How to get roof rack off???

[alphabets13]

not the cross sections, but the side rails with the 4or 5 srews in each. i can get about 2 or 3 srews out but the rest are impossible and are like putty. they are nearly stripped, but not yet. how can i get these remaining screws out without stripping them or ripping the damn rack off in anger

 

[MONMIX]

sounds like rust has kicked your ass.
the next step can really become a HUGE can of worms.

 

[EMG7895]

Get a hacksaw or small file and make a slot and try again..

 

[alphabets13]

we tried a screw extractor and broke off the tip of the extractor in the screw. used 2 different drills b/c one broke when trying to get one of the screws out. thats when i said screw this it's not worth it.

i got the cross-sections of no problem, and i will just mask everything off and paint the rails on the truck. they are not that bad, i just wanted them to match the cross-sections nice. i was going to whip out the impact wrence, but i'm not going to get crazy here

 

[jimbo74]

drill the bolts through and pull..... fill the holes with weld...or bondo if you must...

 

[Hartman]

Those bolts are in there GOOD, it takes a ton of force to get them out.

 

[daxb]

Bumping this, as I sort of have the same issue. One of the cross-bar brackets popped out and I need to get the end cap off of the side rail to be able to slide out the bracket thing. I assume you have to remove the (nearly stripped) screw to get the cap off? Right now the left leg of the front cross bar is just swaying in the wind which means I cannot use my bike rack (which I moved to the passenger side). Thanks in advance.