Volvo 480 Club Europe

hello again,
does anyone have mounting instructions for the original roof rails?

Other than this picture from the parts book, I don’t have anything. They really are screwed in to the roof though! Definitely a one-time installation!

You can download the parts book here:
http://volvo480.myds.me/v480eu/download ... tsbook.pdf

There was a set for sale recently, sadly broken. For more pictures, see the eBay listing:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-volv ... 635-2958-0

It looks like the roof is drilled, Riv-nuts are installed, then the mounting rail is screwed to the roof with a rubber gasket inbetween. It screams rusty-roof to me although I did see one in Scotland once and it seemed to have survived up there.

jamescarruthers wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 23, 2021 10:09 pm

There was a set for sale recently, sadly broken. For more pictures, see the eBay listing:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-volv ... 635-2958-0

It looks like the roof is drilled, Riv-nuts are installed, then the mounting rail is screwed to the roof with a rubber gasket inbetween. It screams rusty-roof to me although I did see one in Scotland once and it seemed to have survived up there.

OK, I own up, I bought those .

Although it stated that one of the end clips was broken, I noticed there were 5 in the photos, so wondered if someone had already bought a replacement... I have yet to actually see it all in person since I got my father-in-law (they live near Southampton) to collect it and we're not seeing them until Christmas. Whether or not it is complete, and whether or not I fit it to one of the cars, both remain to be seen, but for the deal I struck it was worth chancing it!

But as far as I know there are no instructions - if there are, I will of course make them available.

David

To avoid corrosion issues, I would recommend an interfay sealant between the roof and the rubber and the rubber and the rails. NOT RTV silicone!

I may be able to supply you with some mega aircraft stuff (PS870) when the time comes to install as we have stuff that goes out of date but is okay for a few months afterwards. If not, something like Sikaflex marine sealant would do as an alternative.

If you don’t have a Rivnut installation tool already, Car Builder Solutions will sell you one.
https://www.carbuilder.com/uk/search?q=Rivnut

I’m sure you know to prime and paint the holes in the roof for the Rivnuts but I’d also recommend to install these wet with the sealant too and then install the bolts wet too.

jamescarruthers wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 24, 2021 10:12 am

To avoid corrosion issues, I would recommend an interfay sealant between the roof and the rubber and the rubber and the rails. NOT RTV silicone!

I may be able to supply you with some mega aircraft stuff (PS870) when the time comes to install as we have stuff that goes out of date but is okay for a few months afterwards. If not, something like Sikaflex marine sealant would do as an alternative.

If you don’t have a Rivnut installation tool already, Car Builder Solutions will sell you one.
https://www.carbuilder.com/uk/search?q=Rivnut

I’m sure you know to prime and paint the holes in the roof for the Rivnuts but I’d also recommend to install these wet with the sealant too and then install the bolts wet too.

Thank you James, that's all helpful stuff!

Don't worry, I wouldn't go anywhere near a car with silicone sealant

It's the need to go drilling through the roof that bothers me, and if I do fit the system I am very aware of the need to get that right. As you mention, I was already thinking about speaking with father-in-law since they own a rather nice boat and he's quite an expert in maintenance etc. I hadn't thought about aircraft stuff though...

As for the tips on actually doing the fitting, your advice is gratefully received

David

No problem: I'm sure you'll be fine, just get it nicely aligned. I may have some skin pins that i could send you to make sure it all stays aligned while drilling-- proper clamping should be sufficient though.

Basically:
-drill the hole (hole size will be critical for rivnuts so this will need researched);
-deburr it (a drill bit more than double the hole size will be sufficient if you don't have the correct tool-- drill bits are cut at 90 degs so will do the same work)
-prime it and allow drying time
-top coat it and allow drying time (optional)
-put a tiny bit of sealant on the Rivnut shank and install it, then clean up (no need to wait for it to cure)

-trial fit the rails and rubber
-apply masking tape around periphery
-apply thin layer of sealant to roof and rails
-lay on rubber gasket
-put tiny amount of sealant on to threads and shank of bolts
-install rails, taking care not to overtorque bolts going in to Rivnuts (you don't want them to spin)
-clean up

You could consider nuts and bolts instead of the Rivnuts but obviously you have the hassle of removing the headlining then.

These are good tips, thank you.
Do you think if I use threaded rivet to fix the rails I do not need to remove the headlining - I'm a little afraid of removing that.

The topic of sealing and corrusion is really critical. What do you think of neoprene threaded rivets ?
https://vimeo.com/400550041

Nice roof rack set!

You won’t have to remove the headliner, that’s the whole point of the Rivnut in this application. A bit of drill swarf will get trapped between it and the roof but don’t worry about it. You should have seen how much rusty metal was trapped in mine from the crappy Volvo dealer sunroof installed in 1987! If you do feel the need to remove the roof liner, then I just wouldn’t bother with the Rivnuts at all— they are just a time saver— I’d just go straight for nuts and bolts.

I would advise against the Neoprene rivnuts as I would suspect that they probably can’t take the forces of a loaded rack and could pull out. They would be better for a less structural application. I’m happy to be proven wrong on this if you compare the specification sheets of the Aluminium and Stainless ones but this is my gut feeling.

Use the Aluminium Rivnuts with sealant and you will be fine. If anything does corrode, it should be the Aluminium, not the steel. (For this same reason, do not be tempted to install Stainless Steel ones— the roof will corrode in preference to the Stainless!).


Thinking out loud: once the rails are installed, they are installed for good and you have holes in your steel roof. What is to stop you just installing the rails with pop rivets anyway— again, installed wet with sealant on the shanks and also in the hole for the pulling tail? I suppose water could get through the hole in the middle if you don’t do a good job?

Rescue car R4 has the roof rails, plus associated rust. If it helps I can take photos/measurements so you can get the placement right. This one came from Switzerland, one owner from new and always Volvo serviced so I'd be very surprised if they weren't fitted by Volvo

Would be perfect to get some measurements where the rails should be fixed precisely.

Here we are:

Pic 1 - Distance back from the windscreen. With the touch point at 30mm, it's 73mm by my eyes. Always tricky to measure a curve with a straight rule but I don't trust the end sliders on tape rules.



Pic 2 - At the front there's a few mil between the start of the roof's downward side curve and the rail



Pic 3 - the moonroof is on the left and the rail on the right. At the centre of the moonroof, there is 30mm between the rail and moonroof rubber. The other side of the rail is more or less dead on the edge of the roof at this point - it feels flush with the vertical line where the roof curves down.



Pic 4 - Assuming the rails are the right ones, this is the gap you should have at the back.




Hope this helps - just shout if I've managed to cause confusion.

Thank you very much. That's so helpful!

finaly, almost 2 years later
Roofrails, Roofrack and luggage rack are now installed.

All informations and parts...

Markings...

drilling and rust protection...

Sealing ring (have it made) glued on...

Install riveting nuts...

and repeating 2 x 8 times...

Ready!

front view

birdview
(on this picture the two small end caps are still missing, but they ar now on)

I think it even looks good on the 480...

the rare luggage rack