High top leaks

Thin bits of metal and bright blue light. Including glass & trim.

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kentishvanman
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High top leaks

Post by kentishvanman »

My high top leaks. Doesn't everyones?.
I replaced all the sealant 4/5 years ago and recently sealed all the little cracks where the sealant has shrunk. The gutter had 2/3 coats of paint and then had wax brushed on and left. Still the rain gets in. Sometimes when braking the passenger will get some water on them from the top nearside corner. That's where it appears but not necessarily where it gets in. This afternoon discovered that water runs down the inside of the door pillar and comes in by the grab handle.
Ideal solution is a roof off job but that's expensive. Could do the job myself but it is not really practical to do it on the driveway.
Had a thought and would like other's opinions.
That thought was.... what would it achieve if expanding foam was used and squirted upwards towards the roof through the various holes in door pillars etc. There seems to be various ones around for auto use and they have adhesive and moisture properties. Would use a quality product like a 3m one.
Anyone have any thoughts?
1987/8 Autosleeper, 1.9dg (Automatic) hightop. Petrol/ LPG

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clift_d
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High top leaks

Post by clift_d »

Have you checked the seals around your hightop windows / skylights?

When we first got our Westy the sealant around the front skylight had failed, and so water was getting in which was tracking, between the inner and outer roof skins, all the way from the centre of the roof to the offside a-pillar. Removing and reinstalling the skylight with new sealant resolved the problem.

I wouldn't use an expanding foam product like you've suggested. You might find it holds water which could cause additional problems, and it will be a pig to remove if you need to. Much better to find the source and stop it entering.
1988 LHD T25 1.6TD Westfalia Club Joker Hightop syncro

kentishvanman
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Re: High top leaks

Post by kentishvanman »

Hi,

[quote="clift_d"]Have you checked the seals around your hightop windows / skylight/quote]

Thanks for that.
The skylight and high top windows are fine. My hightop, as far as I am aware, is just a single skin. If the leak was around the window then I would have thought the carpet lining would be damp/wet.
Yesterday it had not been raining long before I noticed the rain coming in through the nearside grab handle.
I was working in the van at the time. Because the van is on a slight slope the water runs to the front. If the van is the other way round I never get water on the inside. It probably still gets in but who knows where it goes.
The foam is a stupid idea in retrospect. Been a long cold/wet day and I was fed up with trying to solve the leak problem.
Did wonder if the water enters under the roof/gutter trim. That has to be a point where two pieces of metal are pressed
together doesn't it?
1987/8 Autosleeper, 1.9dg (Automatic) hightop. Petrol/ LPG

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clift_d
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Re: High top leaks

Post by clift_d »

When I say inner and outer skins I'm talking about the outer fibreglass roof and the inner lining.

It's worth sorting out sooner rather than later because having all that water in the roof is not going to do the roof and bodywork of your van any favours.
1988 LHD T25 1.6TD Westfalia Club Joker Hightop syncro

salgarfi
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Re: High top leaks

Post by salgarfi »

I have the same problem with my camper. The high top is a single skin lined with carpeting and there are no tell tale signs in the interior, ie water staining. My skylight is well sealed and my guttering is also well sealed. I don't want to have to lift the top since I think it'll cost too much, so I'd just like to seal it.
1990 2.1 Ltr WBX AutoSleeper High Top

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Mocki
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Re: High top leaks

Post by Mocki »

you know if folks filled their signature in, giving engine and van description it would assist people wanting to help answer......

autosleeper high tops are known for leaking and rusting the original van roof along the edges , and are single skin, with the carpet glues onto the inside of the fibrglass sheel with no insulation or cavity
autohome Komets have a wooden framed inner "skin"
early leisuredrives have a second firbeglass skin within the outer with insulation, which sadly was glass fibre wool which hold moisture, later ones have only the sides double skinned and have foam rubber insulation.
Steve
tel / txt O7947-137911
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1989 2.1LpgWBX HiTop Leisuredrive Camper
1988 2.1 Caravelle TS TinTop Camper 
 

kentishvanman
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Re: High top leaks

Post by kentishvanman »

[quote="Mocki"]you know if folks filled their signature in, giving engine and van description it would assist people wanting to help answer...../quote]

Why cannot it be made 'compulsory' when joining?
1987/8 Autosleeper, 1.9dg (Automatic) hightop. Petrol/ LPG

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clift_d
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Re: High top leaks

Post by clift_d »

Some folks join before they have a van...
1988 LHD T25 1.6TD Westfalia Club Joker Hightop syncro

kentishvanman
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Re: High top leaks

Post by kentishvanman »

clift_d wrote:Some folks join before they have a van...

Then they could leave it blank or add a note saying 'soon to be an owner' or similar.
1987/8 Autosleeper, 1.9dg (Automatic) hightop. Petrol/ LPG

salgarfi
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Re: High top leaks

Post by salgarfi »

Well.., I've created a signature which simply states my van type etc. As an Autosleeper high top, I'm utterly perplexed by the leaks I continually have. Saying that, does anyone have a ball park figure on how much it might cost to have the high top lifted, and the bodywork underneath repaired, and then the whole top finished off? I know that this is like asking how long is a piece of string, but presumably, some people here must have had this done by a body shop, somewhere?
1990 2.1 Ltr WBX AutoSleeper High Top

kentishvanman
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Re: High top leaks

Post by kentishvanman »

Hi
Anybody would think we have nothing better to do than use this forum. I planned to change the engine oil this morning.
I haven't been anywhere near the van yet.
Anyway I was recently in touch with a member in the IoW and he had this work done and it cost him approx £2500.
He used a local body shop. It doesn't really need a VW garage. I suppose it just means shopping around and find someone you can trust to do the job properly.
I am going to paint my gutter with Sealfix. You can see it on Amazon. You can't see the gutter from the ground and it can be overpainted. Cannot make the problem worse. Let you know what happens.
1987/8 Autosleeper, 1.9dg (Automatic) hightop. Petrol/ LPG

salgarfi
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Re: High top leaks

Post by salgarfi »

I did my gutters with sikaflex (the recommended one, the exact details of which I can't remember) and it hasn't stopped the ingress. I also filled the gutters considerably, though water can still flow along them.

I was thinking that ca £2k would be the cost for doing the high top, so I guess I wasn't too far off the mark. But I'd like to hear what others have spent.
1990 2.1 Ltr WBX AutoSleeper High Top

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clift_d
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Re: High top leaks

Post by clift_d »

We had ours done a couple of years back and if I recall correctly it was a bit less than £2K as it wasn't in a particularly horrendous condition.
1988 LHD T25 1.6TD Westfalia Club Joker Hightop syncro

kentishvanman
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Re: High top leaks

Post by kentishvanman »

HI,
Mocki wrote:autosleeper high tops are known for leaking and rusting the original van roof along the edges

Are Autosleepers worse than others and if so why?
When installed Auto sleepers hi tops had pop rivets front and back under the rubber trim. Removed mine long ago. Not sure if others had them and that could be the start of the rust problem. Apart from that are not all high tops similiar at the lower edge? Do they all have the lip that sits in the gutter on a bed of sealant?
Any ideas/thoughts.
1987/8 Autosleeper, 1.9dg (Automatic) hightop. Petrol/ LPG

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Mocki
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Re: High top leaks

Post by Mocki »

kentishvanman wrote:HI,
Mocki wrote:autosleeper high tops are known for leaking and rusting the original van roof along the edges

Are Autosleepers worse than others and if so why?
When installed Auto sleepers hi tops had pop rivets front and back under the rubber trim. Removed mine long ago. Not sure if others had them and that could be the start of the rust problem. Apart from that are not all high tops similiar at the lower edge? Do they all have the lip that sits in the gutter on a bed of sealant?
Any ideas/thoughts.

yes the pop rivets is the main problem, BUT also autosleeper NEVER treat any holes they cut , so rust starts from day one .....

autosleeper roofs are very much thinner ( you can see sunshine through them ) so they are less rigid and therefore they vibrate against the sealant and become less water tight, and capillary action takes the water in , and with little of no insulation, condensation forms inside and runs dowm and gather along the original roof inside .....
Steve
tel / txt O7947-137911
👀
________________

1989 2.1LpgWBX HiTop Leisuredrive Camper
1988 2.1 Caravelle TS TinTop Camper 
 

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