Temporary fix for leaky roof

[Walrus]

The roof (a factory high-top) on Beaker is leaking - after heavy rain there are several stains down the rear panels inside. Removing the roof is too big a job for me so I've got a garage willing to fix it, but he wont be able to start the job for a while. The gutters look like they've been filled twice already with silicone(?) - it's looking perished and its coming away from the roof.

Is there anything I can do a temporary (stop-gap?!) fix with? Paint/seam sealer/more silicon? It's all got to come off/out again later in the year.

[Plasticman]

A few picks really help
mm

[Walrus]

The horror...

Back left corner


Back right corner


Front left corner


Front right corner


Front left side


Left gutter


Right gutter


Like I said, just looking for a temporary fix until I can get it done properly.

If you want to give me a quote (I'm sitting down) I'm listening too...

[keynsham1]

I have used a product called Captain Tolley's creeping crack cure available on Amazon.co.uk. It is a very watery glue that you can apply where there is any cracking in sealant or other gap. It will creep along the cracks and set. You need to add it maybe 20 to 30 times over a period of a day or so and it slowly builds up to fill all gaps. It was designed to seal cracks in fibreglass boat hulls. It is brilliant and with a bit of patience will seal any leak where there is a cracking in sealant or any other small hole.

[Plasticman]

forget crack creeper here,
thats pretty bad, the rusty stains on nsr i will say there is no roof left under there and other areas will be the same, depends on how bad it is as to whether its worth the bother of adding more sealant, once the roof is of i figure it will need the full gutters replacing, often the tops of the side panels survive as in this situation the rust usually attacks from above, they are difficult to do right, are the garage doing the lot up there and have they done them before ,excludung the dehler aspect ,the gutters round are like as shown plust you/they have the fun of cutting the metal roof remnats away to do the job http://archive.club8090.co.uk/viewtopic ... 7&start=15" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
mm

[crazyhorse]

The horror...

Back left corner


Back right corner


Front left corner


Front right corner


Front left side


Left gutter


Right gutter


Like I said, just looking for a temporary fix until I can get it done properly.

If you want to give me a quote (I'm sitting down) I'm listening too...

Nice Composition on pics though (sorry thats the last thing you want to hear)

[Plasticman]

when are they looking to start?
have they done them before and are they aware of whats under it,
either way , there isnt a great deal i can suggest to stop ingress as whilst there are likely places sadly due to capillary action for one thing short of sealing over the entire join (and even that would be questionable) you wont make matters much worse, also consider that if you did something like that it will add greatly to the time/cost of removing it all, i certainly would be reluctant to take one on after,
mm

[Walrus]

Probably towards the end of the year (after September) - I've got a few trips planned so I'm not in a tearing hurry, but obviously the sooner its started the sooner it stops being a potential problem for other stuff. They've done a good honest job of everything I've thrown at them so far and while I dont think they've done a T25 roof like mine they have done a few T2's (pictures on their website). I'm expecting the worst, so I can be pleasantly suprised if its not too bad and unsuprised if its as bad as I think its going to be. Also depends how long it might/will take. I do use it off-road & wild-ish camping so I'm not bothered about a 'polished' paintjob but I'd like it to be rust-resistant for a little while at least.

If you want to give me a quote feel free (PM me if you like).

[DavidPallister]

My van had a factory van roof on, same mounting system as yours.

Took my roof off to tackle the rust, found about 18" of metal missing above the drivers door, totally rusted away.

I've ended up completely rebuilding both front corners, repairs to both rear corners, replacing a large section of both inner and outer skin above the tailgate where the pressed steel insert of the roof was riveted down, various repairs along the length of the sides, and in the end, decided whilst I was in there to replace the entire lengths of the gutters, as I could see rust coming through between the 2 layers, and they were corroded through in a few places. I've used 2 ft sections of 30mm square steel cut in half lengthwise, puddle welded and stitched into place, should last a lot longer than the originals!

Dave

[Plasticman]

Got pickies ss were short of reading msts

mm

[Walrus]

Well... the original garage who said they would quote for it didn't get back to me - when I chased them they are too busy!

So I'm looking again for someone to do the work - I've got one estimate already from Coast VW and would like some more for comparison - more pics available on request.

[davegsm82]

Getting the roof off isn't bad. What's underneath can be a bit scary though...

https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=154147" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

At least you have gutters, I didn't. Can you have a look inside where the roof meets the hi-top? this is where I found the horror in mine, the outer skin rotted through.

You need to get the roof off ASAP.

Dave.

[Walrus]

I'm coming round to the idea of doing it myself; need to learn to weld though!

[Walrus]

Got a few pics of the inside of the roof(!) with one of the cheapo fleabay endoscope cameras:

First, looking back on the drivers side - the rear courtesey light helps with scale for the rest of the pics


The left 'C' pillar


The right 'C' pillar for comparison


And the rear left corner. Hard to get any sense of scale, but demonstrates the problem quite well - you can see the water beading on the surface


My factory roof is held on with these on the supports - should they just unbolt? Once unglued are they just holding the roof struts down?


I've decided to attempt the roof/bodywork myself. I've found a local welding course that starts after Xmas so that gives me 6 months to upskill and get ready, with a plan to start around Easter next year.

[mbcamper]

Is there something odd about those images? I can't see any of them...