Bay window seals

[Guest]

History Commands

[July 26, 2010, 01:36:19 PM] Jon74panel: I'm burning 2 quarts of oil every time I fill up, I dread going up hills because its just a cloud of smoke behind me, help!

[July 26, 2010, 01:37:35 PM] Jon74panel: does this say drive no futher? I am 1900km away from home, do I limp it home?

[July 26, 2010, 01:38:18 PM] Jon74panel: Location:tofino,BC Destination:Calgary,AB

[July 26, 2010, 01:44:07 PM] Jon74panel: there is a small pool oil on the fan. *scared

[July 27, 2010, 02:49:48 AM] Beetle: http://www.type2.com/ & click on 'AIRS' icon.

[July 27, 2010, 07:45:05 AM] Orange_crush: help! acceleration problem.  bus can only go 5mph on hills..picks up fine on flats and dwon hill.  single carb. 2000cc  motor

[July 27, 2010, 09:04:10 AM] addicted: hey any one on?

[July 27, 2010, 09:04:44 AM] addicted: got a question abdout my piont set heating up

[July 27, 2010, 09:29:38 AM] addicted: poof of smoke from the pionts and gf claims from the dash aswell

[July 27, 2010, 09:38:17 AM] Beetle: Addicted: Post in the forum for better results.

[July 27, 2010, 10:56:36 AM] blue bus: does anyone know how to take the handle off the slider door ao a 74 transporter

[Today at 09:29:31 AM] scoobz: need help adjusting electric choke on 72 type 2

[rastafoo]

I've noticed in the recent heavy downpours that Janis has a few leaks - one at the passenger bottom corner of the bay window, and one behind the driver (the first long window). There is very little rust in these areas, but the rubber seals have definately curled up a bit all along.
 Does anyone have a suggested place to order window seals all around, and I see the haynes book says to let a "dealer" replace windshields, is there any particular reason? And are there any tricks or special tools needed to do this?
 I realize that I will need to really clean up any rust before trapping it in there with the new seals - an old car friend suggested I use a  certain product with phosphoric acid in it to eat up the rust(won't effect the paint) before priming and painting. Also, how do you weld up around there and shape the area if it is really bad?
 Anything else I need to know? I appreciate any advice.

[olylawnboy]

Hey rasta Since I have a panel I don't have as many window leaks to deal with However I did have a leak from my rear hatch window. The seal itself seemed to have been replaced by the PO just before Winnie sat for most of a decade in thier driveway. It looks solid without any cracks, yet it still dribbled a bit in a couple of places when it rained.
I figured there were only two ways it could leak. Between the seal and the body or between the seal and the glass, right? So I set out to find out just where. The first thing I did was to run a strip of electrical tape over the seam of the seal and the glass and then put the garden hose on it. Bingo, no more leak, the water was seeping in between the seal and glass. Now what to do? Get a new seal and put it in right? (I've never done anything like that before.) That idea was just overwhelming to me at the time (spring of last year). Though I do think I have the confidence to do that this spring In the meantime what I did do was to run a small bead of silicone between the seal and the glass to get me by untill I could get to replacing the seal. I've read that the purists don't like this approach so I thought to conceal this by using a very small bead using a hypo needle that would normally be used to give a cow or horse an injection. (I used to raise cattle in a past life )
 The rust stuff your friend was talking about would be something like "Rustmort" or "Por-15" I think is what Bus Depot sells. Oh, and by the way, Bus Depot is where I have gotten most of my seals and such.
 As to windscreen/seal replacement, I have not done this yet though I need to as my seal is quite ragged. I did seal it in the same way as my hatch just in case to prevent any future leaks. And as far as the Haynes book saying to have it done by the dealer, there seams to be quite a learning curve to this process and rookies seam to break the window quite often while installing. More so if you have a rock ding or other imperfection.
 As far as body work goes, you said you had "very little rust in these ereas". Are you asking this for future reference? I'm looking to learn how to do some bodywork myself. All for now.....Oly

[rastafoo]

Thanks Oly. "Very little rust" means a line of surface rust along some window seals. I was crawling around underneath today and the only real structural rust is to the rear of the driverside where the panel dings are - along the bottom edge. I have someone in Pensecola with a big welding shop, with all the tools and know-how to help with that eventually - for free(they are family).
  I scrubbed up the camper top with a bleach solution today too, much better.
  Looks like seals all around plus shipping is going to run $185 (from wolfsberg west). Looks like I need driver and passenger roll-up window rubber too.All in good time.....

[rastafoo]

Seals are taking a back seat to the brakes for now, I think I'll try your "injection" method for a temp fix. Gotta have those brakes.....

[crustychief]

I just did the front window seals and windwing seals on frankenbus not to long ago. what a pain. make sure you bring a lunch cause you're gonna be a while. I had a video I got from j-bugs and they did a pretty good demonstration of the process. I bought it after I tried to do it by winging it. 
It helped.  I would say the most important things I learned that day was don't try to outthink the engineers that came up with the window seal process and patience in making all the little adjustments so it will fit right. 

[crustychief]

Oh yeah and the windows/ windshield are easy. piece of strong fishing line or weedwacker line tied around a wooden pull handle and some soapy water and a friend.   
     put the rubber around the window with the butttseam in the center of the bottom,  get enough line to go all the way around the window and then a foot or so push it in the seam where the lip of the body will be, this where you put the soapy water also to make it slippery.  get inside the bus and have a friend or spouse or two friends and no spouse or a bunch of kids from down the street hold the window snug against the outside of the bus. make sure it looks pretty centered  and start to pull the end of the cord with the handle towards you, as you pull make sure the rubber is being pulled in over the lip of the body, if it isn't start over. maybe they arent pushing it snug enough or it isn't centered. once you get it started it is really pretty easy, after you get it all pulled in take something like a small flat screwdriver ( i used a dzus fastener tool ) to "help" the seal all the way into place.  They recommend the dealer doing the windshield because they used to be really expensive and there is a risk of breaking it from being " over snug" with it. practice on the side window. 

[In_Tow]

Crustychief is definitely steering you right here! Just a couple of things to add, though:

Make sure that pressure is applied to the window but not too much. Too much pressure in the wrong spot will crack your window. Take it easy and apply steady pressure along the window closer to the seals.

We use 16 gauge wire. We put it in the seal as crustychief mentioned, but we use two pieces of wire instead of just one. Start with an excess of wire (maybe 2-3 inches) hanging out from the top middle of the window rubber. Push the wire into the gap and go all the way around (patiently) until you get to the middle of the bottom of the window. Leave 2-3 inches of wire that hangs out and cut the wire. Do the same thing to the other half of the window leaving the 2-3 inches of wire extra at the top and the bottom. The excess wire from one half needs to overlap the excess from the other side a bit in the seal because that is what gets the rubber of the seal to pull up and over the lip of your window opening. If you can, put a little dish soap over the wire once it's laid in the rubber so it will come out easier.

A good buy would be a suction cup for windows - this gives you a way to pull a bit from inside if you need to. It also gives a little extra holding power when the window gets messy from soap.  

No one ever tells you what a pain it is to get the new rubber on the window. Dish soap around the edge of the window will help get the rubber on and will provide a little extra stick as it dries. Patience is definitely a MUST. Make sure you get the rubber on the right way - the thin, flatter part goes outside with the grooved, thicker part going inside. I can picture it in my head but can't seem to get the words out right this morning. Ask me questions when the rubbers come in if what I've said here doesn't make sense and I'll clarify.

This is a lengthy process so I would say to do only one or two windows at a time. Cut out one old one and install the new rubber onto the window and then install the window. If you've got time, do another. If not, wait for the next weekend. Do your leaky one first and go from there. There is absolutely nothing written that says you have to get them all done in a day.

Again, I may not be explaining well so please ask questions. It's one of those things where I can visualize it, but getting all the words out completely (pre-coffee) seems challenging today.

You can do this. And you can save a TON of money by doing it yourself. The dealer or a shop will charge an arm and a leg because it is time consuming (for more tha one person) and there is a risk of window breakage (we've done that!!).

Let us know how it goes whenever you decide to do it!!