I had no problems with my 2021 using an impact wrench, but I think I might try one of these if I were to attempt the exercise again. Blue loctite releases at 300 degrees Fahrenheit. No experience using a magnetic heater like this, but it sounds like it would remove the risk of spin outs. 110V Ductor Magnetic Induction Heater Kit, Magnetic Heater Bolt Removal Tool Flameless Lossless Heating System for Various Machine Tools

 

Just did my 2022 and the bolts were tight but I got them all off with a ratchet wrench.

 

Oh that's not a bad idea. I might look into doing that, because I do like the look of the voyager rack the best of all the available roof racks.

 

I spoke with a rep from Front Runner and they use heat when they do an install at their headquarters in LA. They have a deal with the local dealership if any nutserts spin but they have it down now. Heat loosens the loctite and bolts come right out. I guess I got lucky and just used a long ratchet and they all broke free pretty easily.

FR vs Voyager...FR has tons of accessories and is flat. Voyager costs more and is a pain to mount tents or awnings to. Few accessories mounts available. I saw the Voyager rack in person at Expo West and it is nicely constructed but Front Runner is more versatile by far.

 

There are literally a zillion round bar mounts made for all manner of Jeep racks and other round bar racks that will work fine on the Voyager. I can mount my GFC on it no problem with standard brackets, and I clamped a few Mille plates that hold FR boxes on top along with max trax on the side or top. Mounting an awning is easy with any number of attachments to the side squircles, and Voyager sells other custom mounts for tools to the sides. I also clamp Thule speed links to the bars for my ski rack. Easy as pie, and the rack being one solid piece of welded steel will outlast any FR or OEM if subjected to years of harsh use.

 

Would be interesting to know if they use torch, heat gun, or these induction bolt removers. I found a heat gun and torch too risky, so assume they use the Induction heaters.

 

I have a voyager rack on order. i couldn’t wait any longer to find out if my front four bolts would come out or not so I hit them with an induction heater to around 250-300 degrees and spun them out.

Of course then i was left with 4 holes in my roof lol

So i cleaned off as much of the slathered on locktite I could get off of the bolts. I put them back in but barely hand tight, put those plastic covers back on, and covered the edges with gorilla tape to provide some protection against moisture.

but whatever, now I know they wont break when the rack arrives. When it does, I’ll probably put maybe just some teflon tape on the threads of the front four bolts. Or some silicon grease or something. Any suggestions? I think marine applications have watertight rubber washers, that might be feasible too. Gorilla tape wont last forever

 

I put just a dab of blue loctite back on the threads and then just silicone automotive caulk around the heads. Been fine for the last year in all kinds of weather.

 

For what it's worth, a friend ran into this problem when I helped install their FrontRunner rack last year -- breaking the flanged nuts loose from the body panels. They appear to just be glued in place, so not at all surprised they are so easy to mess up. We decided to try fixing it ourselves by very very very carefully drilling through the body and bolt flanges, and inserting a short stainless steel pin. Worked like a charm, though it took a few tries on the first bolt to find the right offset from the center of the hole in order to capture the nut without drilling through the threads. Additionally, the front two bolts on either side had a bracket between the bolt head and the body panel. This made it harder to judge where to drill, and once again took a few tries to get right. Once that all was done, we used silicone on the threads, and RTV on the body surrounding the drilled and pinned holes to form a gasket between the roof body and the plastic filler pieces that FrontRunner gives you to fill the recessed area the OEM rails used to occupy.


Hole

Hole with pin and a bit of RTV from putting things together before remembering to take photos.

Sooooo much easier IMO than trying to deal with the dealership, and all the issues that very well could be caused by them having to drop and replace the entire headliner. Over a year since this was done with no issues or leaks.

Finally, a tip for removing those bolts that worked for us. I tried the impact gun, and it didn't seem to work any better than hand wrenching. I also understand why people wouldn't want to hit them with a heat gun (paint damage, etc). What worked for us was to use the friction of the spinning bolt to heat things up. Specifically:

• For us at least, the bolts would loosen and start to turn with no issues. The problem started after a few turns, likely when we got to the globs of dried loktite.
• When you get to that point, where suddenly there's more resistance, stop.
• Now tighten the bolt again (not fully tight, just until it snugs up).
• Repeat. This will heat the metal simply from the friction involved.
• You should find that the more times you do this, the easier it is to loosen the bolt a bit more than the last time.
• Continue until the bolt comes out.
• Wish I'd known this when we started, or we wouldn't have needed the solution above.

Hope this helps someone out there...

 

I pulled my bolts out again because I wanted to go rackless for a long highway trip and got an induction bolt heater off Amazon. 2-3 seconds per bolt is all it took. Bolts turned like butter.