How do you do it?

I have a 1997 and I want to pull the cross bars off. I feel like they should come off easily but haven't figured it out yet. Is there a trick?

 

Haha this took me a minute of deep thinking to figure out as well.

You have to remove the end caps at the end of your rails. So pick a side, i find the rear to be the easiest. And remove the two closes torx bolts inside the rail. This will allow you to raise the rail away from the roof. Then you can work the end cap piece off. I have NO idea how to get it off without breaking off the little tab. THIS DOESNT MATTER i have done this on two jeeps and it attaches right back onto the Jeep and doesnt affect its function at all. I believe all the tab is used for that breaks off is used to hold the tab to the rail itself. But the end torx screw does the same thing. So once the end caps are removed you can just slide the rail off. Easier done with two people but if its only you just depress the button on one side and slide it until it starts to bind then go to the other sside and push the button and move the rail until it binds. Keep repeating until the cross bar is off.

Hope this helps.

Will

 

Yup

Done . . .

I figured that was the process but posted thinking that just maybe there was an alternate method that didn't require cap removal.

Jobs without the need for tools > Jobs that require me to open a drawer in my toolbox