I have water apparently running down the seam on the inside and collecting on the sill. The seam appears sound and watertight on the outside and I cannot identify a point of ingress. I wonder if the answer lies under the panel that covers the sliding-door runner channel (bottom photo) and if so is this panel easy to remove without too much difficulty?
Any advice very gratefully received. This is the last of several leaks I've had to deal with over the past couple of weeks including cab door welts, all 3 fridge vents and the hook up socket.
Water droplets appear here causing corrosion...
And collects here..
Could the problem lie under here?
Cheers
Phil
The worrying thing about middle age is knowing that you'll grow out of it.
I had exactly the same leak. I noticed it when I had the furniture out to nip some seam rust in the bud before it got a hold.
also at the rear on the same side
In my case it was the window rubber seals; water was seeping in between the seal and the glass itself (rather than between the seal and bodywork). The seals on the opposite side were fine (as were the seams) so I concluded that a previous owner may have parked the van in exactly the same place and orientation over a number of years and the sun must have baked the seals hard over time. New seals cured it.
You could look under that panel first though, but it would need for it to be actually holed to let water in. Two screws, pull away from fixing brackets and tw@t it in an upwards direction. Can be very stubborn the first time removing....
As ^^^ suggests.old window seals are a major cause and for such a cheap refit its madness not to change them, cost = roughly a service but lasts for at least 10 years, nice looking van by the way
mm
I have a panel van that is stripped right back while I am working on it and I have noticed exactly the same. In fact that water collects in the small sills in front of the rear wheel arch.
I have noticed it coming from the area you have pointed out.. but also from one or two other seams. Since I have resealed and repainted the outside of the seams it has stopped and my next step is to try to seal the inside of the seam (after treatment) with POR15 or something similar.
I'm confident that the window rubber, although old and scruffy, is basically sound. However, if I put my glasses on I note that there are hairline cracks on the exterior of the panel seam seals. I poured a jug of water over and Bob's yer Uncle, it leaked. Rubbed a bit of PU18 in these cracks and there is an improvement. Just a matter of waiting for a dry day ( ) to do a proper job.
Best wishes
Phil
The worrying thing about middle age is knowing that you'll grow out of it.
By far, the vast majority of rust found behind interior trim is due to leaking window seals and unfortunately it is hard to spot by a cursory look. This is particularly true of the windsceen seal which only needs a hairline leak at the very top of the seal and water will work its way down by capillary fashion until it rests in the corners, eventually rotting the lip. By the time it works its way on to or under mats, the damage is often extensive even if hidden.
Certainly the rot found in the side middle panel (often where the cooker is) is caused by leaky window seals (and fridge condensation to some extent). When I rebuilt the floor hidden in that section I made it easier for any water to trickle down and out rather than sit on the floor and rot it. It also provides a route for any potential gas leak from the calor bottle which sits in my cupboard so serves two purposes. The seam rust is indicative of a leaky window and will get worse if ignored.
and half way down this page is another take on screen repair when its real bad https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.p ... 7&start=60" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
and if you want to do the lower fridge panal properly as per vw then half way down this page will sufice. https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.p ... 30&start=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
am busy planning a website to cover all aspects of these repairs
mm
) to do a proper job.
