New window seals leaking - help

[hardwick53]

On my 1990 Westy Cali, I had the two rear side window seals and the middle side window seal (fridge side) recently changed as they were the cause of the rust damage.

With the heavy downpour recently all three new seals are leaking!

The Just Kamper seals were fitted by my local garage and the middle seal was fitted by a window fitter.

Is there anything else that should have been done when they were fitted?

Anyone had problems around the plastic mouldings on the rear side windows leaking, I can't be certain but both leaks are in the bottom corner next to the moulding?

Any advice would be great, thanks.

[faggie]

remove them and refit them with proper windscreen sealant , or fit genuine vw seals

[Plasticman]

as ^^^^ ja krappers are not the brightest place to buy rubber, your lucky you got the windows in, try sealant or buy gen rubber and next time ask here before £££££££££3
mm

[Aidan]

the rear vents/glass join are prone to leaking, the factory used clear silicon sealant when fitting them, I went to plain glass as the original set up had been leaking a long time and damaged the body when I bought it and the vents themselves smelt because the van had had a lot of german smokers in it - now the van smells of veg curries and pasta dishes, and gearbox oil

[hardwick53]

Point taken on the seals, one actually split when they were first fitting them and they cursed how difficult it was. Definitely no sealant put between the vent moulding and the glass so that don't help.

If sealant is used where is best to put it? Between ally frame and the rubber or rubber and body? Or both? Any recommendation on sealant?

Thanks for your advice guys.

[Negativegravity]

I had the same problem with my windscreen - sold pattern seal when under the impression it was genuine. Too large, difficult to get in and leaked.

In the end I had a friend aim a hose on the screen and move it around to focalise the jet so that I could see at which point and location the water began to come in. That way I discovered my problem was between the frame and rubber, not rubber and glass. Squirted sealant in and all ok (so far). Give that a go and see if that works?

[hardwick53]

I had the same problem with my windscreen - sold pattern seal when under the impression it was genuine. Too large, difficult to get in and leaked.

In the end I had a friend aim a hose on the screen and move it around to focalise the jet so that I could see at which point and location the water began to come in. That way I discovered my problem was between the frame and rubber, not rubber and glass. Squirted sealant in and all ok (so far). Give that a go and see if that works?

Thanks Negative gravity, the JK seals are supposed to be direct replacement but i would now question that. What type of sealant did you use as I've read various views? Thanks

[Plasticman]

send the sh**e back and get the correct ones
mm

[CovKid]

or.....

Nip down to B&Q and get their black roofing mastic in a cartridge tube (cheap stuff). Snip the end so you only get a thin bead out the end. Lift the rubber with something like an old plastic spatula or similar and gently squeeze a small amount underneath, all the way around. Excess cleans off easily with white spirit. The mastic stays pliable, is invisible, and will stop the leak.

JK seals fit badly. Notoriously. If you don't want the hassle of changing them, the above will sort them.

General tip for anyone reading this: Do not do this on rusty window edges (for goodness sake sort the rot) and don't use aquatic sealant - it doesn't work.

[hardwick53]

Thanks CovKid, I'll give that a go.

Thanks everyone else for their comments.

[hardwick53]

Unfortunately I can't use the mastic under the seals approach as on the rear side windows i have the ventilation plastic moulding that sandwiches between the glass and the window seal. The plastic housing flares out and prevents you from getting the seal pulled out and no way of getting the sealant cartridge tip in behind...

Similar problem on the side window, the sliding window is within the ally frame, the lip on the ally frame prevents you getting behind it.

So back to plan A, remove, send crap back to Kust Japers and argue the toss with them.

So where do you guys recommend to get good seals from?... VW Hari-tage have rear sides but not middle, they also didn't understand what the Westy California Vent moulding was and the ally framed sliding window.... quite surprised!

Or is Gunzl the best bet?

Thanks

[Plasticman]

well from personal experience i have recntly had the side window ones from c & c and they fitted better than gunzls, there again chris at vw emporium does decent factory fit seals,
many firms do stuff they claim is a direct replacement, and in a way it is, but its not as good nor does it usually fit .
oh and if thery cut a seal fitting then they also maybe used too small a diameter cord , maybe used wiring,?
mm

[AdrianC]

Unfortunately I can't use the mastic under the seals approach as on the rear side windows i have the ventilation plastic moulding that sandwiches between the glass and the window seal. The plastic housing flares out and prevents you from getting the seal pulled out and no way of getting the sealant cartridge tip in behind...

Mastic where you can, then Cap'n Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure where you couldn't mastic. Depending on just HOW bad the fit is, that should sort it.

But the problem you're going to have is that where you've got water between glass/seal/steel, the mastic won't stick, just ball up. Water will then continue to get past, albeit slower.

[hardwick53]

Thanks for all your advice guys, here's what i did...

In the end i got new seals from C&C which had moulded corners and fitted the glass/ally frame fine. Still a job to fit but by the third one we were getting much slicker!

I used the roof mastic between the rubber and van body and also between the rubber and the glass/ally frame. Pretty messy but white spirit does a good job at cleaning up.

I also used Granville gasket sealant between the rubber seal that joins the glass to the plastic vent moulding, applied to every crease of the rubber joining seal. Pay particular attention to where it joins the main window seal.

I also had to use Cap Tolleys on the sliding side window as i had water coming between the glass and the ally frame.

Couple of tips, if you have the rear side windows with the attached plastic air vent, when fitting start pulling your rope from the middle of the vertical of the plastic housing, get past top and bottom corners i.e. easier to finish opposite the plastic vent moulding.

Used silicon lubricant in with the rope (KY) and on the inner face of the seal to help ease the fitting (KY & sil lub spray). Read somewhere that should cross contaminate the lubricant with the mastic hence KY applied with fingers (oh err missus..) and the spray was handy when needed extra during fitting. The KY does dry off relatively quickly though so move quickly.

Bought off fleabay a couple of glass suction carrier handles which make it easier to handle especially with messy mastic and gives you lots of leverage.

[Cruz]

Just for future reference http://www.volkswagenemporium.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; sell genuine window seals

E D I T: Actually they are now vewib.....are they OEM?