Anybody know if the roof rack stanchions / rail sliders on the 1996 XJ are meant to be disassembled / re-assembled? Got mine apart for rack overhaul and cannot find instructions for re-assembling them.

Chris in South Florida
1996 Cherokee
1998 Cherokee
1987 Comanche long-bed pickup

 

don't they just slide back in then put the end caps on might even be easier to get them in before you screw the rails down? no idea really but that's the way I would do it?

 

Hello outback. It's the little black thumb button that concerns me. When you reassemble the stanchion you slip the thumb button beneath a little metal tang / lever that pushes the Spring up when you **** the thumb button.

But there is nothing that positively retains the thumb button in the stanchion assembly, meaning it can be popped right out. If you go over a rock really hard the little thing could pop right out on its own. When I disassembled these, there was nothing that was holding the thumb button in permanently. You can just pry them out really easily.

My Jeep shop manual has nothing at all about the stanchion assembly disassembly.

Cheers.