[njvagabond]

I picked up a DIY roof rack kit for my 2020 transit 250 and when I popped off the front passenger side cover, the mounting nut is pushed forward roughly a half inch and tilted 10-15 degrees. It's clearly welded into the rib wrong.

Not sure how to move forward. Fabrication isn't really my strong suit and I'm pretty sure the dealer won't fix it. It's inside a rib so I'm not even sure I could get in there.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

Common problem *typical Ford quality/tolerances) . Open up the hole with a file, dremel, etc, then touch up the paint
Here are a few threads, there are many others if you search the forum.
Roof threads don’t line up
"Groot" | 148" HR 4x4 Camper Conversion
BUILD THREAD: Miracle Whip

 

[surly Bill]

Sounds about right. A lot of people find the threads are misaligned with the holes. First I've heard that one is tilted, though. Are you sure it's not just not just aligned vertically, not parallel with the roof slope? Different than the others?

Solutions might include drilling a bit to get it "straight" and installing a plusnut. Most people increase the roof hole to access the offset threads with a dremel or other device and a grindstone:

 

[Lost1nSpace]

Thanks!!

I figured I'd have to trim away the roof sheet metal, and it wouldn't be such a pain if the other side was off by the same amount.. I'm just not that lucky. It's tilted forward which is the bit that just overcomplicates things..

I'll have to investigate the plusnut idea. That sounds better than refabricating the bits that attach to the messed up mounting nut.

So much for a 30 minute project! 😆

 

[Hein]

Would it be possible to thread in a long 100 mm bolt and use that as leverage to bend it straight? Thread is M8-1.25 iirc.

All the best,
Hein
DIYvan

 

[njvagabond]

It's tilted forward which is the bit that just overcomplicates things..

From the drawing it looks like the weld nut is part of an reinforcement assembly that is captured between the roof skin and the structural rib. It seems that something in the assembly/welding process or would have to be pretty messed up for this to happen. I'd want to make sure the assembly is solid, say by seeing how it withstands a side load at the top of a longish bolt. If the assembly is such that the reinforcement is only welded to the roof beam and the roof is glued to that with foam (likely) then bending the reinforcement a bit sounds like a good approach. I'd just be careful to watch that the roof skin doesn't move too much and possibly deform.

If it looks like you'll need to bend it too much, another option might be to drill a hole into a small piece of an aluminum and file it into a wedge with an angle so the bolt will seat flat.

If the assembly is not solid, well then ...

 

[dustymiller]

I'm thinking push the dealer for a warranty repair.

 

[kazuo]

might try?

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[Punkinhead]

I'm thinking push the dealer for a warranty repair.

This could easily turn into a case of the cure being worse than the disease. What are they going to do, cut the roof off? I'd rather figure out a way to shim it or add an intermediate piece to bolt the rack to.

 

[surly Bill]

I'm thinking push the dealer for a warranty repair.

OMG and wait while it sits on their lot for months on end until they "get around to it"? Yikes!

 

[kazuo]

A dealer mechanic is likely to do the same (make hole larger, bend back in place) with not as much care as you might take. plus you will have to drop it off, and wait who knows how long.

 

[gregoryx]

Is it at a different angle than the others? Or the same angle but the hole is not aligned? We saw the latter on half of ours; but they were all about the same angle. Used a metal nibbler to open it up. The angle on all of them was more up/down and never aligned with the roof panel - hence the need for angled mounting brackets.

 

[dustymiller]

This could easily turn into a case of the cure being worse than the disease. What are they going to do, cut the roof off? I'd rather figure out a way to shim it or add an intermediate piece to bolt the rack to.

Right. Should fix doesn't mean could fix.

 

[Bjames36]

Mine has the same issue I noticed it from the inside of the van. One of the structural ribs had significantly more foam under one side therefore it created a twist in it. Fortunately I didn’t need to use those.