This is pictures of the rust on the rain gutter of my 85 e150 conversion van..
To me it looks like the rust is mainly on the lip of the gutter. This area was repaired by the PO at some time and you can see what I believe might be bondo. You can also see how close the aluminum trim molding is down on the gutter itself. I think perhaps I should remove the aluminum trim better access the damage.. Once the trim is off then perhaps I should go all the way around the gutter and clean, re-caulk, reseal, and paint where necessary.

I tried to take pics from under and above..

These first two pics are of a seam joint on the rear of the van and not the repair.
<a href="http://s472.photobucket.com/user/Annaleigh_123/media/WP_20150719_20_22_07_Pro.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr88/Annaleigh_123/WP_20150719_20_22_07_Pro.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo WP_20150719_20_22_07_Pro.jpg"/></a>

you can see the caulking going bad here
<a href="http://s472.photobucket.com/user/Annaleigh_123/media/WP_20150719_20_22_17_Pro.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr88/Annaleigh_123/WP_20150719_20_22_17_Pro.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo WP_20150719_20_22_17_Pro.jpg"/></a>

This pic is of the PO repaired area
<a href="http://s472.photobucket.com/user/Annaleigh_123/media/WP_20150719_20_19_56_Pro.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr88/Annaleigh_123/WP_20150719_20_19_56_Pro.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo WP_20150719_20_19_56_Pro.jpg"/></a>

This is the front of the repair where it joins to the original gutter just in back of the drivers door.
<a href="http://s472.photobucket.com/user/Annaleigh_123/media/WP_20150719_20_20_45_Pro.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr88/Annaleigh_123/WP_20150719_20_20_45_Pro.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo WP_20150719_20_20_45_Pro.jpg"/></a>

This is top view middle way of the repair.
<a href="http://s472.photobucket.com/user/Annaleigh_123/media/WP_20150719_20_20_49_Pro.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr88/Annaleigh_123/WP_20150719_20_20_49_Pro.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo WP_20150719_20_20_49_Pro.jpg"/></a>

This is the underside view.
<a href="http://s472.photobucket.com/user/Annaleigh_123/media/WP_20150719_20_19_40_Pro.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr88/Annaleigh_123/WP_20150719_20_19_40_Pro.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo WP_20150719_20_19_40_Pro.jpg"/></a>


Thanks in advance

 

I'd do it right. Cut out the rust and weld in new pieces.

 

Yea that is what I was thinking about the repaired area.. I guess once I get that molding off I I will be able so see it much better.. If I had to lift the raised roof off, i wonder how much it weighs? Maybe I could raise the high-top up off the van and put 4x4's under it to support it off the van roof if I need to?

 

I just started repairing mine and had a pretty good game plan until I actually got into it. Mine turned out to be very bad even though it didn't look so bad with the paint on. If you dont have major holes you can use a rust reverser like ospho or por15. Then paint over it. I was going to go that route and use a bed liner on the top but my issues are pretty bad.

 

i am sorry to hear that... how did you find out, once you started removing paint? Arent the rain gutters filled with some kind of putty of sealant?
I think mine is contained in the one area..
Perhaps my headliner might be easy to get out and I could take a peek from inside

 

The a large chunk of the rear corner on the van I am working on is rusted out. was going to start cutting the cancer out tomorrow. I noticed the 'filler' all the way around the top of the van as well, I was thinking of filling the repair piece with white bathroom calk.


came across this. Guy has a lot of specialty tools, but still an interesting look a rain gutter repair.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...st-repair.html

 

So clean chassis aren't worth more?