Date:         7 Nov 94 15:31
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         L.S.Griffiths@physics.salford.ac.uk
Subject:      Mystery Samba roof leak solved.

Hi all,

Gotta tell you about my latest problem solution.

Problem 1.

Serious rain leak on loading door side near the last
Skylight window on my '64 Samba. You would at first
think it was the skylight window seal - nope, it had
a new one. You might think it was leaking past the
rollback sunroof - nope, it has a new one which fits
perfect and it would leak when it rained and the bus
wasn't on the move. Anyhow the sunroof is bigger than
the whole it covers so the rain would have to go up-hill
to get inside.

As a last resort you might think hmm, how about the screws
that hold the awning rail on to the roof (campers only) -
YEP. The awning rail is held to the roof by screws simlply
screwed into the roof. Unknown to me holes for the original
mounting screws had rusted big so the rail had been relocated
a centimeter futher right, new holes were drilled and the
rail was attatched via the new screw holes.

Dork deal:  The dork that had carried out this relocation
had neglected to even think about sealing up the old holes!
Because the old holes were covered up by the awning rail I
didn't know they were there - but the rain did!!

What the roof looked like with the rail removed:


       sunroof                       |
   __________________________________|
                                       Awning rail holes (big ones
   Oo        Oo       Oo      Oo _____/ covered up by rail)
   ____         _________________
       \       /                 \
    3   |     |  skylight 4      |
   ____/       \_________________/
   __________________________________________


Soulution:

I removed the rail, cleaned the backsurface of it. I then
filled the big holes with silicon sealant and put the rail
back on - the silicon oozed out. I tested it with a hose-pipe
and there was no leak - even the interior and floor had dried
out now!

Lee.
L.S.Griffiths@Physics.Salford.ac.uk

King pins - $150 each! - no way...

...way!