Get real with me about leaky windows

[elliot_peas]

Y'all I've been popping out windows and scraping caulk and replacing with butyl tape and I finally got some of that Dynatron Seam Sealer from the auto parts store. STILL GOT A LEAKY WINDOW CORNER. (Bluebird tc2000, 1998 )

I've had the subfloor down for a few weeks as a test fit and to see how it would handle leaks- attached is a picture of a few minutes ago, I've pulled up the plywood and foam board (using mdf 4" "struts"). Also a picture of one of the leaky window corners.

Only had a couple tablespoons of water under the foamboard and it evaporated quick once I pulled the boards up, but it has just been sitting there being wet and the Rust-Oleum is a bit rusty there now so I can't just leave it like this.

Ok so I'm gonna get in there where I've cut the walls out and seam sealer in around the lip that the window sits on. Today I seam sealered the outer lower window edge, there had been silicon v there.When it rains I really can't see where the water comes in, it's an extremely slow leak. Usually the ribs aren't damp, there's just a tiny little drip along the underside lip of the chair rail.

Do I just have to live with this? How do I keep it from eating the metal floor? I've really want to get the floor and and put the walls up and move on with my life.

 

[Sleddgracer]

hopefully you can get the window to stop leaking - if not, here's something - that was done many years ago for a brand of car that had a chronic rear window leak problem and resulting floor board rusting - the Morris Minor was manufactured from the late 40's to the early 50's - for a leaky rear window, the dealerships would lift the rear floor mat and drill holes in the floor so the water could drain away - as crude as it sounds, it worked - no more wet floor mats and the floor boards didn't rust out

 

[cadillackid]

hopefully you can get the window to stop leaking - if not, here's something - that was done many years ago for a brand of car that had a chronic rear window leak problem and resulting floor board rusting - the Morris Minor was manufactured from the late 40's to the early 50's - for a leaky rear window, the dealerships would lift the rear floor mat and drill holes in the floor so the water could drain away - as crude as it sounds, it worked - no more wet floor mats and the floor boards didn't rust out

GM did it in the cars of the 70s through the 80s... called it the drip-dry body.. and every darn door on every old GM from that era i bought had to be rebuilt... but no joke the bottoms of the 1/4 panel cavities and the doors had "weep holes" and it was expected water would be inside the car doors..



as for your bus window... be sure its the window leaking and not water running fown from up above and manifesting itself in the corner of the window and dripping on the floor... seams, rivets, and the like up top are all sources of possible water leaks..



I use the hose and spray water on my bus from only a certain level when sealing leaks.. ie if im trying find water leaking into the dash and I suspect the cowl seal.. i only spray water on the lower half of the bus, if my leak comes from water sprayed there then i know its not an upper leak..

-Christopher

 

[Drew Bru]

Here's something to try. Take a piece of electrical tape, and tape over the gasket between the glass and the metal of the window. That rubber seal can dry-rot, get tiny (or not so tiny) cracks, and allow water to get into the metal channel, where the glass sits, that makes up the window frame. Water then travels to the corner of the frame, then out the corner joint and into the bus. We were absolutely vexed with water problems until we chased down the source of the water. The leak wasn't between the window frame and the bus body, it was between the window glass and the window frame itself.



Give it a try. If you find that this stops the water, you can seal over that rubber gasket with Dynatron or some other sealer.

 

[joeblack5]

I think it is good to fix leaks but the op has noticed that water that gets under the foam does not evaporate and will corrode the new painted floor again.

I think that is a problem that has not been addressed very well .

It is unlikely that in normal use no liquid would ever be spilled inside or that one would never forget to close all the windows.

My guess is that all the builders that ripped the floor up and found holes. Patched them up and de-rusted the floor have signs of rust again 3 years later. Holes will be there in 12 to 15 years. ( not if you reside in Arizona)

I like the floors in van based better because they are ribbed so that water can flow to the low spots and drain ( if you drill a hole) and the plywood does not stay in contact.

I believe some crowns have wooden floors and I think they realized the relative uselessness of steel floors. It would imagine that skoolies only have steel floors for a 15 min fire barrier from below.

My approach would be to seal all leaks. Repair water intrusion point around wheel wells and structural sections. And cut holes in all dry section to allow trapped moisture to get out.

My 0.02
Good luck j

 

[elliot_peas]

*screaming*

Here's a good example. Dried everything out, woke up to this. Underside of chair rail is dry, can't find any dampness anywhere. Not on the ribs, wall, under the windows. I've noticed a drip here from the chair rail... Maybe I could just cut a hole around this spot and put something absorbent there to catch the water. I bet it'll be somewhere different when I level the bus.

I'll try the electrical tape test.

(Sorry the pics are sideways, they're normal on my phone's editor)

 

[Tango-SKO]

You never want anything absorbent in there. Holding moisture will just accelerate rusting. I know it's a beotch, but you need to find where it is getting in a seal it.