Ford Focus Roof Rack




I needed a roof rack for the 2013 Ford Focus Hatchback that I recently bought.
I don't like the clamp-on racks; they always look like an afterthought, and there's also the risk of damaged paint. I wanted the rack to be bolt-on, yet fully and easily removeable. This was my solution.


Pictured are Yakima "Jetstream" bars with Landing Pad 11. This should work with any type of Focus, Focus ST, or Focus RS since they all have the same body, probably other cars, too, if they have the same style rain gutter.

Although it took more time than I thought, I'm really happy with the result. Overall I probably spent 16hrs, spread over a week's time, mostly because I had never done it before and was being extremely cautious so as not to damage my car. 

I checked with a local rack installer before I started, but their solution was to permanently mount the landing pads, which I was not thrilled about. Instead, I opted to install threaded "T-nut" mounts in the rain gutter that are fully hidden by the existing trim. At this point almost any rack can be bolted on.

Many Subaru's come from that factory with this type of mount, which is what gave me the idea.

Tools: 
  • Drill
  • Carbide Drill bits
  • Painter's Tape
  • Box of disposable gloves
  • Metric Allen Wrench set (ball end makes it much easier)
  • Magnet
Hardware: 
  • 4 80/20 M6 Triple T-Nut
  • 8 M6 Button head cap screws (come with the T-Nut)
  • 1/4" Stainless Steel Washers
  • Permatex or similar sealant
  • Set of 4 Yakima Landing Pad 11's
  • Set of 4 Yakima Towers
  • Set of 50" Yakima Jetstream crossbars
Steps:
Buy the hardware. I ordered mine from McMaster-Carr.
Wash and empty out your car. Optional, but makes the whole process much easier.

Drop the headliner
Unscrew the visors, handles and coat hooks
Pop off the plastic trim on the A & B pillars
Carefully work the headliner down. Wear gloves to avoid grubby finger prints and be careful to avoid permanently creasing it. Be careful of the airbag which is now exposed!
Pop off the rain gutter trim and set it aside. It is just clipped on and pops off fairly easily without any tools.
Measure and mark where to drill the holes. I spaced mine out such that I can mount a bike up top and still open the hatch without hitting the tire with my spoiler. Yakima has a handy chart on their website for figuring out what spacing you might want based what you plan to use the rack for.

Tape and cover all exposed paint. The metal shavings will cut right through your paint if they so much as touch it. Even with my precautions, I got one or two marks.



Drill the holes. You will drill two holes for each mounting point so the T-nut is attached using the outside holes. The middle one is what you will attach the landing pads to. This is by far the hardest part. Remember, this is hardened steel, normal drill bits don't cut it. I tried to use the Milwaukee bits shown with no luck, but finally had success with the Bosch ones purchased from Home Depot. Some tips on drilling hardened steel from a former machinist I work with.
  • Drill a small pilot hole, then step up in size.
  • Keep the pressure on the drill relatively hard, but the speed slow. Hardened bits like this are very brittle and easy to break. Also, if you start to see smoke, slow down, you've already damaged the bit. Using oil or water to cool the drilling can help, but it does make a mess and I found it unnecessary as long as I took my time.
I also stuck a paper plate up under the roof to catch as many metal shavings as possible. I used the magnet to pick up the rest.

Install the T-nuts using the holes you just drilled. Take the button head cap screws with a single washer, and push them through the holes you just drilled from inside the car (above the dropped headliner). Coat three or four stainless washers with Permatex and stack them on top before twisting the screws into the T-nut. The idea here is to get the T-nut as high as possible without interfering with the rain gutter trim. Make sure everything is well sealed (you don't want water in your car!), and tighten them down. Repeat for all four mounting points.
Drill holes in the rain gutter trim so you can access the new threaded roof rack mounting points. It’s a little tricky to get these positioned right. I ended up marking them, popping them on to check location, then back off to drill the hole. If they are a little off, you can always enlarge the hole.


Screw in the landing pads. They come with multiple lengths of mounting screws, but I had to use one of the longer screws with a couple washers so they fully engaged the threads without bottoming out on the car's roof.
Attach the crossbars per Yakima's instructions.

Final Note: As it turns out, I didn't like the Jetstream crossbars and went back to my trusty round bars. They don't looks as slick, but I've found them to be much more functional.





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