Leak somewhere in top section- B190 Van

[Luckydog]

Howdy, I'm new here. I have a 96 B-190 van and have a leak somewhere in the top section in front. When it rains heavily the water comes in somewhere around the top section but I never see anything dripping on the inside or leaking inside the window edges. And the floor does not get wet. However, when I start driving after the rain, if I accelerate, or turn a corner sharply, about a cup or 2 of water comes out of either side of the area where the bed is attached to the cab, right next to the wall. It runs along the top of the wood frame which holds the sliding bed frame, and then drips over the edge onto the floor. The bed itself does not get wet. It seems like it is confined to either side of the bed somewhere where it is supported at the wall. As I said the cushion never gets wet, and I never see any water coming in from the vent over the bed. I'd like to try to trace it down as much as possible before I take it to have someone lese look at it. From everyone's experience, where would you begin looking for leaks, and how would you tell if they are there? Or is it simply a matter of getting out the caulk and hit every possible seam, opening and gasket? Thanks for any and all advice!

Luckydog

[thenewkid64]

"preventive" caulking is not reccomended. It just creates a mess that you will eventually have to clean off.

If it were me I would park the unit with the nose up hill and get out the garden hose. With a sprayer on mist I would begin a systematic patten of spraying one section for 5-10 min. and then checking for water intrusion. Try to do the roof last. This way you can narrow it down to one opening or area and then go after it with the proper sealant.

[Jim Clark]

This may help, I posted it elsewhere. Sorry for the cross post.

Here is how I found leaks on several sail boats I have restored. The leaks were water coming in from deck fitting and leaking ports. BTW the leaks coming from below the wateline are easy to find as your level of motavation tends to go up real quick for those.

Seal all your openings as best you can. Make a cover to fit a hatch opening, in this case a window or such and attach a yard blower. Turn it on and soap down the boat/trailer. Bubbles will tell you where the leak is. You may have to vent some of the air, a vacume cleaner discharge may even work. Hope this helps.

[Beemer49]

I have the same leak in a 91. Did you find it? Need help. In another forum someone thought it was the AC Gasket.

Originally Posted by Luckydog

Howdy, I'm new here. I have a 96 B-190 van and have a leak somewhere in the top section in front. When it rains heavily the water comes in somewhere around the top section but I never see anything dripping on the inside or leaking inside the window edges. And the floor does not get wet. However, when I start driving after the rain, if I accelerate, or turn a corner sharply, about a cup or 2 of water comes out of either side of the area where the bed is attached to the cab, right next to the wall. It runs along the top of the wood frame which holds the sliding bed frame, and then drips over the edge onto the floor. The bed itself does not get wet. It seems like it is confined to either side of the bed somewhere where it is supported at the wall. As I said the cushion never gets wet, and I never see any water coming in from the vent over the bed. I'd like to try to trace it down as much as possible before I take it to have someone lese look at it. From everyone's experience, where would you begin looking for leaks, and how would you tell if they are there? Or is it simply a matter of getting out the caulk and hit every possible seam, opening and gasket? Thanks for any and all advice!

Luckydog

[Skater]

We just had ours completely resealed - all three upper side windows, and everything on the roof but the A/C. It was $200-300 but worth every penny - we had a good storm last night but stayed dry inside.

If you want to try to find the leak the advice given here is good, but if the seals are all old it might be worth doing what we did...

[Beemer49]

Skater,

I think you answered me a few weeks ago on the B190 forum. I bought this Van last October. Was told it was in excellent shape and a one owner. I can see the previous owners had this problem. All the windows have been sealed shut with black tar. Cannot open them. The water is running from the back of the van to the front where the upper bed is. As a test I have sealed around the AC, and vents. I also noticed last night a slight separation between the top and the van. I took a hose to it and the water seem to run down the side and roll underneath. So I caulked both corners. I have taken out the wood where the bed is and the wood frame is rotted. So it must leak everytime it rains. I had to cut some of the side carpet that was rotted underneath the mattress. Someone out there must have this problem.

Originally Posted by Skater

We just had ours completely resealed - all three upper side windows, and everything on the roof but the A/C. It was $200-300 but worth every penny - we had a good storm last night but stayed dry inside.

If you want to try to find the leak the advice given here is good, but if the seals are all old it might be worth doing what we did...