Rear door leaks/seeps at the bottom corner...ideas?

[dbsoundman]

Hi all, I have a front engine transit-style bus, which means the back end of the bus is always a little bit higher than the front end. This seems to mean that when water runs down the rear emergency door, it accumulates underneath that door, causing it to form some rust, and it also seems like water is somehow seeping/wicking underneath the perfectly good door gasket, then up into the metal floor of the bus.

I attempted to take a picture of this phenomenon today during a pouring rain storm. I don't see any active water dripping, but the (still rusty) floor is definitely wet from the rain.


Are there any good tips or ideas on how to remediate this? The back door area is awfully rusty from all that water accumulation so I'd really like to shore it up somehow if possible.

 

[musigenesis]

If you remove your rear wall panels, it will probably become clear where the water is coming from. Most likely one or more of your rear light openings is leaking and that is just where the water is ending up.

 

[dbsoundman]

If you remove your rear wall panels, it will probably become clear where the water is coming from. Most likely one or more of your rear light openings is leaking and that is just where the water is ending up.

Here’s a pic of my back wall, I’m not sure I can open it up at all. The water is definitely starting by the door too, I’m pretty sure the bus slopes slightly to the drivers side sitting in my driveway so the water is naturally running that way.

 

[musigenesis]

Here’s a pic of my back wall, I’m not sure I can open it up at all. The water is definitely starting by the door too, I’m pretty sure the bus slopes slightly to the drivers side sitting in my driveway so the water is naturally running that way.

You can get your back wall off. The part that curves in around the window isn't attached in any way, it just bends in. It looks like you'd have to remove the panel above the door first since it overlaps the wall panels, and maybe you'd have to take the side walls off first, too (my bus is an International so it's not exactly the same as yours but very similar).

It looks like the piece along the bottom is a post-factory repair of some rust damage, but I'm not sure - maybe that's original in Thomases? Do you see any bubbling paint or rust spots on the outside of the back wall?

 

[dbsoundman]

You can get your back wall off. The part that curves in around the window isn't attached in any way, it just bends in. It looks like you'd have to remove the panel above the door first since it overlaps the wall panels, and maybe you'd have to take the side walls off first, too (my bus is an International so it's not exactly the same as yours but very similar).

It looks like the piece along the bottom is a post-factory repair of some rust damage, but I'm not sure - maybe that's original in Thomases? Do you see any bubbling paint or rust spots on the outside of the back wall?

The outside back is pretty pristine, but I do get the impression this district replaced some of the body panels in service, some are more yellow than others.

 

[musigenesis]

Yeah, I think buses in rusty climes get an enormous amount of body work done on them to keep them going. My bus even had a rib replaced at one point, I'm pretty sure.