oskar27 Posted March 10, 2013 Report Share Posted March 10, 2013 I have the black roof rails on my Edge and while washing the car the other day I noticed both rails when you try to move them by hand they give a bit and I found that strange because to me they should have been rock solid. In addition, under the rails there is this black plastic strip which I think its there to cover the rails mounting bolts and is very loose but I cant find a way to lift it. I noticed that water collects there and I wonder if there is an easy way to remove the strip when I wash the car to dry out the water. Anyone has similar problems with these rails? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimp Posted March 11, 2013 Report Share Posted March 11, 2013 (edited) The rails themselves have some flex in them if you put enough pressure on them. A little bit of flex in a structure is often better than no flex (rock sold) at all. Until someone posts that they've experienced a failure within the recommended, evenly spaced roof load, I'll feel confident that Ford designed them properly. The 'feet' at each end of the rails are each secured by two bolts that will not come out if they were installed properly. I self installed my rails and I feel confident of that. The outside of each foot is a plastic cover that snaps on. That can give the impression that the foot isn't very strong. The rigidity of the foot can be felt on the backside if you take a closer look. I suppose that there is always the possibility that they weren't torqued down properly during the installation so could always ask to have them checked at your Ford dealership if it would make you feel more comfortable. I carried a canoe on my roof on a couple of long highway trips last summer. The Ford rails along with my Yakima cross bars held up just fine. The black plastic strip covers a gutter. Any water in the gutter should drain out if you are on an incline or once you hit the road and then it blows out. When I did my install I learned to press in on the outside of the strip while pulling up on the inside of the strip, starting at one end. The strip is secured (snaps on) to plastic brackets that are bolted onto your roof. I think that once you have the roof rails on, the strips are much harder to get off and may require the removal of the outer cover on the feet, if not the entire foot structure itself. I wouldn't recommend it. Edited March 11, 2013 by Gimp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oskar27 Posted March 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2013 Thank you Gimp for your time, that is an ecellent info and much appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWizard Posted March 28, 2013 Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 (edited) Hey Gimp, can you tell us more about installing the rails? I am taking delivery of my Edge this weekend (dealer trade) and it has everything I want except the roof rails. I know I can buy the rails from the parts department as an accessory kit but I was told it would be $400 for the dealer to install them. I have a fairly complete set of tools and I know how to use them so is installation something an average shade-tree mechanic can do? Edited March 28, 2013 by TheWizard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishx65 Posted March 28, 2013 Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 (edited) I just did this with some good info from Gimp. It's really easy!!!! Once you pull the black strips you will see exactly how the rails go on. Remove 4 of the 6 plastic brackets, expose four screw holes that are filled in with body caulk, install new strips and bolt the new rails on. Just so ya know, you could use your current black strips if ya just drill or cut 4 holes in them for the 4 extra screws you will be installing. All you really need are the roof rails and 4 screws. One little tip: It's easiest to start removing the strips from the front. Edited March 28, 2013 by fishx65 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimp Posted March 28, 2013 Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 One little tip: It's easiest to start removing the strips from the front. I didn't try the front. With the first side I popped it loose at each bracket starting at the rear. With the second side I popped it loose at the rear and just pulled the strip backwards so that it slipped right off of the front and middle bracket. That was the easiest. I discussed my experience here: http://www.fordedgeforum.com/topic/10326-after-market-or-ford-roof-rack/ I thought it was easy although I will admit to being quite concerned about goofing something up and damaging my vehicle. I had no idea that the hole was pre-tapped so that was a risk. It seemed like I was the first person on this forum to do it myself so I had no experience to learn from. $400 to install or $400 to purchase and install? I could see you being charged for an hour of labor but not more than that, and that would include the time required for the dealer mechanic to install the cross bars as well. When I was ordering my rails at the parts department the young guy at the counter started looking up each individual part number and was pricing it that way. A more senior guy saw what he was doing and pointed out that ordering the complete kit was a lot cheaper. I never did install the cross bars that came with the kit but might someday I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWizard Posted March 28, 2013 Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 They figured $400 for parts and labor that they were going to add onto the sales agreement. I found the kit online for $189 so I figure I can save a couple hundred dollars installing them myself. Thanks for the information! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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