Touring Roof Rails

[gtopaul]

Need to get my roof rails off before painting. Anybody know how they come off? I pulled the rubber strips out but no screws there. Roof rail on one side is bubbling anyway and needs replacing or repainting. I have the new headliner ready to install anyway so if the rails mount from underneath it won't be a problem.

Thanks!

Paul

http://members.aol.com/gtopaul/private/525.jpg

[Elekta]

I think you can leave the sunroof panels in and take everything else out. The rear headliner and side pieces.

Please photo archive this, as I need to do the same.

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

Yup, form the inside, becareful the gasket maybe brittle.

[leicesterboy15]

I didn't know you could actually remove them, the paint is cracking big time on mine.

[Elekta]

What are they made of? Plastic, metal? The paint is a sort of thick polymer based coating, but I imagine, these would need to be severely blasted in order to repaint properly. It would be nice to powder coat them with something really durable.

I've seen a lot of black bbq paint sprayed on rails that didn't get removed. I think I would rather look at the peeling bubbles until I could do it right.

Unfortunately, my headliner is perfect, and I hate to disturb it.

[Ross]

They are fiberglass I believe, perhaps plastic but definately not metal.
Given all the potential for disaster removing the headliner and the gasket issue and it's potential for leaks I say leave 'em in place.
Mine where bubbly too, I sanded and refinished them on the car.

[Elekta]

They are fiberglass I believe, perhaps plastic but definately not metal.
Given all the potential for disaster removing the headliner and the gasket issue and it's potential for leaks I say leave 'em in place.
Mine where bubbly too, I sanded and refinished them on the car.

How does sanding remove the plasticy paint? It seems that it should all peel off. Heat gun maybe if you razor knife the perimeter before hand?

[Ross]

It'll sand off, trust me.

[gtopaul]

I've been looking at doing the headliner replacement for a couple of weeks, even had the parts, but not really pushing the install until I have all the info. Afraid mostly of breaking plastic pieces when getting the darn thing out. 15 year old BMW plastic is pretty fragile.

Paul

[leicesterboy15]

Given all the potential for disaster removing the headliner and the gasket issue and it's potential for leaks I say leave 'em in place.

i'm with you, its so exposed it could open up a world of pain, and my headliner is also perfect and you know the golden rule - if it ain't broke......

on mine big chunks of the paint has come off in places and it looks like metal underneath, I haven't inspected it closely though, could just be a coating. I think taking extra time masking off and painting in situ could be the answer.

[Jan]

There are 4 bolts that goes thruu the roof
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=HK41&mospid=47398&btnr=51_4328&hg=51&fg=95

A friend sand and repaint his rails, did not last long, then the paint came off again. His advice to me, was to buy new ones.

[gtopaul]

....but there were a couple of differences. I bought the factory headliner panels, the front, back, and the two side panels. Everything came off without much trouble. I noticed the 4-bolts for the roof rails while everything was off. When I started to install the new stuff there were some differences. The rear headliner panel didn't have the opening for the tweeter speaker grills and the hole for access to the rear sunroof motor was bigger than the old panel. I decided to use it anyway. When I got to the front there wasn't any holes for the vanity mirror lights. What the heck, figured I wouldn't miss them so I installed that also. The whole job took about two hours. For reference; pull the sunvisors, grab handles, and all lights out of the headliner first. Then drop the tops of the door seals and pull back on the A & B pillar trim to loosen them up. With everything loose just pop the back of the side panels out and pull towards the back of the car and the side panels come right off. Remove the speaker grills, and drop the tailgate seal to lower the back panel. Pretty straight forward job. I don't know if all the headliner pieces come minus the tweeter holes and vanity light holes or whether I just got the wrong pieces but check it out good before ordering.

Paul L

[Elekta]

you didn't happen to take any pics did you?

did you skip refurbing the rails?