Howdy all,

I've got a couple of spare sets of the factory roof racks which I'd like to put on my wagon but the problem is that the bolts that are used have a different head to a regular bolt. TO undo these you need a special tool which has the part number E42M3. I've been to Mitsu to see if they can track it down and they told me it was a Rola part so they tried to get Rola to send one down. No luck.

Does anyone have this particular tool? It operates the bolts which attach the racks to the roof and also operates the boltswhich allow you tochange the crossbar position.

If someone does have this tool can they please get in contact with me. I'd like to borrow this tool for a few weeks so that I can get a custom tool made. Normally I wouldn't bother but Mistu and Rola seem to have no idea what the hell they're doing.

Cheers in advance.

Ive got a tool for my 3rd gen roof bars. I don't know if it's what you're after, but you can have a look. It looks like a hex key with a hole in it.

I got it from the 4wd place on Sutton st. The guy there was very nice and gave it to me for nothing. He took it out of some set and even removed the bars for me out the front of his shop.:D

Have you tried Supercheap or Autobarn?

Wanna take a pic of this bolt. It may be that it's just a torx bit?

Also, have you thought of going to a bolt shop and buying some different headed bolts to put them on? That way maybe you can have some done with a torx fitting which'd probably be as 'steal free' as the mitsu one...(like anyone would want to steal roof racks anyway, but ya never know)

This is definitely not a torx bit, I know this because I've been to Supercheap and those joints and they have no idea what I'm talking about. Other than the top, or head, of the bolt it is exactly like any other bolt. I've tried to upload some pics of it but for whatever reason Photobucket doesn't like me at the moment. I'll try and describe it to you.

A normal bolt head has 6 flat sides, a hexagon. Picture a perfectly round bolt head which is 10mm in diameter. Two flat sections have been cut out of the circle parallel to each other 8mm apart. Each of these flat sections are 6mm in length. It's almost like an oval which has had it's two longest arc squashed flat.

I know that was probably difficult to understand but without being able to upload pics there's not much more I can do unless someone who has factory roof racks can take a pic for me.

The racks cost me nothing, so if I have to spend a small amount of money on getting this piece right then I'll just go ahead and do so.

Any more ideas?

Ballarat Bolts and Fasteners on Latrobe St?;)

I'd like to keep that as my last option if at all possible, if I can get an factory tool for this then I'd be much more content than going with a normal bolt for this sort of thing.

So, anyone else that can help me out? Who around here has got a Verada Wagon?

Have you tried contact rack company direct.. That would be your best option..:)

Mits dont care to help..

I had the Factory Racks on an old car and from memory they were simply Torx heads with teh security pin in the middle, most tool places actually sell these over the conter and are only a few bucks.

Post up a pic mate, we will then be able to tell you what they are

I had the Factory Racks on an old car and from memory they were simply Torx heads with teh security pin in the middle, most tool places actually sell these over the conter and are only a few bucks.

Post up a pic mate, we will then be able to tell you what they are

Super Cheap do stock these but in drill bit form (im sure) but i know they do stock them. Dont ask the staff they are usually dim witted 15 year olds, best bet is to ask the manager with things like this or go into the tools aisle and check it out

The bolt I'm talking about is definitely not a torx bolt, I've attached the file below. Hopefully what I said earlier will make a hell of a lot more sense now that I've got a picture.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii140/dart33333/PB020279.jpg

The two flat sections are 6mm in length and are 8mm apart from each other. The round section of the bolt head is 10mm in diameter.

Any ideas?

Looks like you could do them up with a pair of pliers?

I had originally thought that but because the bolts sit in a recess you can't get enough of the pliers on the bolt to turn it to any serious amount of torque. And I want a whole lot of torque on these bolts, after all, I'll be moving surfboards and I'd rather not have my wagon turn into a convertable without my consent.

I appreciate the comments, keep them coming please.

Do you have a socket set?

I wonder if you'll find one that will do the job?

If you took it to a hardware place, they might be able to match it to something.

Sockets don't fit, most likely because of the rounded sections on the bolt where they would normall be flat sections.

Hardware store may find something that fits but Supercheap, Autobarn, etc don't seem to know much more about them.

Anything else?

I'm gonna post an ebay link over on our ballarat site.;) Gimme a minute.

Well, I got donuts at Ballarat Bolts and Fasteners and if anyone is gonna have something matching this then they'd be the ones. Without it the free roofracks which I have been trying to get onto my car are absolutely useless to me. I need to get them off one car to put onto mine so I can't just replace these bolts with a standard set of bolts.

Are there any 2nd gen owners out there that have this tool, please? :pray:

I need to get them off one car to put onto mine so I can't just replace these bolts with a standard set of bolts.

Are there any 2nd gen owners out there that have this tool, please? :pray:

So why exactly can't you repace them with normal bolts? Mate, seriously, normal hex head bolts will do the job more than well enough. I fail to see why you're being pedantic about what seems to be an anti-theft bolt when you can replace them with normal bolts and know that your roof racks would stay happily on your roof.

So why exactly can't you repace them with normal bolts? Mate, seriously, normal hex head bolts will do the job more than well enough. I fail to see why you're being pedantic about what seems to be an anti-theft bolt when you can replace them with normal bolts and know that your roof racks would stay happily on your roof.

The problem is that they are currently attached to a car and without this tool or something very similar I can't get them off the car to put onto mine. No tool, no rack.

The problem is that they are currently attached to a car and without this tool or something very similar I can't get them off the car to put onto mine. No tool, no rack.

buy a cheap, crappy socket, smash it onto the bolts and unscrew them that way...

Tried it today and it doesn't really work either. Trying not to be the no-police but I'm not getting real far with this, kinda frustrating to try so many things and get nowhere.

Tried it today and it doesn't really work either. Trying not to be the no-police but I'm not getting real far with this, kinda frustrating to try so many things and get nowhere.

if you have a bit of space around the head of the bolt, you could use a hacksaw or an angle grinder to make 1 single groove in the top of the bolt, then with a decent sized flat head screwdriver you should be able to remove said bolt.

Ive had to do it before on a set of shocks.

if you have a bit of space around the head of the bolt, you could use a hacksaw or an angle grinder to make 1 single groove in the top of the bolt, then with a decent sized flat head screwdriver you should be able to remove said bolt.

Ive had to do it before on a set of shocks.

No space around the bolts unfortunately, the sit in a recess in the roof racks, I'll see if I can get a pick up so you can get a look at it. It's a massive pain in the butt.

No space around the bolts unfortunately, the sit in a recess in the roof racks, I'll see if I can get a pick up so you can get a look at it. It's a massive pain in the butt.

Then one other alternative, cordless drill + drill bit and drill it out, just go a bit smaller then the bolt itself so you dont damage the thread, in doing so you should be able to wiggle the remains out with a set of needlenose pilers

You could use an easyout, or there is a special socket filled with hardened wire strips, so that when the socket is pushed on some wires move up into the socket leaving the others to grip the head. I've been looking for the name of the product but I cant find it.
Will keep searchin. The latter is definanetely the best option.

The socket with wire in it is for rounded nuts, and any decent tool shop should have them or know what I'm talkin about.

You could use an easyout, or there is a special socket filled with hardened wire strips, so that when the socket is pushed on some wires move up into the socket leaving the others to grip the head. I've been looking for the name of the product but I cant find it.
Will keep searchin. The latter is definanetely the best option.

The socket with wire in it is for rounded nuts, and any decent tool shop should have them or know what I'm talkin about.

I believe the tool is called the Alligator. Basically the small wires or pins inside the socket move up and down, so they can take the exact shape of the Bolt head or nut, so there is no movement when turning.

Ozz

Edit: It could be just called the "Gator"

Thanks for the advice guys, will take it into account and will probably move on it in about a month or so. Until then I'm gonna try and message a few people who I can see have the roof racks and hope that they still have the tool and are willing to lend it to me for a short period of time.

Until then, is there any chance we could make a list of possible candidates?

I reckon drill them out man. then replace em with normal ones and never have to worry about these god forsaken bolts again!

Have a couple of ideas......

a/ Buy a cheap 8mm open-ender. Grind away the outer margins at the "jaws" of the open-ender to make points which are slender enough to fit down the sides of the specialised bolt inside the recess. Use a shifter on the "flat" of the open-ender to apply twisting force.....
..... as you have weakened the open-ender by grinding away some "meat", considering heat-treament to toughen it up before trying it. (Long time since high school Metalwork.... heating and quick-cooling in water would toughen steel, I think??)

b/ Find a socket which is snug fit around round portion of bolt (assumes there is room in recess to get a socket all around the specialised bolt. Grind up a bit of waste metal to make small pieces which will fit down the gap at sides of bolt, yet will bind on sides of socket. Might be hell to fit two loose pieces of metal into opp sides of a socket, then upend the whole thing onto a bolt head in a tight recess...... perhaps Blu-tac or silastic your "binding" pieces of metal into the socket.

c/ Ok, a Third Idea. Buy a cheap socket of appropriate size, with plan to grind away some of the socket leaving two protruding "legs" to fit down the side of the bolt when its in the recess. Use guess-timate or trial and error to determine what size socket will suit - you don't really want to use the socket conventionally........ I guess you need a socket with an OUTSIDE diameter of 10mm. You grind away two larger segments to correspond with the round portion of the bolt-head, and grind away to decent depth, similar to height of bolt-head. You are left with two small segments of the original socket, which poke down side of bolt head.

Good luck. Use liberal amounts of Possum Pee spray, or the "Freeze" penetrant on your bolts to give yourself a head-start, before trying any of my bodged tools suggestions.

Thanks heaps for those ideas, I reckon the first one could be a goer. If I can find someone with a grinder I might actually give this one a go. Do you reckon I'll need to heat treat the new spanner at all or would it still be strong enough?

Thanks again for the ideas, they're tops.

Okies - I'm not a toolmaker (nor do I play one on TV - LOL, that's meant to be a joke).
Short answer - I have no idea if spanner could do with heat treatment.

It depends a bit on how much clearance you have in the recess, or putting it another way... how much of a spanner you have to grind away (or.... how much you weaken the spanner).

Cheap spanners are of such varying quality to begin with.... from "crap quality" to "really crap quality" and worse. As you are grinding away, you might get an idea of thw metal's characteristics.

The "really cheap auto place" and the "hardware place rhymes with <running>" have recently had open-ender/ring combo's at $1- per spanner - loose in a jumbled-up box IIRC. At that price you can hardly go wrong.

A point to consider, have a good look at your bolts in-situ (in the recess) and try to visualise if there is room to have TWO cheapo spanners jammed side-by-side. I reckon doing that would share the strain and be less-likely to break the spanners - HOWEVER, movement of the spanners might put greater pressure on the sides of the recess - will this take some punishment, and do you mind if the roof-rack brackets gets marred by undoing the bolts?

Also - since I'm not always a dab-hand with tools, and I work as a nurse, and you don't have your own grinder....... whether you use a bench-grinder, or an angle-grinder - BE CAREFUL!! I've seen catastrophic damage (and sometimes to experienced men who have used these tools for years).

I personally like Option 3, BTW - if a socket could be found of right diameter, and you measure and mark-up your 6mm segments (to leave intact), seperated by 8mm "voids" and are reasonably precise with the modding..... it'd be a pretty shmick tool. IMHO.
Either machine can

Okay - a new plan if others fail.
Use a cheap socket which will JUST fit over the round bolt-head. (As you seem to have a loose bolt of that type, it should be easy to trial this in a shop). Ensure that this socket will fit into recess of Roof rack brackets.

Get small quantity of two-part Epoxy Putty - the strongest, toughest, you-beaut stuff you can see available.

Mix the Putty and load up opp sides of the socket with suitable amount of the epoxy putty.... shove the head of your loose/spare special bolt in the socket. Idea is to force the putty into the socket

( backtrack here: put a single-layer piece of gladwrap over head of bolt before shoving into putty/socket. aka "release agent" - save having spare bolt jammed in a buggered socket for the rest of your life).

Clamp the bolt/socket combo in a vice until epoxy putty has gone off and fully cured to maximum hardness. Remove bolt from hardened putty/socket. Use socket with hardened putty as removal tool.

I suggest a cheapo socket in case you are not able to ever get the epoxy putty out of the socket.

Good luck.

Wow, the ideas just keep on coming. These ideas should keep me busy for a little while, but I'll be sure to update you on how everything goes.

Thank you sooo much, hope it works out.