Dr.Al
Old Oak
Those of you following my Mini-Moravian build thread will be aware that I went to Wentwood Timber on Friday and bought a couple of big planks of Sycamore.
After choosing the boards, I got the roof bars out of the back of the car and plonked them on the rails. I then rummaged around in my bag of straps etc to find the security torque wrench that came with the roof bars so that I could fix the roof bars onto the roof. The torque wrench was conspicuous by its absence. Carolyn & I emptied the car out searching for it, but it was nowhere to be found. A bit of profanity ensued.
In the end, we got the wood back home by putting the back seats partly down (so they were up at a slight angle) and loading the 2.7 metre long planks (on edge) in through the boot. As the seats were slightly tilted up, they lifted the front end of the planks about 150 mm above the gear stick so I could still drive the car. Being a Passat Estate, the car was long enough that I could close the boot with the wood in place.
Once I got back home, I had a thorough search around for anywhere else the torque wrench could be but I didn't hold out much hope. The torque wrench has always lived in the car. To the best of my knowledge it has never been removed. A few months ago my car went in to a body shop for some work. Quite a few weeks after that, I noticed that the boot liner had gone from the car - presumably having been removed when they emptied the boot to do something or other inside. I suspect now that the torque wrench probably went at the same time.
I described the torque wrench as a security torque wrench. This is one of the screws that hold the bars in place:
Thankfully, with the bars off the car, it's quite easy to get mole grips around the outside of the screw so I could get it out. I searched around to see if I could buy a replacement torque wrench (even if it involved also buying replacement screws to match), but nowhere seems to stock them any more.
Having a lathe and a rotary broach is quite handy at times:
I can now fit/remove the screws with a 4 mm Allen key. Now obviously it isn't secure any more, but I've never attached anything to the roof bars in a lockable manner (I don't have a roof box or anything like that): I mostly use it for carrying hardwood planks or plywood sheets. If someone wanted to nick those, they'd just have to undo the ratchet straps and leave the roof bars in place. I guess there's a risk that someone nicks the roof bars themselves, but I'd expect that risk to be quite low (you'd have to be lifting the cover flap off the roof bars to see that the screws had been modified and then you'd have to have the right size Allen key). Also, I rarely leave the roof bars on the car for very long so again the risk is low.
I did consider just removing the outer washer/shroud thing (that shields the outside of the screw from being undone with pliers), but this felt like a more elegant solution and it's easier to use a t-handle Allen key than a pair of pliers. Also, if I can figure out the torque setting of the original torque wrench (I haven't found it yet), I could choose to use a torque wrench with an Allen key bit to tighten it to the correct torque.
After choosing the boards, I got the roof bars out of the back of the car and plonked them on the rails. I then rummaged around in my bag of straps etc to find the security torque wrench that came with the roof bars so that I could fix the roof bars onto the roof. The torque wrench was conspicuous by its absence. Carolyn & I emptied the car out searching for it, but it was nowhere to be found. A bit of profanity ensued.
In the end, we got the wood back home by putting the back seats partly down (so they were up at a slight angle) and loading the 2.7 metre long planks (on edge) in through the boot. As the seats were slightly tilted up, they lifted the front end of the planks about 150 mm above the gear stick so I could still drive the car. Being a Passat Estate, the car was long enough that I could close the boot with the wood in place.
Once I got back home, I had a thorough search around for anywhere else the torque wrench could be but I didn't hold out much hope. The torque wrench has always lived in the car. To the best of my knowledge it has never been removed. A few months ago my car went in to a body shop for some work. Quite a few weeks after that, I noticed that the boot liner had gone from the car - presumably having been removed when they emptied the boot to do something or other inside. I suspect now that the torque wrench probably went at the same time.
I described the torque wrench as a security torque wrench. This is one of the screws that hold the bars in place:
Thankfully, with the bars off the car, it's quite easy to get mole grips around the outside of the screw so I could get it out. I searched around to see if I could buy a replacement torque wrench (even if it involved also buying replacement screws to match), but nowhere seems to stock them any more.
Having a lathe and a rotary broach is quite handy at times:
I can now fit/remove the screws with a 4 mm Allen key. Now obviously it isn't secure any more, but I've never attached anything to the roof bars in a lockable manner (I don't have a roof box or anything like that): I mostly use it for carrying hardwood planks or plywood sheets. If someone wanted to nick those, they'd just have to undo the ratchet straps and leave the roof bars in place. I guess there's a risk that someone nicks the roof bars themselves, but I'd expect that risk to be quite low (you'd have to be lifting the cover flap off the roof bars to see that the screws had been modified and then you'd have to have the right size Allen key). Also, I rarely leave the roof bars on the car for very long so again the risk is low.
I did consider just removing the outer washer/shroud thing (that shields the outside of the screw from being undone with pliers), but this felt like a more elegant solution and it's easier to use a t-handle Allen key than a pair of pliers. Also, if I can figure out the torque setting of the original torque wrench (I haven't found it yet), I could choose to use a torque wrench with an Allen key bit to tighten it to the correct torque.
