westy high top roof rust...

[kervinmervin]

i dont want to give anyone nightmares but ...started a strip out of the westy high top, the roof had been damaged in the top corners before I bought, think somebody drove it into something. I wanted to repair the fibre glass and replace the window seal....anyway started stripping out the lining and have revealed some, significant? rust against the inside edge of the hightop and roof. It's at its worse above the sliding door. Think this is a combination of condensation and gutters filled with sealant trapping moisture -





anyway I'm planning to take of the roof and assess the damage from there, welding skills are as rusty as the roof - just looking for advice from anyone whose undertaken the same, roof removal and repairing this section.....

all advice appreciated

[ronburgundy]

I haven't had to do this mate, but hopefully others can help advise best way to go about it.



Thanks for posting pictures, makes it easier for others when they can see the hidden areas of the van.

Good luck.

[AdrianC]

How easy was it to strip the lining out?

[Cableguy]

Should see mine, suprised the hitop is still attached:-)
will post up some pics

[kervinmervin]

Should see mine, suprised the hitop is still attached:-)
will post up some pics

...would be interested to see, have you resolved the rust?

How easy was it to strip the lining out?

lining is fairly easy to take out, haven't done the top yet, though, trying to be methodical as to not loose any screws, or forget how the bits go back together. Planning to remake the panels, can cope with that bit - its the rust fixing that I'm not looking forward to!

[Cableguy]

Not completely no.
Just had mine restored, gutters were really bad. Had some new sections welded in. Looks great on the outside, but not so good inside. My vans not a westy, there's no way of removing the top on mine without breaking anything, so took the descision to fix things as best as possible. Rust on the inside was caused by a design fault where the hitop fixes on. Also some water is getting in from elsewhere. Need to get a bunch of waxoyl in there to slow things down, but I guess the inevitable will happen at some point. Just going to use her and look after as best I can till the roof falls off!!

[thebogman]

quick question on gutters, on my 89' high top california they are filled with sealant too, should they be?

been wondering about removing the sealant for ages as its cracked in a few places and im sure its hiding moisture underneath..
was going to remove the sealant when I was fitting a surf rack bracket into the gutters but left the sealant as I wasnt sure if it was there by design for sealing the roof..

[jason k]

from the factory hi top westy gutters are 3/4 full of sealant.

if yours is cracked then it could be trapping moisture.

to get the hi top off the sealant has to come out and there is a folded tab of steel which will need prising up .

i cant see it being a pleasant or easy job.

[jamesc76]

the reason they have rusted is fiberglass insulation soaks up moister like the clappers then would have dripped down to the steal of the roof where it will nicely rust!

[kervinmervin]

I must admit the more I look at this the more I'm not looking forward to the job at hand, but I can't see any other way of tackling the rust. I know I will have to weld in some gutter and maybe some sections on the inside. I assume this will require plastic windows out as maybe quite close to the weld area, good to be proved wrong? Currently trying to find barn space to get roof off and assess full problem....

[kervinmervin]

..spending the weekend digging out every variety of sealant, known - a previous owner appears to have used some kind of putty ontop of the original sealant, trapping in moisture.

I've exposed the original fixings, which I originally thought would be localised, but actual the folded metal flap runs all the way round the roof. Above the window screen the roof is tucked into a lip - Westfalia certainly didn't want their roofs to come off!! I can now see why the gutters are so full of sealant, as there's not much gutter left by the time the metal retaining strip is covered.

Does anybody know if the folded metal flap was added after, therefore once (if) the roof is removed it can be, ground down and re-welded from the surface? also does the lip above the window need opening up, or is it simply locating the front edge of the roof?

Sliding door side -


Front lip -


Drivers side (rusted but in tact) -


we keep posted of my slow progress, thoughts experience would be appreciated...