How to - Roof rails removal/fitting guide

Nice guide,just removed mine to replace the seals which cost under a tenner from volvo.

I've just fitted some roof rails to my V70 but one of them needs a new front seal section. Can you get this section seperately ?

Addendum to XR33GTS's Excellent Feature: I needed to remove the front section of gutter trim in order to replace it, due to the common problem of the grey plasticised paint cracking and flaking. This 850 estate is fitted with roof rails. It is totally possible to remove the front gutter trims WITHOUT removing the roof rails. Start at the front of the trim by the bonnet, with the bonnet open. Slide your fingers under the windscreen glass side of the gutter trim and slowly move them up the A-pillar. Use the gentle 'rolling motion' described, gently rolling up the trim from the glass side towards the outside of the car with a 'rocking' motion. There are four clips that will ease open. It is not that difficult, just be careful. Be especially careful as you approach the curve into the roof. There is just one clip on the roof before the roof rail begins. For the offside (UK), don't 'roll' the trim here, instead gently slide it forward towards the front of the car. The clip carrier should detach from the body of the car and remain attached to the gutter trim. On the O/S, the clip carriers release from the body by sliding them forward/down the A-pillar towards the bonnet. For the nearside (UK), ease the trim forward and backward slightly, the clip carrier may release from the body of the car, you may need to help it with a small screwdriver. If not, you will need to ease the trim from the metal clip. On the N/S, the clip carriers release from the body by sliding them backwards/up the A-pillar towards the roof. Be careful not to bend the trim where it fits beneath the leading edge of the roof rails. There is a rubber spacer that fits to the back of the trim near the roof rails, note carefully its orientation before removing so you refit it the correct way around. Similarly, note the plastic clip carriers: there are four cream coloured ones on each A-pillar and one grey one before the roof rails. The grey one is a different thickness (being thinner) to the cream ones. Yellow ones are on the roof itself, but you will not see these if only removing the front gutter trim. You may need some spare clip carriers and the metal clips that fit to them and the gutter trim - these are still available at time of writing from Volvo. They vary with the chassis number so have that with you when buying parts. When refitting, fit the metal clips to the clip carriers and the clip carriers to the car. Use some rubber lubricant (I used vaseline) on the metal clips to ease assembly. Insert the gutter trim under the leading edge of the roof rails but do NOT press into the clips yet. Locate the front edge of the trim so it is in line with the rubber seal at the bottom of the windscreen and with the trim flange located loosely on the metal clips. Then press in from the bottom up the A-pillar to the roof rails, it will snap in easily. Finally, if you are cutting a full length gutter trim to fit roof rails that were not originally fitted, note the gutter trim should NOT be cut square across. Shape the cut so there is about one centimetre of the rear flange alone protruding beyond the rest of the trim, this keys into slots beneath the leading edge of the roof rails to centralise and locate the gutter trims. Hope this helps.

Hello, It says that XR33GTS has not been online since 2009 so it is highly unlikely they will return to this forum. Many pictures have been removed from the forum following a server change so sadly, many postings such as this are becoming less valuable. As for removing the trims, I have never carried this work out therefore I cannot help any further but hopefully some more knowledgable soul will be along to help, I too would like to do this. Welcome to the forum. Cheers

Removing the trims is a piece of cake, you simply get your fingers under them and lift them up. On the bottom of the trims you have some metal clips which clip into plastic bits that slide onto pegs on the car. When you lift the trim you'll find the plastic bits will still be attached to the car, if one or two come off don't worry just slide them back into their place. It really is dead easy and explaining it is probably making it sound more complicated than it is! Here are a couple of pics anyway so you know what to find, they're quite poor but you should get the idea.

Hello, Thanks for this, much appreciated. Nice cat in the second photo:) Cheers

Bit of a late bump, but If I want to remove the rails on my 850 can I use the roof strips from an 850 Saloon or V70? Thanks

As far as I know yes, I swapped the roof rails from an 850 to a V70 (pre 2000) and didn't notice any differences.