So I have the factory roof rack for the Countryman. (I can't remember if it was installed at the dealer or if I installed it myself. I know I installed the Thule bike rack myself...)

I had it installed for a few years and then took it off. I've just decided it needs to go back on.

I have tried to install it according to the instructions (proper measured placement (230mm, I think) from the front of the rails and then proper placement from the front member to the rear member (705mm).).

There is no way this is going to happen. I cannot get the rear member narrow enough to go far enough back on the car. I managed to get it on further to the front and then with brute force, moved it back as far as I could.

I've attached two pictures to illustrate - the first one is when it was on before and the second one is from today.

There is a little play in the mechanism allowing you to change the width slightly, but it won't go narrow enough.

I even removed the bolts completely and checked to make sure there was nothing catching or in the way.

It's like my Mini has lost weight and is narrower since I removed the rack...

Any help would be much appreciated!! (I've done every Google search I can think of, but nobody else seems to have the same problem except one other mention on this forum of a similar issue: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-roof-box.html ). I guess it wouldn't bother me so much except for the fact that I KNOW I had them properly placed originally... Also after reading that thread I mentioned above again, I notice the OP mentioned that his bars had come off another Countryman. I do wonder if something could have happened when we took them off (e.g. didn't put them back together properly) but I've taken them all apart and even swapped the clamp things around to make sure they hadn't been put back on the wrong sides or something (they are marked L and R)).

 

Silly question, but are they in the right order, IE front on front, rear in rear. The bars are slightly different lengths, longer in the front.

Front Bar is 39 3/8"
Rear Bar is 38 3/4"

 

My thoughts exactly

 

The thread I started that you linked to is still where my crossbars are today. I'm with you in that I feel like the rear bar is "too wide" and has no hope in Hell of sliding back to the recommended position.

That said, it's been where it is for almost 5 years now and has given me no problems...

 

The bars are definitely in the correct order (fins on the front) and placement (sticker arrorw pointing the right way). Trust me, I've read the instructions a million times in the hopes that I might have missed something.

I guess I shouldn't really be all that worried about it - I think I'm a little worried that the wind noise will be greater with the wrong set up. I'll test it out on the highway today and see if it's worse than I remember.

Also, it is just driving me INSANE that the damn thing was further back before, but now won't go there...

BTW, when I took it off, I just took off the bars with the bike rack still attached (I did take the bike rack off when putting the bars back on, in case that was causing a problem) and could see exactly where the rear bar used to be as it was all in one big square.

Thanks for the replies, I guess I'll try and let it go now...

 

It actually makes me think that maybe the dealer did put it on, and they just used more brute force than I was able to, to get it further back on the car...

I need to measure, but I don't think my bars are different lengths - even though the manual says they should be.

 

Did you try and position both crossbars before tightening either down in place?

 

Yes. I think I tried every different possible combination of tightening, positioning, not tightening, etc.

Having said that - the manual says to fully put the front one on first.

Not that it should make a difference - the rails are pretty solid and the bars are independent, but I hear you on the hope that it might make a difference!

 

Also, I'm not the only one who has had this issue - we have a handyman who was doing some other jobs and I asked him to fit the roof rack earlier in the week as I thought it would save me 20 mins! (HA!).

He gave up - he actually wanted to grind out the aluminum to allow the pins to go further in along the bar and I was like "no way!"...