What's up wagon fans. After much masterdibating I decided that I'm more than likely never going to use my roof rails, so I decided to delete them. With that said, I still wanted the option to put them back on should the need arise.This method is my version 2.0 and I think the results came out great for the price and what I had to work with.
This setup will work on all CW 1,2,3 wagons from 2008 to 2016. Usdm,Euro and Jdm market cars. I won't be going over the rail removal but if you have any questions pm and I can give you a run down. Main reason being is because I forgot to take pics when I did. But it's really not hard. 🤣


parts
Oem roof molding pieces74317- TL4 - G01 L
74316- TL4 - G00 s
1-3/16" Trim Molding from ebay
Scissors
Cutting blade
Dykes or wire cutters


First up
After removing the rails you will be left with something looking like this, thats where the oem roof molding comes in. You're going to cut it up to fill in the gaps in the channel to put the 1 3/16 molding on. Measure twice cut once. I still messed that up but its not a big deal. However i did discover that the long roof molding isn't long enough to get all the pieces you need but you can still make it work. I chose to leave the middle rail section alone as it has the smallest gap. If you wanted, you could order a smaller roof molding piece to fill it in for piece of mind but it's not necessary. I provided part numbers for both pieces L and S.

You will have 3 partitions that look like this when you remove the rails.



Now that you have your pieces cut to desired length it's time to cut them up to fit over/around those pesky mounting point studs. This is the most time consuming/pita part but in all reality it's not hard. What i did was press the pieces onto the mounting studs to get an idea of where you need to cut. Place the molding into the channel as if no studs were there, press down firmly, it leaves an impression that you can go over with a marker so you dont lose them. On one side i tried drilling but I came across 2 problems.
1. Rubber is annoying to drill and 2. the molding has a metal strip running through it for strength/rigidity. Solution? Dykes and a really sharp blade!

after you make your marks use your blade to cut the rubber down to the metal like in the picture. Once you reach the metal strip use the dykes to cut the metal strip out. After you finish that up lay the piece flat and cut out squares in the rubber so the studs can poke through. The studs will come up almost flush to the rubber but barley. If you dont do this the trim will bulge and if you lay the molding o. Top it will bulge and leave a gap.

This or something like this should be your finished product.


Molding should sit nice and flush!

Once it's all installed it's new molding time!
The 1 3/16 molding comes with double sided tape on the bottom and a peotective layer on top. The first thing you want to do is roll back a bit of the top layer and cut the molding at an angle to slip it under the winshield trim.

Cut at an angle to fit it under the front windshield trim. The angle of the cut depends on the side of the car.

Once cut, peel the windshield trim that lays over the oem front molding and slip the new molding in.
after that peel the double sided tape off the new molding and slowly begin to lay it over the oem molding, press down firmly and follow the channel to the back of the car pressing down and taking notice to follow the line thatt was set for you from factory.




When you get to the hatch area, trim accordingly to allow ease of hatch opening/closing and to ensure the molding doesn't get caught.


To the same for the other side and you should be good to go! I have tested this setup at freeway speeds and at self was carwashes without issues.


Now enjoy your nice rail free wagon. You may have to hit the roof with a clay bar to remove dirt buildup/ stains left from the rail but once you do the car should look like it came rail free from factory! 👍

If you have any questions or if i left anything out. Pm or leave some feedback.

 

Looks good!

I'm still a little surprised no one has figured out where/how to get that rubber trim in a giant roll so as to just replace the whole weatherstripping from front to back in one continuous piece. But I'm also to lazy to research it enough myself so maybe it's not too surprising.

Your solution looks good.

 

Thanks! I spent hours looking up trim options and this is what I came up with.

 

As of 10-31-2020 I can say that this mod is drive through car wash safe!