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VN Boot leak

MikeC

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The last leaks were hairline cracks in the mastic body joints in the upper drivers side corner of the boot. For some reason silicon didn't seal them. I dug out the silicon sealant and replaced it with Pabco Brushable Hydroseal, which I've used for years to repair gal steel water tanks. This product wicks into the hairline cracks and seals them. Tested the boot and it seems to be water tight. But it's still a VN/VP bodyshell so who knows where the boot will next leak?
 

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VPRob

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The last leaks were hairline cracks in the mastic body joints in the upper drivers side corner of the boot. For some reason silicon didn't seal them. I dug out the silicon sealant and replaced it with Pabco Brushable Hydroseal, which I've used for years to repair gal steel water tanks. This product wicks into the hairline cracks and seals them. Tested the boot and it seems to be water tight. But it's still a VN/VP bodyshell so who knows where the boot will next leak?
Hi Mike, thanks for the update. I have rust and some leaking in the same region on my VP. Also closer to the rear windscreen just above the area in your pic. What stage of repair is your pic taken? I can see silicone close to the rubber seal for the boot and rust traces in some of the joins in the bodywork. Good to stabilise that rust before coating with anything and also good to get rid of that silicone altogether. My preference is always a polyurethane sealant in that sort of role because it adheres much better, is stronger and it's paintable. I believe some silicones also promote rust
 

MikeC

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The water id dripping from a horizontal panel joint in the sheet metal under that corner. The pic was taken after I tried to repair the leak with silicon in a fit of desperation- applied a bit then kept applying it in the hope it would stop the leak-it didn't. I've cleaned the silicon out- I suspect that it doesn't adhere to the panels uniformly and leaves hidden channels under it that let the water through.
The Pabco sealant has slowed the leak down considerably -but I still get a slight leak if a play a dribbling hose in that area- with the water not touching the underside of the windscreen seal- so the leak must be still in that triangular shaped area somewhere.
There is no major rust anywhere yet- I don't want to touch the underside of the panels where the leak drips out- once I block that water flow it will rust big time.
 

Fu Manchu

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Rust? Going by that photo, that’s a trip to the panel beater.
 

MikeC

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Rust? Going by that photo, that’s a trip to the panel beater.
The cracks are in the body mastic , not the steel- the steels OK underneath. The leak developed over last winter- I hadn't had any reason to open the boot over winter due to the CV19 lockdown . That's why I want to fix it- before the steel starts rusting.
 

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There’s rust there, that’s why you can see the rust.
 

MikeC

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There’s rust there, that’s why you can see the rust.
That's iron oxide particles trapped in the cracks in the mastic, looks worse than it is - no substantial rust. Yet.
 

Fu Manchu

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That's iron oxide particles trapped in the cracks in the mastic, looks worse than it is - no substantial rust. Yet.

ecdcc949d0fe92205c109bdbb740edc7.gif
 

MikeC

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I guess the final solution would be to drill drain holes under the leaks, then line the boot with marine carpet. That's probably been done somewhere before.
 

MikeC

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A leak returned during the heavy rain in Melbourne last weekend. I traced it to the moulding seal between the drivers side rear quarter window and the back window. The driver's side gets the morning sun in my carport and everything rubber suffers.

The moulding was loose because the top plastic clip had broken off and I reckon the other 4 clips would have broken off if I tried to totally remove the whole moulding. I've stuck it back on and sealed both sides with window silicon.

Testing with a hose and garden sprinkler indicated the leak was fixed. If I did this again I would have fixed the moulding top section back on with 3M double sided moulding tape. Clamping the moulding down while the silicon cured needed two glass lifter suction cups from Bunnings , a floor board clamp head, PVC pipe and a lot of duct tape.
 
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