Re: [Paddlewise] Factory roof rack problems?

At 10:53 PM 9/13/00 -0400, Richard Frost wrote:
>Can you be a bit more specific?  I've never torn the ceiling off of my Honda
>Accord.
>
>Richard Frost
>
>Bill Leonhardt wrote:
>
>I had a chance to see how the factory rack was
>
>> attached.  Scary!!!
>>
>
 Richard,

I'm working from memory here of something I looked at briefly over 10 years
ago.

As I recall, each end of the rack rails was held by two fasteners.  The
fastener was a screw inserted from the outside and a nut-like device on the
inside.  The screw may have been on the order of 6 to 8 mm in diameter (1/4
or 5/16 in.).  The nut-like device was conical in shape.  Naturally, it had
internal threads.  The large dia. of the cone was about 2 to 3 mm larger
than the screw diameter and pressed against the inside of the roof.  I
appeared that maybe the nut was somehow inserted through the roof from the
outside and expanded in place in a manner similar to that of a drywall
(sheetrock) anchor.  I remember thinking at the time that this nut had less
bearing area than an ordinary hex nut of the same screw size.  That's it.
No washers or anything.  It just seemed inadequate to me.

Now, automotive engineers may have developed and tested this sort of set-up
and feel comfortable with the load rating.  I'm a licensed Professional
(mechanical) Engineer and I was a bit uncomfortable.

I now have a "97 Caravan.  I haven't had a reason to peek under the
headline.  Perhaps I'm better off not knowing...... :-}

Bill Leonhardt
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