Thule rack mounting troubles...help!

So i got the thule 440 kit, and was preparing to mount it today. The front bar went on fine, but the rear was hard and didnt fit snuggly. Did anyone else have problems mounting the rear bar on the car? It seems the bend of the roof does not let the brackets match up to the factory rack correctly. So its tight but there is a gap between the clamp and factory rack. Anyone have any tips on how i can get this on? Right now it looks kinda ghetto with the bars close togetther and its hard to mount anything with that spacing. Thanks in advance!!

Post a pic... I've got the factory bar/footpack on my wagon. No prob whatsoever.

How about a pic??

I put the Thule #440 Specialty Railing Carrier on my 05 GT Wagon two months ago. It went right on without any problems. I installed the ski box on it and the only issue I have is that the wing hits the box. When Thule releases the Sedan kit in the next couple of weeks I'll mount half of that kit over the front doors and then move the box forward.

[quote name='Max Capacity']I put the Thule #440 Specialty Railing Carrier on my 05 GT Wagon two months ago. It went right on without any problems. I installed the ski box on it and the only issue I have is that the wing hits the box. When Thule releases the Sedan kit in the next couple of weeks I'll mount half of that kit over the front doors and then move the box forward.[/QUOTE]I just mounted my Thule box and found the same problem of hitting the spoiler. I repositioned the box forward and drilled new holes. I used some clamps from a Thule bike rack and the large wing-nuts they use. Seems to be working fine and I have no feet marring my paint.

[quote name='STiSubie109']So i got the thule 440 kit, and was preparing to mount it today. The front bar went on fine, but the rear was hard and didnt fit snuggly. Did anyone else have problems mounting the rear bar on the car? It seems the bend of the roof does not let the brackets match up to the factory rack correctly. So its tight but there is a gap between the clamp and factory rack. Anyone have any tips on how i can get this on? Right now it looks kinda ghetto with the bars close togetther and its hard to mount anything with that spacing. Thanks in advance!![/QUOTE] I assume you have a wagon? I have the same problem - I checked with the vendor who I bought the Thule kit from. They claimed the 30" spacing I got was adequate (and normal for 90% of all rack ownners). The problem is that the rails are 3" closer together at the rear than the front. If you want to slide the rear Thule bar back, it doesn't adjust narrow enough. Since the car has the room, I want as much spread between the bars as I can have and still fit the bike trays (I had to shorten them for the old WRX wagon). I hhave 13.5 ft kayaks, so 30" spacing is not cool when I can have 46". The solution is to lengthen the channel out some on the bottom of the bar - I took mine apart to see if it will work and the threaded rod is long enough to still engage. You will only need about an inch on each side to allow the brackets to sit close enough to slide the bar all the way to the rear. I have yet to alter mine and reinstall - not sure whether a Dremel or die grinder will work best. I may do it with a metal blade in my jigsaw, then clean it up with a stone Dremel bit. Anyways....hope this info helps - I will give it a shot later this week and take pics for all to see.

[quote name='Max Capacity']I put the Thule #440 Specialty Railing Carrier on my 05 GT Wagon two months ago. It went right on without any problems. I installed the ski box on it and the only issue I have is that the wing hits the box. When Thule releases the Sedan kit in the next couple of weeks I'll mount half of that kit over the front doors and then move the box forward.[/QUOTE] Are your two x-bars the same width or different? Were you able to slide the rear bar all the way back in the channel? From what I saw, Thule didn't bother to test fit the bars on an '05 wagon with flush mount rails. The fix is so simple, it looks to be an oversight on their part. They still have yet to reply to my inquiry about the correct kit that I sent over a month ago, so not much luck there. Anyone have any luck with calling their tech support?

thank you much patagonia i'll try that sooon.

I ran into the same problem with the Thule 440 rack on my 05 Legacy wagon. With the front bar all the way forward the most separation I could get on the bars was about 29" before the shoe started to separate from the roof rails.

 

I decided to modify one of the crossbars by taking an open ended hacksaw and enlarging the slot in the underside so that the "shoes" could slide more toward the middle. I happened to take pictures of the operation when I did it but I forgot to post them (see below). I added about a half an inch to each slot with the hacksaw and then cleaned up the burrs with a rasp. The skewer that tightens the shoe to the rail is still long enough to work even with the modification.

 

I can now put the rear crossbar all the way back on the roof rails and the rubber footing fits snugly against the outer edge or the rail. I decided to put it a little bit forward of that (about 34" separation between front and rear crossbars) because the rails not only get closer to each other toward the rear but also seem to dip down with the contour of the roof. If I put the rear crossbar all the way back I could get about 38" of separation between the front and rear.

 

An added bonus is the rear crossbar is also easier to get on and off now that the shoes can move farther inward and the retaining clip has more clearance from the rail. I agree with others that Thule should have thought of this when they made it but it was only 20 minutes work and the result is much better than the original.

Well, I finally did mine today. Took about 3/4" off each side on the inner edge of the slot. I used a Dremel with a cutting wheel.....make sure to get the fiber-reinforced type. It took about five minutes per side, including cleanup of the burrs. I put the rear bar all the way back on the rails and the front back about an inch from the front-most position - this was necessary to get the proper spread for my bike trays (I had shortened them for use on the old WRX). I like the idea of having as much spread as possible, as we have a pair of 13.5' kayaks. I might move the front bar back after seeing how bad the wind noise is - the fairing is not really an option as the sunroof is directly underneath.

Just dremeled out my racks as well and it fits nicely in the back now, i can get all the spacing i need!! Thanks again guys for the input.

There is a guy on this board who works for Thule. Anyone remember who it is? I would like to pass along how stupid their design is on the 440 kit, which is surprising since it was specially designed for the Subaru. Looks like they spent all their time on the foot design (perfect!) and they forgot to test fit both the front AND rear bars (Ouch). It's such a simple fix that it was obviously an oversight. I have come to expect more from Thule as I have been using their racks for over ten years (send me some chotchkies and I will be a fan again!)

ditto!

Nice job on the custom fixes, guys! Gotta get meself a dremel! I've also been a loyal Thule rack user (for several different cars and SUV's over the past 10+ years) and am surprised that they didn't design the 440 to fit on the LGT wagon rails with as much spacing as possible. Especially since people often buy wagons for their extra long rooflines for carrying things like kayaks, canoes, ski boxes, etc... How about some pics with the rack back on the car, after the custom fixes? I'm curious to see how your wagons look with the rack (and any attachments?) back on the roof. BTW - any noticable wind noise from the rails?? thanks.

[quote name='LGTFan 88']BTW - any noticable wind noise from the rails?? thanks.[/QUOTE] [SIZE=7]TONS!! :eek: [/SIZE] It sounds like a jet engine up there. As soon as I put my bars on with bike trays, I took it back off and hung it on the garage wall. A fairing won't work unless you have a GT unlimited wagon, as the sunroof is too damn big (that's a good thing).

Did the same mod to the 440 kit as listed above. I agree Thule dropped the ball on this one. The minimum 28" spacing as spec'd by Thule is about all you can get without modification of the channels.

Below is a pic of the roof rack with the front crossbar all the way forward and the rear crossbar about 3-4 inches shy of all the way back. With the mod described above I could go all the way back.

 

Also, I haven't noticed much wind noise. I don't have the sun roof (GT unlimited) but I've been 80+ mph (windows closed) without significant noise.

Did you leave the bars the same width? I looked at the end-clip design and it's possible to shorten them, but not sure I want to go to the trouble (harder than channeling out the rear bar to fir properly). IMHO, my car looks funny as the rear bar looks so wide. I think I will get over it.

I know what you mean - but I left the bars at the original width. I agree the back one looks a bit different because the rails get closer together which makes the bar seem too wide. But, I like the extra real estate the full width bar affords. I put the bike racks pretty far outboard so that I can fit the ski racks or kayak in the middle.

jaycee - thanks for posting the pic of the crossbars and bike attachment mounted on the roof. It looks great! I've got 2 17' sea kayaks that I plan to carry on the rack, so maximum distance between crossbars is critical for safety and stability. I'm glad to see it'll work with the mods you all have described.

[quote name='LGTFan 88']jaycee - thanks for posting the pic of the crossbars and bike attachment mounted on the roof. It looks great! I've got 2 17' sea kayaks that I plan to carry on the rack, so maximum distance between crossbars is critical for safety and stability. I'm glad to see it'll work with the mods you all have described.[/QUOTE] Sadly, the response I got from tech support at rackattack.com when I voiced the same sentiment was that the 28" spread was sufficient for a long kayak and that I should be sure to use front and rear ties as well. Duh.

Duh is right. 28" or 30" as the "stock" distance for a wagon is pretty darn lame. It's not like we are talking about a sedan or coupe, which, with a shorter roofline, you would expect to have a shorter max distance b/t bars. We're talking about a wagon, which should allow for much more distance. Put it this way - I get close to 4' between crossbars on my wife's mid-size SUV and my buddy who has a 9-5 wagon gets nearly that distance as well. I'm not knocking the Suby sleek wagon design (3" narrower on the back) - I actually really like the looks of it. I'm simply saying that Thule (and some of its retailers) need to get a clue. One of the main reasons folks buy wagons is for their increased utility vs. a sedan.

Amen brother. Well said - now if Thule would just incorporate the feedback into a revised design to save future owners from having to visit the machine shop.

Is this thread helpful enough for a sticky? I might try to get one of the mods to sticky it if so.

I think so. The Suby wagon drivers I know tend to be outdoorsy gear-heads :D so there probably are folks out there who might find the thread helpful.