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Ok so my so called \"unbreakable\" rain rail has arrived at 6.30pm tonight even better means I don't have to pick it up from the post office but mmm I've got something waiting for me at the post office not sure what it is tho

Anyway heres pics of it

According the seller they say its made out of polyurethane and also comes with a lifetime manufacture warranty

I went out and bought some foam tape to put over the holes where the rivets and bolts go thru

I've looked on many website and they say rivetting the softtop and the rain rail isn't required and was done to speed up the process

Because I'm not taking the soft top off and going to try and do it while its still attached to the car I'm going to give it ago without rivetting (some have suggested nylon screws) the softtop and rain rail together

Well I'm going to go and try and replace it now but I don't think it will get done tonight

Alright heres pics of it




BTW I bought it from these guys in the states cost me around $280AU inc bank cheque (they don't accept credit cards nor bank transfers) still worked out cheaper than buying the Factory Rain Rail from Mazda (Quoted $350) http://www.duettomotors.com/miata/rain_rail.htm

Okay. I may regret asking this but what the hell is it???!!! I mean I know WHAT it is but what do you do with it???

I swapped mine without doing the rivets thing. They're right, it's just an assembly aid and it all works fine without them.

MsShoes, it's the rubber \"gutter\" that sits at the bottom of your soft top to catch rain that runs down the top and channels it down into drain holes.

what Okibi said

You may or may not remember my car was leaking water into the cabin then into the boot

anyway I've got everything going smooth I've got the new rain rail in but haven't bolted it up yet just having a drink before i get back to continuing it

everything is in but sad results

water is still getting thru I'm not sure how its going thru but i the water is just overflowing and getting under that rubber off that thing you use to clip the Tonneaus over



what have i done wrong i've followed this http://www.miata.net/garage/rainrail.html

You checked to see if the drain holes weren't blocked when you put the new rail in?

Any pics of the install or is it simple and straight foward?

Ok I'm an idiot!!

I've been thinking about this all morning

Then i relised how on earth does water go thru if i tighten the bolts

That was when i relised if i tighten the bolts it will close off the rain rail = less water gets into the rain rail = water overflows

so now I'm going to head out to my car and loose those nuts off and probably hand tighten it

Good luck with this ANZ.

And thanks for the explanation guys!

The 13 nuts that hold the 3 set plates in place should be tightened in a specific order, and at a specific torque setting. I can't remember the torque setting off the top of my head, but it should be in a Haynes manual or the enthusiats guide...or a search on the big forum may find it.

J

Just had read of your original post. You mentioned that you were going to use foam tape to cover the rivet holes. Did you end up doing that. I wonder if that tape is water proof and/or will hold up over time.

I re-used a cracked rain rail by using heavy duty reinforced, water proof vinyl tape to cover the various holes and cracks. 2 years on and still not leaks.

J

Ok, according to the Enthusiat's workshop manual the torque setting is 8.8-12Nm (or 90-120 kgf cm, or 78-104 lbf in)

J

With all this rain, I have water getting into the cabin. I'm not sure what's the cause but I have identified where it is coming in. Maybe one of you more experienced guys/gals can tell me how I fix this. I have a photo of where it's coming in but I'm not sure how to insert it here.

Any help you guys can give is greatly appreciated.

Adam

Image posting info is here.