Roof Rail Swap
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: 12-04-2011
Posts: 374
From: El Paso, TX
Roof Rail Swap
I finally got all the parts to swap Balerion's chrome roof rails for black ones. Here I'll go through the process of swapping roof rails in detail.
Before:
The parts:
To remove the covers, I put some tape over the tip of a flathead screwdriver. Insert it at the end of the cover, pry up a bit, work it in, then push back down. It will make a loud pop sound when it comes loose.
Under each cover are two Torx bolts. This picture is at the left rear; the aft bolts on the front end of the rails can be hard to see. Take them out with a T-30 bit.
A pair of bolts in hand, with washers. I didn't order new bolts because they're ridiculously expensive, like $5 each even on a wholesale site.
Lift the old rails off, this is what the roof will look like. Take the opportunity to clean these areas.
Set the new rails on the roof, using the boot outlines as a guide. Carefully lift each end as shown and drop the bolts back into their holes in the rail, while peering under to guide them into the holes in the roof.
Once the bolts are in place, go once around to get them started, do a final position check, then go around again to tighten them all.
To put the covers on, insert the tab into the slot in the rail, then push down. You'll hear another pop sound when the cover is seated.
All done!
Total time: about 30 minutes, even with having to charge my phone up because I forgot to last night.
Before:
The parts:
- Front cover black Left: part #25862553
- Front cover black Right: part #25862554
- Rail black Left: part #25812975
- Rail black Right: part #25812974
- Rear cover black Left: part #25862551
- Rear cover black Right: part #25862552
To remove the covers, I put some tape over the tip of a flathead screwdriver. Insert it at the end of the cover, pry up a bit, work it in, then push back down. It will make a loud pop sound when it comes loose.
Under each cover are two Torx bolts. This picture is at the left rear; the aft bolts on the front end of the rails can be hard to see. Take them out with a T-30 bit.
A pair of bolts in hand, with washers. I didn't order new bolts because they're ridiculously expensive, like $5 each even on a wholesale site.
Lift the old rails off, this is what the roof will look like. Take the opportunity to clean these areas.
Set the new rails on the roof, using the boot outlines as a guide. Carefully lift each end as shown and drop the bolts back into their holes in the rail, while peering under to guide them into the holes in the roof.
Once the bolts are in place, go once around to get them started, do a final position check, then go around again to tighten them all.
To put the covers on, insert the tab into the slot in the rail, then push down. You'll hear another pop sound when the cover is seated.
All done!
Total time: about 30 minutes, even with having to charge my phone up because I forgot to last night.
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: 12-04-2011
Posts: 374
From: El Paso, TX
I ordered all six parts from gmpartsdirect.com on December 21. One of the covers was backordered, so I told them to hold the order until it came in. They finally arrived on February 5, with the backordered part, but a different cover missing. I emailed to ask what was up, they said the missing part was now backordered, but never explained who pulled it from the order (at least they didn't charge me for it). I then went hunting around for the missing one, called newgmparts.com to see if they had it (which they did), ordered it, and it arrived today.
All in, about $315. Retail is over $400.
All in, about $315. Retail is over $400.
Member
Joined: 01-22-2011
Posts: 44
From: South Jersey
Looks great. I have wanted to do this for some time. Thanks for the info. It looks like all I need is to order the black covers only. My rails are already black with chrome covers. Was not sure I could order just the covers.
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: 12-04-2011
Posts: 374
From: El Paso, TX
I should mention that since the black covers are plastic, they aren't as rigid as the chrome ones. Getting the front covers to pop on took some banging with the palm of my hand.
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: 12-04-2011
Posts: 374
From: El Paso, TX
I do plan to black out everything. I did these now because it didn't require paint. I may go as far as putting on a set of black powdercoated Eagle 192s.