Roof rack

[Jmoor85]

Hey guys. My 93 4 door doesn't have a rook rack. Think I could find one at a junk yard and put it on? Anyone do this? Not sure how they are supposed to mount so I'm curious as to what would be included. I'd like a stock one and then get one of those cargo baskets to mount to that when I need.

[Jmoor85]

Does anyone have an opinion on this?

[smj999smj]

They were originally installed with nut-serts. Back in the day, you could get the roof rack as a dealer option if it didn't come with one. You would lay the rack on the roof and use a marker to mark the holes. Then you would remove the rack and center-punch and drill the holes, being careful not to drill through the headliner. You would file the holes a little and coat with touch up paint to prevent rusting. You would then tap the nut-serts into the holes, install the rack, and use a special tool that would collapse the nut-sert (somewhat like a pop rivet) and you tightened the bolt. The nut-serts and tool came as part of the roof rack kit. I'm not sure if the roof rack kit is still available from Nissan (I wouldn't hold my breath), but you could try locating the part number and checking with Nissan to see if they have one somewhere. You could also check for aftermarket options. Try www.4x4parts.com

[Jmoor85]

Thanks for that. So it sounds like the roof didn't get any special bracing. I almost want to take the headliner down and add some bracing underneath the mounting points to spread the load.

[Jmoor85]

Are the racks bolted down with a hex or torx? I am going to see if I can get one this weekend and want to bring the appropriate tools.