seat belt anchors have covers. Becareful not to damage them. I used a straight head screw driver to gently pop them off. Twist the seat belt anchor to access the under side. I pryed them off there so if I did mark'em up, you won't see it. Under all the covers you will find a 14 mm bolt. Remove the bolts.

4 - Remove the interior panels. Here is where it gets fun. I started on the A-pillar (front @ windshield). Simply grab onto the top of the moulding about 3 inches down from the top and just pull towards yourself. They will pop free from the top. I just poped them loose @ the top and left them in the dash hanging free. Next the B-pillar. You will have to remove both upper and lower sections. Lossen the front and rear door jams sill covers. They will pop free by pulling them straght up. Get your finger underneth the moulding and pull up. On the rear area of the lower moulding you will find a push in plastic snap rivet. To remove the rivet all you need to do is use a straight screwdriver and gently slide it between the moulding and the rivet head. Not alot of force is needed. It will just slide right out. Also remove the part of the rivet left inside of the moulding. Now you must slowly remove the lower moulding by pulling over the door opening lip. Start at the side @ the front door by the top. You will have to work the moulding over the lip. The only way I can describe it is like replaceing a tire off a rim. Start at the top and slowly work it loose to the bottom. Once the foward edge is loose, simply pull the moulding towards the rear. It will come right out. The upper B-pillar moulding must be pulled from the top (same methond as the A-pillar). Once it comes loose at the top, slide the moulding upwards. The lower clip is too tight to come out.

5 - Remove the C-D pillar. Start by removing the rear cargo shade. Under those points where the shade goes into the panel you will find a phillps head screw. Remove the screw. At the rear you will also find a phillps head screw where the shade slides into. Remove that screw. Now using the same method as before, pull the moulding loose. I started at the C-pillar and then to the D-pilar. Once it was loose at both ends I worked it free by pulling straight out. At the same time a got my fingers in between the glass and the panel to help pop it free.

6 - Remove the rear moulding at the top of the cargo door area. It will come off by pulling straight down. Start on one side and work it free to the other.

7 - Repeat 4-6 on the other side.

8 - Remove to foward map light. Under the lens you will see two phillips head screws. Remove them. I used subaruparts.com to figure out how it comes out. Becareful not damage the lens. DO NOT TWIST the screwdriver to remove the lens. Just insert into slot and pry up. That will keep you from marking up the dome light. I learned the hard way. Unclip the wires to remove the entire assembly.

8 - Remove the snap in retainers that hold the headliner up. This is where you will need the pickle fork tool. There are 3 spots to remove these push-in type retainers. Under the rear moulding (step 6) you will find two of these. Slide the tool in between the headliner and the metal body to pop them free. The center tabs are just above the rear passenger area. These come out very easily. They are two-piece type so just gently remove the tab. I got my finger nail in between the tab and the headliner. It comes out without any force. These two pieces stay together and will pull out once the top pops out. The last roof tab is under the center visor area. This one was a mother but will come out using the pickle fork tool. Slide the tool in between the headliner and metal body.

9 - Remove dome light. The rear has a clear lens that has to be removed to access two phillpis head screws. Use a straight head screwdriver to remove the lens. Use the same methond as the other dome light. I left the wiring together and just slide the dome light assembly through the hole in the headliner.

10 - The headliner will now be free. Gently losen it free around all the rubber weatherstrips. Remove the headliner assembly through the rear cargo door. It might be helpful to have a friend guide it out. Put it some place safe where your cat won't claw on it or someone won't step on it.

11 - You will now see the rear attachment points where the roof rails bolts down at. The front attachment points are under the grab handle mounts. All bolts are 10mm. Remove the grabhandle mount by removing the two bolts. Now remove all the nuts that hold the rack in place. Your there. It's off now.

12 - At this point you will notice 8 holes under the roof rack attachment points that will leak water through if not sealed. I used 8 expansion plugs to seal em up. I got them @ Home Depot. The size is: #8-32 x 15/32. You will also need 8 screws: #8-32 x 1 inch.

12 - Insert the expansion plugs. The front must be inserted from the inside working the top through the hole. Insert one of the screws and tighten it down. At the same time hold onto the plug from the inside to keep it from turning. The rear has one easy one where you can just pop the plug in from the outside. The other one is the hardest. It must be inserted from the inside and it's hard to get your fingers up into the hole. Put a some vasaline on the plugs to help them slide in without damaing them.

13 - Reverse the step to reassemly. Becarful with all the weatherstrip so you don't deform or cut them. Dont forget to reinstall the grab handle mounting plates before you reinstall the headliner. Also, It's a good idea to wash your hands before handling the headliner so you don't mark it up.

Now step back and check it out. Looks great. I just need the roof mouldings to finish the job. The Canadian TS Model comes without the roof rails so you can use them. I don't have the part #'s from these rails but I will call a Canadian dealer on Monday to order these mouldings. If anyone knows the part #'s let me know.
 
#5 ·
It's really not that hard. I'll even walk you through it.

Here are the part #'s for the Canadian roof mouldings. Left side is 91046FE010 and right side is 91046FE000. I just ordered mine through subaruparts.com and they have them in thier data base. They sell for $ 51.44 each. I'll update when I get them installed.
 
#12 ·
just to throw in my $.02....i wanted to remove my roof rails but i decided to "smoke it over" for a while....i copied a picture of a silver one without the rails and pasted it to my desktop setting it as the backgound (wallpaper)....and after a few weeks, i changed my mind......ya might wanna think about it for a while.....and keep in mind, the sweet blue one at the top of this thread is way lowered with some killer wheels....just a thought
 
#14 · (Edited)
Don't know about Subaru racks, but Yakima lists both a clamp ("Q Tower") for a naked Wagon roof and a clamp ("Lowrider") for attaching to the factory rails. The Q tower should work for ya. Plus the Yakima stuff is cheaper and better than the Subaru stuff - although a lot of the rack accessories in the Subaru brochure look like Yak pieces. If I hadn't already bought lowriders, I might remove my rails - still might, but I use them quite a bit and the lowriders go on in less that 5 minutes. On the other hand, i've had the Q towers before and they go on almost as fast. But they might scratch the roof.......but I could use towels under them......I dunno. The answer though is yes, you can still put a rack on it!!

Chris
 
#15 ·
mark5211 said:
after a few weeks, i changed my mind......ya might wanna think about it for a while.....and keep in mind, the sweet blue one at the top of this thread is way lowered with some killer wheels....just a thought
Digging up an old thread here, but.. 1 year later, do you still have roof rails/racks?

Plus: anyone on this thread use a hitch-mount bike mount? If so, please post a pic or two, thanks!
 
#17 ·
Cincy-Rex said:
I just checked out Subaruparts.com......It will cost 70 to ship 2 of roof mouldings. Anyone know of a cheaper option?
At first I was like, $70 ain't bad. But after going myself they want $50 each for the mouldings and another 75 for ground shipping, for a total of 175!!!! That's nuts. Wonder what the dealer would charge with no shipping...

Edit: Also, are they color coded or just black? My car is black, but still curious if these will be a paint type finish or just flat black rubber basically... Probably the latter.
 
#20 ·
OotabaJinga said:
Y'know what would be cool? A quick release for the wagon rails- I like both looks and it'd be nice to have a way to switch back and forth.
You might be able to rig something up, but I doubt it'd be secure enough to hold any real load and you'd have some exposed brackets when they were off. ...in general I'd say removing the rails is something you should do if you really hate the rail look--procedure is too invovled, otherwise.

If anyone has photos of a rail-less wagon with stock wheels and springs, or knows of any, could you post a link here? Thanks
 
#86 ·
FWIW, many cars (sports cars especially) have provisions for occasional roof rack mounting - the Porsche Carrera has a really slick mounting system that is hidden when not in use, but can attach a roof rack, ski rack, bike rack, etc. Other cars like MINIs have similar setups, so the load bearing isn't as much an issue as the quality of the quick disconnect design. (i.e. don't make it out of angle aluminum stock from Home Depot :) )
 
#21 ·
I have an 04 wagon and really want to get rid of the roof rails. The instructions in this thread are awesome, but wondering if anyone has done this on an 04 wagon? Is it the same part number for the roof mouldings?

Also, my plan was to then place yakima or thule racks on the car if needed using the clamps for the naked wagon roof. I talked to an installer in Seattle about this, and he said that due to the growing thickness of the frame just above the windows as you move to the back of the car, you would have to mount the clamps way up to the front of the car which may look a little sillly and will limit the wieght that you can carry. Just thought I would pass that on... I am going to check in with another installer in the area and compare notes. Interested to see if anyone has done this before???

I'll probably do this mod anyway as I would only be hauling snowboards, and I could always put the single seat down and lay them in the car... and 5 people in a WRX is kind of too close for comfort.

Thanks for any info you can provide...
 
#22 ·
Well, after more inventisgation I have found that the part numbers change for the roof mouldings each model year.
2002> FE010 & FE000
2003> FE061 & FE071
and then in 2004 things changed alittle because now there are two roof moulding pieces for each side.
2004> FE041 & FE051 (front, $28 each) FE021 & FE031 (rear $45 each)
And it sounds like the 2004 mouldings may not be what you need if you remove the racks. trying to confirm this...

I called a couple dealers in Canada, and I guess they no longer sell a 2004 2.5TS wagon without the racks, so not much help there. :(

If anyone has removed the roof racks yet on an 04, I would love to hear how it went and have the roof moulding part number info?

thanks
 
#23 ·
I answered my own question (about a stock wagon w/o rails) by asking a friend to do a photochop for me (she loves cats). This is what a wagon w/ stock wheels and shocks would look like, before and after:

Image


Image


Sorry about being in the in the photo. Those are sunglasses in my hand in the chop. I should ask her to put in a BFG or i-pod or something.. (or a dead cat) :p