Windows Still Leaking!

[Secular_Sam]

Hey Everyone,

My girlfriend and I have a 2009 Thomas Saf-T-Liner Short Bus and we are having a problem with getting our windows to stop leaking. We have removed all the ones we want to keep, cleared out the old caulking, cleaned the windows up, and resealed them with Dynaflex Ultra. It seems like the water is still coming in some how. Any tips or tricks would be appreciated. We might just try adding another layer of Dynaflex around everything and see if that helps.

Thanks!

[Oscar1]

Hello and welcome
There are several other areas that will leak that may be attributed to the window frame. If you have only resealed the joint between the window frame and the bus body it's very common to overlook the glass to window frame seal which very often is the culprit as they shrink. You can go the full window dismantle route here to replace the seals or if you're real smooth and careful with the caulking gun you can apply a fine seal of clear on the exterior. After completely removing and re sealing all my windows I discovered more then half were seeping through this seal. After caulking all the glass to frame seals I discovered another puddle of water the next rain and started looking again at the windows however could find nothing suspect. After much hunt I discovered the water was coming from a roof seam directly above that window and travelling down past the window. check all roof seams but especially where they make the tightest radius above the windows, you will see seam sealer that is likely dried and shrunk back. A fix here all be cutting back as much as possible of the old sealer and applying new body sealer into and on that area.
Good luck

Oscar

[Secular_Sam]

Thanks Oscar! Any recommendations on body sealer if that ends up being our issue?

[musigenesis]

I second what Oscar1 said about the glass-to-window seals. My windows continued to leak despite me sealing them everywhere (or so I thought), until I also sealed over these gaskets with Dynatron-550 and paint. Dynatron is used by many people; it's maybe a bit pricey at $15 per tube but well worth it.

Another potential source of leaking is through the edges of the "sill" on the outside, at the corners where the aluminum bottom piece of the window itself meets the two vertical pieces. These pieces are just press-fit together at the factory, and over time a very thin gap can open up between them, especially if the windows have been removed and then put back in at least once before. When I had my windows out for cleaning, I was surprised to see water spraying through these cracks when I had the hose on them; when the windows are in the bus, this water will get inside and drip down the walls. The problem is made worse if the bus is parked on an angle facing up or down, because water will then pool at one of these corners and not be able to drain away. It's difficult to reach in there and apply sealant, but a small craft brush dipped in mineral spirits should help you get it in there.

[Oscar1]

Here is a pic of the large gap area that musigenesis is refering to, when resetting windows is good to get this area really clean and lots of sealant in there to bed the frame in to. For the window frames I use urethane sealant and body seams I use Doninion Pro Form body sealant but your local auto store can supply a good sealer.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Oscar1

Here is a pic of the large gap area that musigenesis is refering to, when resetting windows is good to get this area really clean and lots of sealant in there to bed the frame in to. For the window frames I use urethane sealant and body seams I use Doninion Pro Form body sealant but your local auto store can supply a good sealer. Attachment 59013

That's actually not the gap I was referring to. I actually meant the corners of the window units themselves, on the outside. This pic shows it on my front-most passenger-side window, with the sealant glopped into it.



Your pic shows the part of the bus wall framing which would be directly underneath it. Glopping that up as you describe might also solve the same problem, but I had no luck doing that.

[Oscar1]

musigenesis
Ah I see where you're at now. Yes definitely too many places for these leaks to develop. I am fairly certain longevity is not a high priority in some aspects of bus design.
Cheers

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Oscar1

musigenesis
Ah I see where you're at now. Yes definitely too many places for these leaks to develop. I am fairly certain longevity is not a high priority in some aspects of bus design.
Cheers

Agreed. I'm actually inclined to think that the bus manufacturers either intentionally design their buses to leak and rust out, or they realize they have no incentive to fix any of these issues. My local school system buys all new buses every four years, so maybe even the customers generally don't care.

[Oscar1]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Agreed. I'm actually inclined to think that the bus manufacturers either intentionally design their buses to leak and rust out, or they realize they have no incentive to fix any of these issues. My local school system buys all new buses every four years, so maybe even the customers generally don't care.

If they have to pay more for a solution on a product that has such a short time in operation why would they. As you said, a few years in service then they get dumped.
Cheers

Oscar

[Secular_Sam]

Thank you all for the responses, I will definitely check all this out on our bus. At the end of the day we just want something that doesn't leak, it doesn't have to be the prettiest bus out there.

[Therese]

Yes, I found the solution with one search. I hope this works for me too.

[milkmania]

Best stuff I’ve found... I get it from a buddy of mine at “On The Spot Auto Glass” here locally for about $10 a tube.

Edit: a quick search shows Amazon carries it, just under $10 a tube.... about $8.20 when buying 10 tubes.

NOTE:
Has to be applied with a GOOD CAULKING GUN... cheap ones won’t move the product through the tube.

[Secular_Sam]

So you are saying to use this on the glass seals, right? I searched it on amazon and see it for $14 a bottle. I don't see the set of 10 for $80

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by milkmania

Best stuff I’ve found... I get it from a buddy of mine at “On The Spot Auto Glass” here locally for about $10 a tube.

Edit: a quick search shows Amazon carries it, just under $10 a tube.... about $8.20 when buying 10 tubes.

NOTE:
Has to be applied with a GOOD CAULKING GUN... cheap ones won’t move the product through the tube.

I'm going to give this a try on my windshield.

[LargeMargeInBaja]

Unless you are in love with them:
* delete the bus windows
.
2003, for our ExpeditionVehicle, everything not related to security and longevity went away.
I plated over the window/door holes.
I used 36x12 (a foot tall by three feet wide) vinyl-frame dual-pane sliders designed for a stand-still house.
I placed these at our eye-level while standing inside, about eight-feet above pavement to discourage peepers.
.
Spectators -- without a shred of evidence nor experience -- made dire predictions:
* "They will fall apart!"
* "They will shatter!"
* "They will never seal!"
* "You are horridly-awful and deserve to be ate by zombie lizards from inside the hollow moon!"
[that last was certainly implied but whispered out of earshot lest our zombie-lizard implants take umbrage and extract their dutiful revenge... as well they should]
.
Nearly two decades of rough logger tracks to remote mountain lakes and bouncing across deserts to isolated Baja beaches, they are intact.
.
I glued them onto the walls using my favorite (adhesive) sealer -- Vulcum 116.
Nearly two decades, the stuff is pliable and soft.
Vulcum 116 easily earns TheLargeMarge SealOfApproval.

[Bodhisava]

I had the same problem with one of my windows.

I applied 3 layers of butyl tape at a 45 degree against the window frame and around it. I put the window up and had my wife check to make sure no light came through around the frame. Then I screwed the window onto the bus. The tape oozed out and sealed the gap tight. Cut the excess tape out with plastic razor blade. I went around and caulk all the window sill around the plexiglass inside and out. They have been dry since.

[BirdietheBus]

Hi, I’m also having trouble with my leaking windows. I have used butyl tape around the frames and lexel to seal the glass and corners but still have a leak coming in on the inside corner of my frames. I have dissected one window and pulled out the seal from the glass. What product should I use to replace that seal?

[Bodhisava]

Follow up on my previous post.

Windows start leaking again. I found the culprits.

There is a J channel above the window of my shuttle bus. The J channel wa to hide the seam where the roof piece overlap the body. The bottom of the J channel was caulked thereby forcing rain water upward into the seam, causing the leak inside the bus by the window.

A second leak was from the bulkhead of the bus that join the frame above the the side window by the entrance bi-fold door. It follow the seam and leaks thru the little window by the door.

Got all of those sealed and no more leaks.