Extended Roof Rails - Missing Plastic Spacers

[Asilver]

I decided to roll the dice and ordered a Chinese extended roof rail kit off of ebay. When installing the rails I know it is essential to use the plastic washers (spacers) that go between the threaded inserts in the roof and the rail itself. Most Land Rover kits include this hardware and without it I heard there is a risk of cracking the roof glass.

The kit I ordered did not come with these spacers so I was hoping somebody might have the specs on them so that I can source some myself.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[djkaosone]

Just get some zinc plated or nylon washers and you'll be fine.

 

[TheWidup]

Ace Hardware is your friend. They have all sorts of different spacers and washers to meet the needs. <no I don't work for Ace>

 

[Asilver]

Yea that's what I was thinking. Was mostly concerned about knowing the thickness of the washer so that the rails sit at the correct height and there is no extra tension on the roof glass.

 

[anglotron]

I fitted genuine extended roof rails to my LR3 and no washers were used or supplied. The mounting screws did have a paper thin plastic shim where the underside of the rail touches the threaded insert, but it was only about .003 thick. These shims are definitely not used as a spacers and probably serve to prevent corrosion between the two surfaces and/or seal the threads from water ingress from the rain gutter. The rails don't (or shouldn't) touch the roof glass so I can't see how you could crack it. Maybe the Chinese ones don't conform to the roof profile quite so well, but personally I'd see how they fit before adding washers.