The OCD side of me has had it with the rust on the expedition roof rack hardware so planning to take them off to properly clean and paint them. For those that have the rack, does it look the same, better or worse?

 

You may want to check with your dealer to see if this can be fixed under warranty. It should not be rusting that way.

 

The only hardware that rusted on mine was an aftermarket bolt I added to replace one I snapped during install. (Nm not Ft lbs !)

The LR stuff on mine is notably mint compared to the one I swapped. Perhaps it's that #SaltLyfe in FL that's doing it. This is very surprising to see on an OEM rack.

 

Interesting. It's true that 5 years of salty South FL air can do some damage, but it does seem excessive. Was looking at the installation instructions and seems the impacted parts are the bolts and nuts and the separator (E on the diagram below). So, I am planning to replace the hardware with new corrosion-resistant ones and treat and weatherproof the separators. Fun little weekend project. @GavinC if it's not much to ask can you take a pic of yours, just want to see how good looks like.

 

Out of warranty, but this makes for a fun weekend project.

 

I also live on the coast (in the NE). 2022 with the Expedition Rack from new (late 2021). My bolts are not quite as rusty as yours, but pretty bad. I'm wondering if replacing them with marine grade stainless is the way to go? The fastenings on the underbody protection at the front are even worse (see below) and those don't look like standard fasteners - but maybe its a good excuse to head to the marine places and see what they have.



Edit: You'd think that after 75 years of experience in the UK, the one thing that JLR would have solved was rusting and galvanic corrosion.

 

That's a bummer. I'd change that hardware also. I wouldn't want any rust dripping on my paint.
I'm in the salty north and my hardware looks like new. Mine's an alibaba knockoff of the factory rack, but done in all black.

 

My Defender lives about 250' from the Atlantic ocean on a bluff called "Whistling Wind Hill" in Maine. There was snow mixed in with my rain on Monday. Still peeved about that.

Those bolts on my expedition rack are discolored but from whats visible, aren't rusty. I would be wary of changing the hardware if you use the rack for anything other than just for looks. Stainless hardware doesn't have the strength of carbon steel. Plus, you might be moving the corrosion problem to an even more inaccessible place if you change the metal chemistry with the fastener that bolt is connected to in the roof. The best solution in my opinion would be to remove the bolts, wire wheel then put them in a tumbler to remove the rust. Paint them with a rust encapsulator, and reinstall according to OEM torque specs. Adding a clearcoat once installed couldn't hurt either.

 

I do use the roof rack for what is intended. If I change them I’d be using high tensile bolts. The bolts screw into the separator which is also rusted and why I am also removing it and treating it.

 

The underbody ones are also a bit rusted but much less than yours and I have removed those a few times so might be related to that. Want to treat those too!