roof question

michaelhinkle1

i looked around at a lot of other wagons to see if any had the same problem as mine, but i didn't see any.

my roof is extremely flexable, it dents in about as big around as half the roof. i can push it in from the inside but it's still about half way there. if i'm going down the road around 60+ mph the wind and my roof rattle really loud, it almost sounds like a flat tire.

is there some sort of stuff up there that keeps the roof sturdy? could mine be broken?

thanks guys.

wagodizzle

you arent the only one. this is a common problem with the wagon.

it isnt "broken" though... :?: what it is, is this: the roof has support rails running along the interior of it above the headliner. these are simply glued to the sheet metal of the roof. over time sometimes the glue comes undone and makes your roof flap.

to fix it, take out your headliner. then spot-weld these support rails to the roof sheet metal. this will strengthen it all over again

[edit:] if thats a bit much, then simply glue it. lolz.

bam-bam

whoa, easy there trigger.

WELD them to the roof skin? :shock: ... not.
maybe use some kind of epoxy, or RTV, or cyanurate foam (greatstuff?)
anything, even bathtub caulk would work.

wagodizzle

i guess i need to chill. haha. would welding still be bad though (wire weld) if you dont care about the paint?

michaelhinkle1

thanks dude.

by broken i meant it as in maybe it was screwed in at one time by some kind of bracket and it broke loose.

bam-bam

consider the reason they were not welded initially. the roof skin is a structural member supported by the bows, but bonded with some adhesive that SHOULD have remained flexible. The whole unibody is in motion when driving, in all kinds of directions you wouldn't think.

Try this. take out your headliner and weld just one tack to the roof skin. I'll hold the bets on WHEN (not if) the tack pulls through the skin.

michaelhinkle1

bam-bam wrote:

consider the reason they were not welded initially. the roof skin is a structural member supported by the bows, but bonded with some adhesive that SHOULD have remained flexible. The whole unibody is in motion when driving, in all kinds of directions you wouldn't think.

Try this. take out your headliner and weld just one tack to the roof skin. I'll hold the bets on WHEN (not if) the tack pulls through the skin.

should i just re-glue it?

gorilla glue works wonders, ya know?

bam-bam

Yes, re-glue it. No to Gorilla. Gorilla glue is kind of rigid for this application, IMO. Better than nothing, but regular acrylic latex painter's caulk (white lightning) would perform better, I think.

On a side note: my roof rack shut mine up, I guess just stiffened the skin, or lessened the free span?

michaelhinkle1

thanks for the help guys.

/thread.

White&Nerdy

Well that explains why my 89 wagon roof kinda flaps in the breeze a little while my 91 was solid. Before I thought it was just an improvement they made between years. Maybe there is, but now I know why.

judebert

Perhaps installing a sunroof or moonroof? That would be a slick mod, too...

lalunette

How about screwing in a roof rack from a late eighties Subaru Loyale?

I did that, along with all the metal strips that fit in between, and my roof no longer flexes. It also makes a nice mod as the Subaru roofrack looks really old school.

Before doing this mod the roof would boom when a door was closed quickly or it would flex if a window was opened when the car was going down the highway.

I've been meaning to add a few more screws to further stiffen the roof as there is still a small portion of the roof, near the front, that wants to sag.

I used metal screws and rubber grommets to prevent any water from seeping into the car via the holes I drilled so my wagon is still water tight.

michaelhinkle1

judebert wrote:

Perhaps installing a sunroof or moonroof? That would be a slick mod, too...

njcivicwagon has one, i planned on doing it sooner or later but have no idea on what year sunroof to use.

wagodizzle

the NJ cousins have an aftermarket electric sunroof installed. the sunroof ALONE (no labor) was $500.

michaelhinkle1

wagodizzle wrote:

the NJ cousins have an aftermarket electric sunroof installed. the sunroof ALONE (no labor) was $500.

i envy rich people.

what year and model sunroof should i use? i'd rather use a non-electric one.

wagodizzle

idk if you could get a sunroof out of a different car, that would be hard. the EF Si hatchbacks had electric sunroofs...

but dude, installing a sunroof is a tedious and expensive task. id wait a ways and finish up other things with your car first.

michaelhinkle1

njcivicwagon has one, i planned on doing it sooner or later but have no idea on what year sunroof to use.

like i said, sooner or later. do it like bam and his ferreri and just cut a big hole . i remember when i use to skate and watch his show. i never liked him skating wise, i always liked people like p-rod, and koston, more tech then anything.

wagodizzle

yeah Bam is crazy ass fool, im not gonna lie. but seeing as he has a hundred other cars as daily drivers, he prolly doesnt need a roof anyways hahahaha.

man my skating days are done... have been for a while. it was too painful.

michaelhinkle1

wagodizzle wrote:

yeah Bam is crazy ass fool, im not gonna lie. but seeing as he has a hundred other cars as daily drivers, he prolly doesnt need a roof anyways hahahaha.

man my skating days are done... have been for a while. it was too painful.

pain wasn't my problem, it was my ankles. they couldn't take the bails anymore. they didn't hurt, it was just under a lot of pressure my bones began to pull apart. my doctor said if i continued skating the way i did and kept rolling my ankles i'd end up in a wheelchair for life.

Kahuna

As far as welding goes, you wouldn't want to do that on a exterior panel unless you want a lot of work to do.. Youll have to grind the top of the roof where the metal burns through, plus its so thin you'll probly burn holes straight through it.. (two different things, btw)

It is glued so that it will look pretty from the outside, simple as that..

JB Weld it.. That would probably be best.. Unless you can get ahold of some automotive grade glue, like oem..


I've learned so much from school already.. Haha I'm actually studying this right now..

michaelhinkle1

pulled my headliner today.

the way it was "glued" i don't know how to get the support rails that were "glued" to stay in place long enough for the apoxy or caulk im going to use to dry.

if i put the glue on the rail and push it up to the roof, im going to have to hold it there until it drys. _-_ otherwise it's going to pull itself apart.

bam-bam

Don't try to move it ,just fill that gap.

michaelhinkle1

bam-bam wrote:

Don't try to move it ,just fill that gap.

edit:

nevermind, i get what you mean now.

but the calk is too gooey to "fill in the gap"

SiWagon

Go talk to a body shop.A glue you might want to look into is the glue they use to glue the polyurethane panels to the Pontiac Fiero chassis .

quarters

lalunette wrote:

How about screwing in a roof rack from a late eighties Subaru Loyale?

I did that, along with all the metal strips that fit in between, and my roof no longer flexes. It also makes a nice mod as the Subaru roofrack looks really old school.

Before doing this mod the roof would boom when a door was closed quickly or it would flex if a window was opened when the car was going down the highway.

I've been meaning to add a few more screws to further stiffen the roof as there is still a small portion of the roof, near the front, that wants to sag.

I used metal screws and rubber grommets to prevent any water from seeping into the car via the holes I drilled so my wagon is still water tight.

i did the exact same mod with 4 strips. worked wonders. old subaru wagon roof rack rails. no leaks.

michaelhinkle1

what year subaru rack?