Rack amateur with a stupid question. I ordered a Yakima rack from Amazon. The crossbars are shipped with plastic end pieces holding the two bars together. How do you remove these end pieces? I've tried gripping it with pliers (the plastic piece). Two of us have tried together, but we can't get them to budge. We're worried about prying them off with a metal tool that would scratch up the finish. Any ideas?
Yakima Crossbar Problems
1 - 6 of 6 Posts
Take a long screw driver and place between rails. Tap with hammer should knock them off.
If that fails, cut them.
If that fails, cut them.
Totally. If you can't lubricate them off. Just cut em and buy some new ones (tho they don't serve any purpose really). I think they're like five bucks to replace.
These end caps?
![]()
Yeah, they can be tough to remove, especially when they're cold, as they're barbed, IIRC. I've not had to remove the caps from my bars very often, but I've noticed it's doable when they're warm and a bit soft.
Try laying and turning the bars out in the Sun for a while, and then see if you can twist & pull them out. Be careful, though, about leaving the black items in the Sun for too long, as they may get hot. It might help to cover the bars with a white cloth or cardboard and just leave the caps exposed.
Or, are you talking about the "double barrel" shipping caps (bar end protectors; sorry, I don't have a pic)? Those serve no purpose once the bars are separated and installed, so I wouldn't worry about damaging 'em. I'd also try warming them in the Sun if they're stuck.
HTH,
Jim / crewzer
Yeah, they can be tough to remove, especially when they're cold, as they're barbed, IIRC. I've not had to remove the caps from my bars very often, but I've noticed it's doable when they're warm and a bit soft.
Try laying and turning the bars out in the Sun for a while, and then see if you can twist & pull them out. Be careful, though, about leaving the black items in the Sun for too long, as they may get hot. It might help to cover the bars with a white cloth or cardboard and just leave the caps exposed.
Or, are you talking about the "double barrel" shipping caps (bar end protectors; sorry, I don't have a pic)? Those serve no purpose once the bars are separated and installed, so I wouldn't worry about damaging 'em. I'd also try warming them in the Sun if they're stuck.
HTH,
Jim / crewzer
1 - 6 of 6 Posts
