Yakima Removal

[crashmore]

I wanna send my car in to have it detailed but want to pull the rack first. I was wondering if anyone has been able to lift off the rack in once piece after unlocking the towers? Every time I install a rack from scratch I end up cursing for hours in the driveway while my neighbors point and laugh..

I'm thinking it should be possible to lift if off in once piece and that would make it easier to reinstall.

[J_S]

Depends on your towers. Most of the newer Yakima towers release their grip on the crossbars when you loosen them, so it throws off your adjustment. Another reason to mourn the passing of rain gutters.

Jay

[crashmore]

I've got a set of Qtowers from a few years ago. I think I remember having to tighten the clamp that holds the bars by inserting an allen key..

Depends on your towers. Most of the newer Yakima towers release their grip on the crossbars when you loosen them, so it throws off your adjustment. Another reason to mourn the passing of rain gutters.

Jay

[J_S]

That's true about qtowers, I'm over-generalizing. The lowrider towers that mount on factory side rails loosen and drop off when I try to remove the entire rack.

[mcgrathgp]

I have a '91 - '92 era Yakima rack. I wouldn't try to remove both sets of towers in one piece, but I commonly take each set of towers off as a unit. Basically I remove the bike tray, then loosen each side of a bar/tower set until I can free it from the roof. I've been pretty fortunate about not scratching the roof except when I dropped the bike onto the sunroof which is another story. A helpful trick is to loosen one side just a bit then the other just a bit. Maybe 2 iterations of this.

[broadway j]

I have on 01 Accord and was able to pull everything off in one piece. Depending on the setup, I unclamped the Q-towers, loosened the adjustment screw, which gives you a little more clearance, and then lifted and carried with the bars. It is easier with two people, but can be done solo.

I had it back on in fifteen minutes. My bars do not loosen when I unclamp the rack from the door area.

Hope this helps.

[mike a]

My bars do not loosen when I unclamp the rack from the door area.



Same here, I took mine off to give the car a good spring time waxin'

It took me less time to put it back on then my old trunk rack!

[Pinoy Rider]

I've had several roof racks from Yakima through the years. I was able to take the rack off as one piece. Putting it on though I would be careful not to scratch the roof of your car with the clips. Once I get it on, I would undo the lever and allow the rack to settle.

[tsunayoshi]

I've had mine off two or three times. Like someone else said, I take off the tray first then loosen and remove the towers alongs with the bars as one unit.

When I loosen the towers, I undo the adjustment nuts (or whatever they are called) 6 turns on each side. That way when I put them back on, I just tighten them 6 turns and everyone is as tight as it should be. I also cheat and put little marks on my roof so I know where the pads line up, but I don't care about my car too much (it is a dying P.O.S.).

The only issue I have is when I do it myself, I have to go back to each Q-Clip and make sure they mesh correctly with the frame otherwise I get leaks in the door when it rains. If I have help, we can lock down both towers at the same time while we each hold the clips in the right place.

[crashmore]

Well I was able to just loosen the clips and pull the whole thing off in once piece this morning.
Probably took me all of 10 minutes total. I guess the real test will be trying to put it back on this evening.