Roof Rack Crossbar Nuts Spinning

[Vintage Veloce]

I went to move my Nissan Xterra roof rack crossbars to a better position and the nuts on the bottom are spinning.
These bolts squeeze the plastic clamp to hold it onto the side bars.
The nuts are round inserts in the plastic bottom of the clamp.
I can try and drill out the torx bolt head... but I fear the drill will just spin the bolt and nut in the plastic.
Is there a better solution?

 

[Vwpower]

You need to hold that nut somehow. Jam a pick beside it or something. put the torx socket on your Impact.

 

[4xdog]

Can you cold-chisel a slot in the insert nut and get a screwdriver on it?

Kroil or PB Blaster on the torx and wait a few days, too.

 

[Vintage Veloce]

Very little access to the nut from the bottom side. I'm thinking of maybe trying to put some superglue or epoxy on the rim of a tube or deep socket... Maybe I can reach up there and stuck it on the nut...

 

[Vintage Veloce]

 

[RPH]

Dremel the head and shoulder off the bolt. Then you can separate the pieces. Repair or replace from that point.

 

[4xdog]

The rails could probably be removed from the Xterra to get access to the bottom of the crossbar. But it's probably too soon to get that serious about access.

Some insert nuts are a simple hex nut wedged into a molded hex-shaped cavity. Other insert nuts are overmolded and often have a knurlled surface for tighter bond to the injected polymer.

Can you get a photo looking upward into the insert?

If you can get a socket on the insert nut (with or without epoxy/cyanoacrylate) you're home free. But that's probably not possible, is it?

I've had luck in similar situations by forcing the insert nut deeper into its cavity, tightening it in the process. You might think about some way to do that -- a appropriately-sized socket in the cavity and a big pair of pliers or clamp to compress it inwards. Perhaps loosening the opposite side (if you can) could help lever the stuck side to put different forces on it as you work it loose?

Have you tried heating it, within the limits of the crossbar polymer, of course? That could help in getting it tighter and won't hurt trying to break the bond locking the torx.

 

[PCustoms]

The rails could probably be removed from the Xterra to get access to the bottom of the crossbar. But it's probably too soon to get that serious about access.

DO NOT do this.

Too high of a risk in getting a spinning rivnut and having to drop the headliner. Xterra are know for that....

You have an insert spinning in the bottom plastic clamp. If you can't wedge something in there to hold it you are going to have to break something. I would start with trying to drill the bolt out.

If you can get the other end completely off you might be able to slide the stuck end or pull it off

 

[Vintage Veloce]

I will do some further investigation today...

 

[Slednut]

Take the rack off, drill holes from the bottom through the plastic into the nut and insert pins/screws into the holes and hope it holds the nut.

 

[PCustoms]

Take the rack off, drill holes from the bottom through the plastic into the nut and insert pins/screws into the holes and hope it holds the nut.

Again, very high likelihood pulling the rack snowballs into more significant issues.

Spinning Roof Rack Bolt!!

www.thenewx.org

That's just the first example. I owned an Xterra for 10 years and built a lot of accessories for it, including drop in roof baskets. I would not try to remove the factory rails.

Cutting your crossbar off and getting a new one is an option, possibly the easiest. You should be able to remove the bar from the plastic though, which may allow you to twist the plastic into a better position.

Here's your exact issue:

OEM Crossbar Clamp is Stuck, Bolt Spins in Either Direction

www.thenewx.org

There's some good images in there of what you are dealing with.

And a video

 

[Vintage Veloce]

Great video! Somehow I never think of looking on youtube for answers... guess I'm out of date. I'll try that, maybe with some epoxy or superglue between the jammed nuts.

 

[Viper98912]

I believe I know how those are made, and they're overmolded knurl insert nuts (most likely brass). If the bolt has frozen to the insert, you're spinning the knurling (it's no longer holding in the plastic). You may need to use an impact or drill to spin it as much as you can and then force it apart (melting the plastic slightly). Then grab a new insert (like a rivnut or a furniture threaded insert) and hold it from the bottom while you tighten the top.

 

[FredWanaker]

sometimes lifting the bolt or nut with a screwdriver head while turning it creates enough friction that will stop the spin. I use penetrating oil (not wd40) on any bolt or nut that might be binding. That may help too.

 

[Vintage Veloce]

Thank you PCustoms! As described in the video, I used a jam nut:

I found a stainless steel 6mm x 1mm thread nut. I filed down one side to make it rough and then jammed that side up against the brass insert. I used a stainless steel nut hoping it would be harder and would help the roughened side of the nut grab on the insert.
It worked perfectly, I just tightened it down firmly with a small ratchet wrench on each side and then the bolt unscrewed from the joined jam nut and insert easily.

Note access is very tight with the crossbar on the truck, doing this did require a variety of sockets and small handles.
Thanks again PCustom for pointing this video out.