Roof Transport System (RTS) Mounting Anchors

[dphil66]

I purchased an RTS for my 996, and in theory, it should be a 10 minute job to install it. The factory used set screws (designed for a flat blade screwdriver, not the Allen-wrench type) to fill up the mounting holes, which are supposed to be removed, then you mount the anchors for the roof rack.

The factory installed these set screws before painting the car, so you'd have to break the paint to get these loose. This is impossible to do without breaking off the tips of the set screws. It only takes one hand with moderate torque on a screwdriver to break them off because they used cheap soft metal, and the painted-over joint isn't even thinking about breaking loose.

Now they have to all be drilled and tapped. What a pain!! Does anybody know how deep I can go with the drill? Because the tap will only make full threads after its already been inserted by about a quarter inch, I have to drill pretty deep. Plus it's really hard not to scratch the paint of the car in the process.

Am I completely missing something here? There has got to be an easier way than this. No amount of swear-words has helped. If they had just put some grease over those screws, I would have had the whole roof rack on in about 10 minutes!! GGGRRRRR!!!

[brucey]

I purchased an RTS for my 996, and in theory, it should be a 10 minute job to install it. The factory used set screws (designed for a flat blade screwdriver, not the Allen-wrench type) to fill up the mounting holes, which are supposed to be removed, then you mount the anchors for the roof rack.

The factory installed these set screws before painting the car, so you'd have to break the paint to get these loose. This is impossible to do without breaking off the tips of the set screws. It only takes one hand with moderate torque on a screwdriver to break them off because they used cheap soft metal, and the painted-over joint isn't even thinking about breaking loose.

Now they have to all be drilled and tapped. What a pain!! Does anybody know how deep I can go with the drill? Because the tap will only make full threads after its already been inserted by about a quarter inch, I have to drill pretty deep. Plus it's really hard not to scratch the paint of the car in the process.

Am I completely missing something here? There has got to be an easier way than this. No amount of swear-words has helped. If they had just put some grease over those screws, I would have had the whole roof rack on in about 10 minutes!! GGGRRRRR!!!

does this help at all?

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=931

Also - it's always worth tightening these sort of fixings first to break the paint / corrosion before trying to remove.

[dphil66]

Lucky me, I have the 'old' design, which used set screws for a flat-blade screwdriver, instead of an Allen head. I tried tightening one of those screws to break the paint first, and the little ears just broke off in the other direction. I also tried cutting the paint around another one with an exacto knife, and not only did that not work either, but I also created the first opportunity in this adventure for the body shop.

But now, it's almost finished. After hours of trying different things, I finally figured out the trick - bore out the screws with a drill size equal to the minor diameter of a 6-1.00 metric screw, and gently work a tap into it, removing the shavings with the tip of a magnetized drill bit along the way. I now have them drilled and tapped, and ready for the roof rack.

Except for the first anchor, where I had originally attempted to use some high-end helical screw remover made by Kobalt, from Lowe's. For the record, beware of anything made of metal that spells its name with a K. Like "Krazy Krank Jack Stands". You can bet it's Krap if they use a "K".

So this super-duper screw remover, on the very first try, breaks off in the small hole I'd already drilled. Since it's hardened high-strength alloy tool steel, every drill bit I use goes dull in about 1 rotation. It's hopeless, as the broken off part is totally subterranean. So I try drilling with moderate pressure and some oil and a new HSS drill bit. Must have been one of Krazy Krapland's Magic Drill Bits, because the bit breaks in half in about 5 seconds with hardly any pressure on it, allowing the 1/3-hp drill motor with the jagged bit of drill bit still in the chuck to come flying down onto the roof of the car, creating a huge dent with paint gouged out of the center of it. Awesome.

I was so mad that I threw the drill about 35 feet out the garage door into the street, forgetting that it was still plugged in. As that Dodo took flight, it pulled the extension cord up around the front of the car and scratched the front fender. After seeing that, I then threw my safety glasses across the garage and pounded, just once, with the palm of my hand, the part of the roof that is between the track running front to back, and the rear side window, and guess what? That dented it. God F-ing dammit. The safety glasses then lost their life under the heel of my boot as I stomped inside to open a beer.

After cooling off, I completely removed that entire troublesome anchor from the car. The factory instructions show you how! (Cue audience laughter...) "All you have to do" is unscrew the nut from behind it under the headliner (after taking all the trim off inside the car). What they don't tell you is that the anchor is also held down by some miracle German sealant that you can only get in Stuttgart, in addition to the fact that it's painted in place. So I'm cutting the paint and sealant around the anchor on the outside of the car. Guess what? I slipped. Huge scratch on the roof now!! That's ok, it's only a few inches away from the huge dent from the broken drill bit and drill chuck. So I'm going to buy a new anchor bracket, if they even sell it separately, because I can't find it in the parts catalog other than maybe 996 504 801 00. (Let me guess - "installation is the reverse of removal!") Once this is installed with the nut and something resembling Permatex, it will then have to be painted over by some 17-year-old Trainee at Floyd's Auto Body and Nightcrawler Stand down the street, meaning it will never be the same again. It probably won't after Trainee takes my car for a 20-minute churn-n-burn "test drive", like the Trainee at Belle Tire did in May. Once again, Awesome.

You too can have all this, for the $500 or more I'll have to spend at a body shop, on fixing something that the dealer would have charged $200 to do. (Bore and tap the holes.) Had I only done that, it would have been done right, fast, and with NONE of my time expended. And had they messed up the car in the process, it would have been their dime. But no. I insist on paying over $1000 for something that should have cost the $300 for the rack from eBay and 10 minutes to mount it with nothing but an Allen wrench...had only some G-D engineer in Germany designed it right!!! He probably went to the same school as the guys who designed my Audi A6's water pump, from main seal, cam oil seals, timing belt tensioner, front control arms, Quattro center differential, and automatic transmission...to name just a few miracle cures for the syndrome of thinking German engineers can do no wrong.

To top it all off, the roof rack itself is a piece of jewelry, which means you won't actually want to use it for anything in the real world, for fear of marring the delicate anodized finish. I'm telling you, Industrial Designers running amok at that place...

[Greenhorn]

First of all, thanks for the laugh dphill66, that description of your experience was so funny I had to read it a few times. But most of all thanks for the tips, you saved me allot of aggravation & pointed me in the right direction. I had the same problem, & tired drilling/tapping, but broke the tap in one of the holes. So I ordered new plates & installed them myself (believe it or not, the dealer would not do it, they had no experience with this- the service rep thought the plates were welded on and that it was a job for a body shop??. Anyhow, it was easier than I thought, all the parts you need to remove snap off & on easily, just remember to put a bit of sealant under the brackets before you install to stop water from leaking in. I'm quite happy with the rack (finally). Oh, and I sent a "how to" description to the dealer & thanked him for saving me the $400 in labour the probably would have charged me.

[2Fast996]

Sounds like how projects have gone for me lately. We must have gone through the same dumba$$ apprenticeship.

Enjoyed your story and glad that you can now laugh at yourself. It is good medicine ..... the beer helps too

[Keggers]

First of all, thanks for the laugh dphill66, that description of your experience was so funny I had to read it a few times. But most of all thanks for the tips, you saved me allot of aggravation & pointed me in the right direction. I had the same problem, & tired drilling/tapping, but broke the tap in one of the holes. So I ordered new plates & installed them myself (believe it or not, the dealer would not do it, they had no experience with this- the service rep thought the plates were welded on and that it was a job for a body shop??. Anyhow, it was easier than I thought, all the parts you need to remove snap off & on easily, just remember to put a bit of sealant under the brackets before you install to stop water from leaking in. I'm quite happy with the rack (finally). Oh, and I sent a "how to" description to the dealer & thanked him for saving me the $400 in labour the probably would have charged me.

I had the same problem and had the same response from the dealer (that the plates weren't removable, but they could try to drill out the screws and retap them at a cost of €1000!). Got new plates and installed them myself for about €100 all up!

In case anyone is looking to do the same, the part number for the plates is 996 504 911 00. The number isn't actually stamped onto them and doesn't seem to be shown in PET, so its a little hard to get hold of.

I'm actually using the rack for the first time today with my surfboard sitting on top of the car outside my office here waiting to head off for the weekend!

Edited March 14, 2008 by Keggers

[camores]

Hello all,

Do you folks know where I can get the instructions on how to install the RTS?

C.

[Loren]

Hello all,

Do you folks know where I can get the instructions on how to install the RTS?

C.

Did you look in the TSB section? ;)

[camores]

Got it, thanks for the help.

C.

[nstevo]

Just purchased RTS for my 1999 996 coupe and while I was trying to mount it, I noticed that two of the screws in the mounting holes are rusted therefore can not be taken out with a screw driver. I found this post, took trim off inside the car and went under the headliner so I can unscrew the nut from under the headliner but I'm stucked so I took a picture of it. Is this what I'm supposed to be able to unscrew with a hex rench? As far as I can see, this piece will not unscrew. Your help is appreciated!! Thanks!

Edited May 20, 2008 by nstevo

[Keggers]

Just purchased RTS for my 1999 996 coupe and while I was trying to mount it, I noticed that two of the screws in the mounting holes are rusted therefore can not be taken out with a screw driver. I found this post, took trim off inside the car and went under the headliner so I can unscrew the nut from under the headliner but I'm stucked so I took a picture of it. Is this what I'm supposed to be able to unscrew with a hex rench? As far as I can see, this piece will not unscrew. Your help is appreciated!! Thanks!

Yeah thats the right bolt (there is one for each of the four brackets). Mine were on very tight but was able to unscrew them with an allen key if got some extra leverage with a metal tube over the allen key to add some extra length. You'll probably need new brackets (part number in my post above). You can see pics of them removed from my car here...

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?s...c=16221&hl=

Note that when you are putting the new brackets in you need some sealant of some sort, as the old ones are sealed in.

Hope this helps.

Greg

Edited May 22, 2008 by Keggers

[BigDam99]

On my 2000 C4 I was lucky enough to have nylon screws.  They broke of course, but drilling and tapping was easy with a few tricks and observations:

• Using a soldiering iron to melt a hole through the center of the nylon screw makes drilling MUCH easier
• Used a 3/16" drill bit to remove the majority of the nylon then used a 6mm x 1.0 to clean the threads
• Plunge depth is 3/4"
• Use a "bottom" tap rather than a "tapered" tap so you clean threads quickly and without significant insertion.
• 

 

 

Edited November 29, 2018 by BigDam99