How to remove wind deflector on roof rack

[edogd]

I have a 2027 LC250 with the oem roof rack (# PT970-60241 ) I want to remove the roof rack's front wind deflector to allow me to clamp my Yakima roof box on to the first cross slat. There is not enough space between the deflector and the 1st slat to get the clamp in.
Does any one know how to remove the deflector with out removing the entire rack?

 

[EOD Guy]

I believe the rack has to come off in order to separate the inner and outer frames, that then would allow access to the bolts/screws for the front air dam.

I attempted to loosen the air dam for a mod, but gave up when I realized it wasn't going to be as easy as I initially thought and I didn't want to break the through hole seals etc.....

(edit) I attached the pdf

 

[DubDub]

The OEM roof rack is not modular. As weak as that piece is, it is structural in that it secures the semi-flexible front feet.

If you wanted to take a whack at running without it you would need to completely remove the rack and do a partial disassembly on the ground.

Also worth mentioning that install instructions assume the rack is already assembled. It is very easy to unscrew the six feet and lift it off the vehicle. It weighs very little but it realistically a two-person job.

 

[edogd]

Thanks all. I take it that no one has tried runing with out the wind deflector. I wonder how loud it would be. I might try it out in the next couple of weeks by remove thing whole rack.

 

[DubDub]

Thanks all. I take it that no one has tried runing with out the wind deflector. I wonder how loud it would be. I might try it out in the next couple of weeks by remove thing whole rack.

I purchased mine second hand, disassembled. I assembled it without directions and installed it on my 1958. That’s what I am trying to say, it isn’t designed to be installed without the “deflector.” That plastic deflector piece is shaped in that concave way because it secures the front feet laterally. The front feet are flexible until the rack is tightened down. I am interested in what you discover, and it’s been a while since I had mine off to truly remember the construction, but I’m almost certain it just won’t work. And of course no one is going to try running the rack without a critical structural component.

Good luck and report back please.

 

[EOD Guy]

Thanks all. I take it that no one has tried runing with out the wind deflector. I wonder how loud it would be. I might try it out in the next couple of weeks by remove thing whole rack.

Since you are installing a roof box and need a flat surface/bar for a mounting surface, you might consider removing the air dam and replacing it with some 3" wide extruded aluminum. I have no idea what the air noise would be without the air dam, however withe the extruded alum you could modify the air dam to be attached to the extruded alum "T" slot with "T" nuts and some DIY brackets or just use the molded corner pieces and use a flat piece of Alum flat stock to fabricate a new removable air dam.......... The "T" nuts could also be used to secure the storage box etc......

Below is a piece of extruded alum I use to secure my Cell phone booster antenna ........

This is what I'd use as a replacement cross slat.

This is what I used to fill the unused gaps in the Alum's "T" slots. You can position the "T"nuts measure the distance and snap the filler strip in place the measure from the other side of the "T" nut...... rinse and repeat.

I've used extruded alum for many mods and have used the filler strip to make the project look more refined visually.