Water Leak

[user 29503]

Hi all, name's Rabbit.  I have a 1995 Chevy work van I'm building out.  It's in pristine condition except for one little thing.  The interior rib/beam on the driver's side, where the wall meets the ceiling, is a gutter like structure that appears to be collecting rain water.  I have a drip rail that runs around the entirety of the roof and I'm assuming it's coming in through there. I see two possible places where there might be a bad weld (front driver's side corner, rear driver's side corner. My questions are:
1. Do I seem like I'm in the ballpark with the problem area?  Is this a common issue?
2. If so what sealant should I use? (through the roof, normal silicone, Dicor Lap sealant, Flex Seal......?)
3. Should I just seal around the entirety of the drip rail parimeter?

Any wisdom would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks and safe travels,
Joe

 

[RvDreams]

Welcome Joe (Rabbit1980) to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started.

Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[maki2]

Do you have any kind of insulation or covering on that ceiling? If not it could be a leak or it could be condensation.

You can check for leaks if the ceiling is bare metal in that area by shinig a really bright light on that suspect area on the exterioir and then go inside and look for lighted pinholes.

If you can find the source of the leak then you dont need to go to extremes of caulking the whole length of the gutter rsil. As to patching a tiny hole I personally would do it with some epoxy putty. The kind that comes as a tootsie roll style where you cut off a small slice and knead it to mix. Great way to patch small holes and it cures very quickly. Perfect to have in your road trip repar kit as it does not spill or make a mess.

 

[VanFan]

Sometimes it's a plugged drain hole that allows water to back up and leak into the interior.  I found mine in a '96 and cleaned it out, but it was much lower than yours, so my specifics won't help you.  Still might be worth considering that a hole could need to be opened, rather than closed.

Hope it goes well.  Enjoy your van!!

 

[user 29503]

I will! Thanks for your help!

 

[tx2sturgis]

You are gonna have to figure out where the leak IS before you start fixing it. 

It is likely a pinhole sized opening in the drip rail/gutter, but from your description it might be coming in thru the windshield gasket.