SEALING The Roof Bars, AGAIN! (No leaks this time)

[@th3drizzl378]

tru blue works FANTASTIC for this. even better then the tape. it is waterproof every time with that stuff and it acts like a light threadlocker as well for vibrations

[@lareneandpipsqueeksully]

Thank you! My rails will be here tomorrow! Excited and I feel better after your video!

[@CLdriver1960]

That’s exactly what I did with my Promaster City! 👍

[@shamsshams20261]

Wow, it's very simple but if you tested it will be a very good solution. Thank you for sharing!

[@Rasher1974]

You never cease to amaze me James.

[@ErnieBurt]

Thanks 😊

[@LensOfJames]

💦 Check out my first attempt at waterproofing the roof bars here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l57FonWLmdZ-otk 💦

[@ElliotMelloy]

I tried PTFE first and a couple of them still leaked. Not doubting PTFE as that's exactly what it's for. Maybe I wrapped too much tape around the bolts making it all shred when I screwed them in. Either that or my bolts are a few microns wider as not all bolts of the same gauge are made equal. On the second attempt I just used a bit of silicone both in the hole and on the 'top' part of the bolts before inserting them, and that's been brilliant. It's more permanent but I'm using roof rails that I'll never remove and when I need a rack I attach the bars to the rails, which gives a bit more vertical clearance for a vent.

[@the_hawk777]

Hi there Elliot, if you don’t mind me asking, what kind of silicone did you use?. I’m fitting VW roof rails to my transporter next week and I’m looking for the best solution to keep it water tight. VW said their oem rails won’t leak after attaching the included foam washers around the holes, but many reviewers are saying theirs have leaked still, so I really want to find the best solution first and although I like the clean PTFE way, I think silicone sealant might be more secure. Why would it be a permanent seal though ? Couldn’t it be cleaned if ever needed to remove the rails … thanks a lot

[@ElliotMelloy]

@@the_hawk777 Hi :) When I said more permanent, I meant compared to normal cross roof bars that you remove when you're not using them. I didn't want the hassle of taking bars off and closing the holes up, then having to reseal bolts when I put the bars back on, so I went with rails which I leave there permanently, and attach the cross bars to those when I need them. Sealant will not fix the bolts in permanently, your spanner will easily twist and break the seal if you do ever remove them. Hope that makes sense! I used an "adhesive sealant" called "Geocel The Works" because I had some left over from bonding the ply floor to the van instead of screwing through. It's pretty good because the floor is stuck down well, but as I said it doesn't make the roof bolts difficult to remove. Also I found it's easier to remove from paintwork after it's dried than normal silicone sealant, if you ever tried to remove some from a bathroom you'll know what I mean. You should be fine with any kind of sanitary sealant though, I just avoid the own brand cheap ones because of bad experience using them in actual bathrooms lol. To add: the stuff I had is p/n 635JJ from screwfix, but that's for the black stuff, they also do clear and white. Hope that helps, good luck!

[@the_hawk777]

@@ElliotMelloy thanks very much for your response, really helpful 👍

[@carolmiller7450]

You're the first person to give the tip on which direction to put ptfe tape on. Brucey bonus with the visuals.. Cheers

[@gavinconroy3687]

you can use silicone tape or butyl tape for the surface between the roof rack and the van roof as well

[@gavinconroy3687]

ideally you'd wanna put silicone around the edge of the mount of the roof rack but i can see why some people wouldn't like the appeal of that

[@LensOfJames]

Hi Gavin, I considered silicone when I originally tried to seal my roof bars but upon inspection of the feet of these roof bars water can still get through the top, so the only option was to seal the bolts. Not a great design in my opinion, but the PTFE tape has done the trick thankfully!

[@dinhducq9]

Great

[@rabadabadoo491]

Cheers 🍻

[@chrispatriot]

I've gotten confused watching some of these videos from other sources. Mine is a 2014 Ford Transit Connect and some installers are suggesting that the factory made mounting points go clear through to the inside and you use a lock washer with a nut to secure... However, I thought there was a mounting position there complete with threading in the framing system and it does not go all the way through... Can anyone confirm this? I am about to order a rack that I want, but I will have to modify with a kit because it doesn't have the right feet to mount on my van.

[@grahameroberts8109]

I’m surprised that only a thin bolt holds the foot to the roof. If you have something fastened on that creates a powerful uplift, it might rip the bar/s off.

[@LensOfJames]

I think it's quite unlikely - I've owned a few sets of roofbars over the years and have carried large surfboards on my roof plenty of times without problems. These Thule ones are top spec for this van, so I'm confident there won't be any problems and have never heard reports of anyone else having any issues. If they have, then it's probably down to user error.

[@the_hawk777]

Great and helpful video, thanks. Has the PTFE done the job .. any more leaks ? .. If it has worked I’ll do the same thing when fitting my new VW transporter roof rails instead of filling the holes with silicone which just feels wrong to me and would be very difficult to clean if needed.

[@LensOfJames]

Hi Jamil, the PTFE has worked perfectly! Had some really heavy rainfall of the last few months and no leaks at all

[@the_hawk777]

@@LensOfJames Thanks James for your response 👍.

[@johnphilipparas9988]

Is it okay to use silicon seal?

[@LensOfJames]

I couldn't say, but as roof bars are likely to get lots of vibrations in my mind silicone might not be the best sealant for the job, but I could be wrong!

[@johnphilipparas9988]

@@LensOfJames thanks for your reply, i appreciate it