I did a lot of research on forums about this and wanted to consolidate the results:1. Don't use WD40, it attracts dust and grime later, use Silicon Spray or graphite dust2. The main reason I'm posting, once it's free to open, lubricate behind the sliding locking bars with Silicon Spray, this helps A LOT.3. Also consider what I did which helps 99% of the rest of the way: buy a couple feet of PVC, large enough to cover the sliding locking bars, cut it in half the long way, attach it to the box over the locking bars (I drilled holes and used zip ties).The only remaining issue I have now is if I pile stuff too high and it puts upward pressure on the box lid, so don't do that. ;-)As to the PVC, I think it was 1", and in fact it was not really big enough to completely cover the locking bars, so I didn't tighten the zip-ties down all the way, if I did it again I'd get bigger pipe or heat it and flatten it out a bit, but I just tested this setup on a 1200 mile trip and it worked great, noticeably smoother opening and closing.
www.recrepair.com is what Thule recommends you use to seal your crack :) -- it is an ABS patch kit and is waterproof as it is used for permanent canoe and kayak repairs. it is NASA designed.
I have a solution for cracking of these Thules. The stores that sell these, carry a patching kit. It's a 3x8" piece of the same material with adhesive on one side. You can take a heat gun and soften the patch and place it over the crack and shape to fit before it cools. I've had 2 Thules on the roof of my excursion with stress cracks at the anchor points. This stuff really does the job and it's really inexpensive. I have them on both boxes at all stress points... It has solved this issue.
Hi there,
I believe the silver is paint over black ABS; if so, my repair may help you.
A large (8 metre) branch fell on my Thule box splitting the upper carcass in many directions (both seams and field areas), in addition to the complete break of a front lower segment. I decided to try and fix it despite finding a replacement. Well I have to say, it worked out great, and it did not involve expensive epoxy, adhesives, hot air welders, or any of the methods most commonly referred to. Thule's cargo boxes are made from ABS plastic. The same black plastic material used for your household domestic waste plumbing systems. Rather than use foreign (non-ABS) material as your binding agent, simply use ABS. By keeping the joint material native, you are essentially re-establishing the continuity of the original material.
Take a small piece of ABS pipe (any scrap will do, just ensure it's ABS -- will say on the side) and grind it down in shavings. I used a rotary cutting tool with a bit that looks like a common router bit for rabbit joinery. This resulted in very small shavings. Accumulate enough shavings and place in a small glass jam jar with a lid. I had to cover roughly 1.5 metres in crack length and found ABS shaving volume equal to a couple marsh mellows to be plenty. Here's the magic.... pour a small amount of Acetone into the jar and stir the contents (do it outside as it fumes) -- add more as needed just to get it to the consistency of carpenter's glue.
After you have bound the cracked segments of your Thule from the outside (I used rubberized packing tape as it has great horizontal field strength but can be removed easily). The tape up job doesn't have to be pretty, just ensure the edges are tight together and the tape is firmly holding it tight. On the inside, use a rotary cutting tool and any cutting bit to grind a trough directly where the cracks are. I went down approximately 3 millimetres and across approximately 8 mills. I left it rough to the touch. Clean the trough with Isopropyl alcohol; let dry.
Using a small paint brush (ones you find in elementary school water colour paint kits are fine) "paint" the trough with the dissolved ABS from your jar. The advantage here is the Acetone in the mixture dissolves the edge of your trough so both the slurry (your mixture) and the hard carcass body are naturally bonding. As you might imagine, the Acetone will evaporate leaving nothing behind but ABS -- as hard as the original, fully bonded to the original material. Once dried, apply additional coats to build up the trough to your preferred profile.
Remove the tape on the outside and you're set. You could apply some sealant to the outer surface of the cracked area, but I did not as keeping it clean to look at on the outside is difficult when adding to the perfectly smooth outer surface.Good luck.
Put your carrier on a pair of saw horses and clamp down firmly then open the lid as it now stable and clamp your strut with a wide jaw wood clamp. Apply just enough pressut to start the ball into the socket and finish with your hands. Steve Parks
Unscrew the knobs at each end of the load bars. Make sure they are unlocked or they will not unscrew. That will loosen the clamps on your rain gutters or factory roof bars of your vehicle. Then you can just lift the Thule load bars off your vehicle.
With the box open, loosen and remove the screws at the mounting points. There should be at least 4 mounting points, each has 2 screws I believe. You may want to have an extra person to help lift the box off your vehicle without accidentally scratching your vehicle.
Spray some WD-40 into the keyhole in the lock and wait a few minutes for that to set in. Then try to turn it again. If that doesn't work, the lock cylinder may not be inserted completely. Use the removal specific "key" that comes with Thule locks to pull the lock cylinder out, then reinsert the cylinder completely before removing the removal "key".
