05 1.8 petrol hatch .Roof rail rubber inserts - lesleys dad
Hi everyone. Can anyone advise on how the roof rail rubber inserts are fastened into place , how to take them out and replace. I have a rain water leak which does not appear to come from the windscreen nor from the radio aerial so could there be a leak through into the roof space from this area? There appear to be white plastic pegs from the rubber into recesses in the gulley but do they simply pull out and push back in ? the rubber does seem to be a poor fit and not forming a seal to the roof on the side where the rain appears.

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 22/01/2008 at 18:54

05 1.8 petrol hatch .Roof rail rubber inserts - cheddar
An 05 Mondeo is a Mk III, do you mean 05? {a previous post was a MkIII, so I've changed the header here - DD}

The hatch does not have roof rails, do you mean estate?

Assuming it is an 05 hatch it has rubber strips that fit into a gully in the roof, these can unclip by lifting them at one end and easing them out - supporting them as you do it so they do not kink.

The are clipped to brackets that are welded to the roof structure so that is not the cause of a leak though there are two bolt holes each side normaly accessed by the small clip-in covers within the rubber strips, these bolt holes are there to fit roof bars/boxes/bike racks. They are covered by a layer of silicone type material (and paint) from new which is prised out when roof bars are fitted, when removing the roof bars a splodge (technical term!) of silicone needs to be applied to each to stop water accessing the bolt hole and its surrounds.

Perhaps a previous owner has fitted roof bars and not resealed the bolt holes or perhaps one of the "factory fit" layers of silicone type material is leaking.

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 22/01/2008 at 18:55

05 1.8 petrol hatch .Roof rail rubber inserts - lesleys dad
Many thanks Cheddar. Yes you are right its a 05 mk 111,I called them roof rails cos thats what the handbook suggested but I realise now that I am talking about simply the rubber strips.
I have taken the small access covers off and there is no sign of any bolts . All I can see is a white plastc peg like thing just forward of the apperture.
The rain only occasionally drips off the passenger side visor screw head which is slightly higher than the top of the windscreen .I imagined that there might be a join at the top of the A pillar where it joins the roof and perhaps there was a leak there.
If I can locate the bolts I might be able to investigate further.
Any other thoughts or suggestion would be welcome .As I have said it only happens now and again as though the water has to build up somewhere before it shows.
Again many thanks.
05 1.8 petrol hatch .Roof rail rubber inserts - lesleys dad
Sorry Ive re read Cheddars post And note that he refers to bolt holes not bolts thats why I havent seen them.
05 1.8 petrol hatch .Roof rail rubber inserts - cheddar
The white plastc peg like things might be filling the bolt holes, perhaps there is a leak around the pegs, perhaps remove the pegs and put a layer of silicone over the hole, this can be prised out in the future as required.

Mine (02 Mondeo) simply had some kind of flexible filler covering the holes from new, this had been painted over, I prised it out to fit roof bars and then used bathroom type silicone to replace it, I have done this a couple of times, I dont think leaving the bolts in would work because the "nuts" that they screw into seem to be able to move in their housings so water could leak around them and are only tight when under tension, i.e. when roof bars are in place.
05 1.8 petrol hatch .Roof rail rubber inserts - lesleys dad
Thank you Cheddar .Your advice Is most welcome. The workshop manual (Haynes) is not helpful on this subject.