Leaky roof?
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Leaky roof?
Anyone with an Aerostar have water dripping in to passenger compartment all winter? Always from above and behind rear seat, right side.It drips onto rearward side of wheel arch. I can only assume it is from the roof rack seals where its screwed down. I have '94 extended, 3.0
Anyone had this problem too, fixed it, and easy or what? Screws can't be tightened. (probably rusted in!!)
It does it all winter in rainy West coast.
Tried to get it to leak with a hose pipe one day.Ran it all over the place... But could not get it to drip inside. But sure enough as soon as it rains, it drips inside!
I determined it was not leaking from around any windows or doors. It seems to be coming in high, and coming behind the plastic moulding at top of the long side window. If window was leaking I am sure it would run down glass first. BUT the fabric material around the area is clean and never gets wet or stained.
Thanks.
van man
Anyone had this problem too, fixed it, and easy or what? Screws can't be tightened. (probably rusted in!!)
It does it all winter in rainy West coast.
Tried to get it to leak with a hose pipe one day.Ran it all over the place... But could not get it to drip inside. But sure enough as soon as it rains, it drips inside!
I determined it was not leaking from around any windows or doors. It seems to be coming in high, and coming behind the plastic moulding at top of the long side window. If window was leaking I am sure it would run down glass first. BUT the fabric material around the area is clean and never gets wet or stained.
Thanks.
van man
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Leaky roof?
I've got a similar situation. I thought it was coming from around the window but now that you mention it, I do have the roof rack. I have only once been able to see a water drop hanging from the window trim on the left side, but usually the only sign I see is wet carpet on the left side behind the wheel well. Like you, I have been unable to duplicate the problem with a hose. And it doesn't always leak whenever it rains, which is quite frequently in the Seattle area. One of these days I'll get it fixed but now that you point out the roof rack, I'll have to rethink my strategy.
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Leaky roof?
It is the window seals that leak,my 93 extended 4.0l sport has leaked from all 3 rear side windows at different times (sometimes more than 1 at a time).They always drip from the top never run down the glass and the side window behind the driver drips straight into the air con /radio controls.
I removed all 3 windows(all rear seats out, seatbelt mountings,side panels and over head air con vents need to removed depending which one your doing).
They are held in with 6mm nuts and stuck/sealed? with a mastic/felt/mastic sandwich.I have tried 3 different sealers but none work for long,because nothing seems to stick to the inside of the plastic window frame (when you remove them for the second time the sealer has bonded well to the paint but the water has gone down between plastic and sealer).
I think maybe the only way would be new seals? if possible from ford.(unfortunately not an easy option for me as I live in the UNITED KINGDOM near London with no US-FORD dealers).
Hope you have more luck than me and would like to here the out come.
I removed all 3 windows(all rear seats out, seatbelt mountings,side panels and over head air con vents need to removed depending which one your doing).
They are held in with 6mm nuts and stuck/sealed? with a mastic/felt/mastic sandwich.I have tried 3 different sealers but none work for long,because nothing seems to stick to the inside of the plastic window frame (when you remove them for the second time the sealer has bonded well to the paint but the water has gone down between plastic and sealer).
I think maybe the only way would be new seals? if possible from ford.(unfortunately not an easy option for me as I live in the UNITED KINGDOM near London with no US-FORD dealers).
Hope you have more luck than me and would like to here the out come.
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Leaky roof?
Thanks for responses.
I will have to look more closely at it. Trouble is I don't feel like on rainy days when it leaks!
It only makes more sense to be leaking around the window. Since if it leaked from the bolt holes for the roof rack, I would assume the headliner material to get soaked first.
Thanks, I will let you know what I find. I will concentrate on the windows a bit more now, since before I was convinced it was from the roof rack.
I will have to look more closely at it. Trouble is I don't feel like on rainy days when it leaks!
It only makes more sense to be leaking around the window. Since if it leaked from the bolt holes for the roof rack, I would assume the headliner material to get soaked first.
Thanks, I will let you know what I find. I will concentrate on the windows a bit more now, since before I was convinced it was from the roof rack.
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Leaky roof?
Mine leaks on the passenger side at the front end of the rearmost window. I am lucky in that it does not leak when it rains, but it does faithfully leak when going through the car wash. You might be able to track it down by taking the interior out and riding through the car wash in the back.
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From: Scotland, UK
ohter links ive seen suggest the nuts work loose and need retightening some suggest resealing as well
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From: North Alabama
Originally Posted by yitzy
Search this forum and you will find other links with very detailed good advice on how to reseal the windows, and just as important, tighten them in!
Freshman User
Joined: May 2003
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From: Scotland, UK
Just did mine took out both left side windows cleaned them up and resealed them worked a treat also found another leak on the rear most part off the left roof gulley
fixed that to takes about a day to take out all bits reseal and put back togetherbut well woth doing the job properly
fixed that to takes about a day to take out all bits reseal and put back togetherbut well woth doing the job properly
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Joined: Jun 2004
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From: Brooklyn, NY
Did mine yesterday. To get the side panel out I had to remove what felt like 50 screws, so I marked the panel with chalk around each screwhole, with a note on the screw type/length. (Like XL Self Tap, or S.)
It took hours to pull off the old caulk, but my kids had fun - it works like silly putty or funtack. You start a little ball, and then keep pulling up more using the ball as a suction cup or something. The ball got bigger and bigger, and became a great handle for pulling more and more caulk. Alcohol cleaned the few tough spots.
The Chilton's manual (and the other posts on this topic) all recommended Butyl Sealer. But my local Hardware store (don't have an auto store close) didn't have any. So I went with black silicon caulk. I haven't tested it yet.
I tested before I started with a garden hose while the panel was already off, to confirm where it was coming from. It was definitely between the body and the window frame, probably arount the bolt holes.
It took hours to pull off the old caulk, but my kids had fun - it works like silly putty or funtack. You start a little ball, and then keep pulling up more using the ball as a suction cup or something. The ball got bigger and bigger, and became a great handle for pulling more and more caulk. Alcohol cleaned the few tough spots.
The Chilton's manual (and the other posts on this topic) all recommended Butyl Sealer. But my local Hardware store (don't have an auto store close) didn't have any. So I went with black silicon caulk. I haven't tested it yet.
I tested before I started with a garden hose while the panel was already off, to confirm where it was coming from. It was definitely between the body and the window frame, probably arount the bolt holes.
Senior User
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 208
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From: Brooklyn, NY
Well, unfortunately, Silicone appears to have not been the right thing to use, or I made the nuts too tight, or I didn't use enough caulk. Either way, it rained yesterday, and I learned that it now leaks ten times worse!
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