Roof rack help

I am going to have the roof repainted and I am going to remove and reinstall the roof rack.
I already bought new strips but I need to know about the nuts that the rack screws screw into.
The Jeep is a 96. there are two different nuts for that year, one for the early and one for the later 96.
Does anybody know the difference and what I need for my early 96?

are you asking about the size of the torx bolts? my 96 (not sure if early or late) and my 01 were both T25

just use the torx bit to unscrew the factory rails and plug the screw holes with something when you paint. thats how my 01 was done

cphillips said:

are you asking about the size of the torx bolts?

Click to expand...

No, I am asking about the nuts on the roof of the Jeep, they are used to attach the rack.
Thanks.

IIRC they are clinched to the roof material, like nutserts. You don't remove them. You can get replacements if they are bad - but the originals aren't available in all sizes from the dealer for all years.

Being clinched to the roof, about the worst thing that happens is rust, and pull out from overload. Then a patch from a salvage yard can be welded in to replace it, at some expense. It must be exactly centered to work right if it has the clinch nut already installed. Replacement nuts may not be the correct thread, get the bolt with it.

I don't believe the nuts do more than that -