88 345. Cosmic Thing

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by Beltran

Well our inaugural event went pretty well except for a couple of leaks. Considering the causes of these leaks , I have come to a conclusion that while on the hydraulic lifts the RV sags ever so slightly. The picture below shows The cross bar in the middle of the front windshield. There is a weld here that is cracked. While on the jacks in our last location the wheels had to be slightly off the ground to get the coach level. This caused a separation in this crack of about 1/8 of an inch. This in turn, caused a pretty significant leak around the passenger side glass that runs down the A pillar and soaks the floor under the seat. This has been going on for sometime. I have another section of floor to replace. And probably some carpeting to. Anyone have any words of advice about addressing this, especially this weld.

Hopefully its just the weld that failed, whoever I have a suspicion whats going on with your rig and its not pretty, but most likely fixable.
You need to remove everything on you cab ceiling and gain access to the space above. There is a half moon frame running above your windshields. You may find that the curved frame above your windshield was damaged in some kind of an impact that pushed it up somewhat. This would cause the crack and the non fitting windshield. Inspect the rivets of the cab roof section to see if they are olympic versus buck rivets. Also look for other signs of that cab panel roof replacement as in overlay onto the long roof panel. Factory panel placement was with the long roof panel overlaying the cab segment.

If you find any kind of damage like that, you will have to pull the windshields and get a fabricator familiar with aluminium welding help you restore the original shape. You will have to do everything you can to salvage the cab roof segment, since they are NLA.

[Beltran]

So I got some 3M windo-weld and went to town on this thing. I cleaned up the gasket well and then moved it down off the roof to split the difference in the gap. It’s all I could think to do. I got it all sealed up again. Top to bottom just before dark. The rain comes again tonight so I had to have this sealed!!

[dadstoy]

Originally Posted by Beltran

So I got some 3M windo-weld and went to town on this thing. I cleaned up the gasket well and then moved it down off the roof to split the difference in the gap. It’s all I could think to do. I got it all sealed up again. Top to bottom just before dark. The rain comes again tonight so I had to have this sealed!!

I've been there myself. I've been out in the rain, when it used to rain, trying to find and seal leaks. My fixes were not pretty then and are not pretty now, but had to do what I could to stop the leaks.

[bkahler]

Peter,

This is the only picture I have of the 345 front framework.




My Argosy is also bare up front right now so I'll take some pictures later today and post them. They might make it easier to explain.

Brad

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by bkahler

Peter,

This is the only picture I have of the 345 front framework.

Attachment 404810


My Argosy is also bare up front right now so I'll take some pictures later today and post them. They might make it easier to explain.

Brad

Great picture, Brad, thanks. It does show how little structural support there is in that area. If one of the three supports (center and 2 sides) fail, for whatever reason, the integrity of the entire roof section is severely weakened. It also demonstrates how the roof section panel holds it all together.
A few weeks after I sold my 87 345, the new owner knocked it out of gear and slowly rolled into the overhang roof of his garage. The destruction was mind boggling. I often wonder if someone put it back together.

[Beltran]

Interesting. Please take a couple of closeups of that T joint. I wonder what the original looked like.

I know that the previous owners had a blowout on the passenger side. 4K in damages. This could explain the broken joint or the weld there, if that is not original.

My leaks seemed to have stopped at the moment. Heavy rain here until noon. The passenger floor is still a sponge though. Dehumidifier running all night got about 1.5 gallons out of the air. But that floor is still wet enough to pool water under your finger when pressed. I con dubious…. I can’t see where it would be coming from…. Grrrr

[Beltran]

Would JB weld be of any use here? I am thinking no. But you can use this stuff on manifolds and engine blocks. It can take some stress but I don’t know about aluminum….

[Beltran]

Update:
Well I started another project. Turns out the leak is coming from the side window. A plugged drain tube under the window and mucked up weep holes caused the excess water to drain down the inner wall and soak the wood floor. A simple drain tube.
That was it.

Moral of the story is. It pays to shove a wire up those drain tubes now and again to make sure they are clear.

[Beltran]

More pics

Cleaned up and water tested. It still leaks from the bottom of the fixed window joint in the center under deluge (hose) conditions. But that isn’t going to get fixed until I redo all the seals on the window.

[Beltran]

Investigation of the heater core area shows old mouse nets a bad ground inhibiting the function of the motor and a nonfunctional vent door control. Otherwise all is well there.

I don’t have a functional AC system so the condenser is just taking up space for now. May look into fixing that in the future. Need to sort out that door function though. It is stuck open so I am not sure heat is going to work at it’s best.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by beltran

interesting. Please take a couple of closeups of that t joint. I wonder what the original looked like.

[Beltran]

Thanks for the pictures. Confirms that it was welded originally. I don't have a patch to a patch situation.

[G-Ranch]

There’s a “long” - may be 36’ Airstream sitting in a backyard. -Tracey City, TN (near the Caverns). Had a for sale sign in the window. Not seen one like it before.

Outside looked good. 🤞

[Beltran]

What did we fix today.

1) noticed that the heater box door actuator wasn't connected. Somewhere down the line this vacuum hose got lost. Replaced it and also noticed that the black hose line wasn't connected to a source. Fixed that as well. Now the heater control is actually directing air places. However, that door actuator, well it doesn't move no matter what setting I use on the controls. It does work when you apply a vacuum but the controls never seem too. So it sits open, all the time. I looked for a HVAC Vacuum controls diagram. Found a couple that are kinda like what we have but not sure. None of these describe the functions, like when the blue line gets vacuum...

2) sorting through the above, I had to remove the glove box and the instrument cluster. As in just unmount them to trace wires, vacuum lines... cleaning up mouse nests... While in there I fixed the disconnected Windshield Wiper park wire and re-hotglued some lights back on the cluster. Amazing what they used to hold this cluster together.

3) my HVAC control has been messed with so many times the frame is broken. The cable is very sticky and I think I need to change all of it. Any info on the parts here would be appreciated.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Beltran

3) my HVAC control has been messed with so many times the frame is broken. The cable is very sticky and I think I need to change all of it. Any info on the parts here would be appreciated.

HVAC control being broken is a common issue. In my experience the damage is usually caused by some PO trying to remove the dash and not bothering to disconnect the control cable to the heater control valve. There is very little slack in that cable and jerking on the dash to get it to move doesn't help any.

If memory serves, the control module is a Dodge/Chrysler product. You can find them in dodge trucks and vans of the 70s and 80s. If there are no salvage yards near you then ebay would likely be your best bet. I've found several on ebay and several in junk yards over the years. Just do a close comparison of your module to the one you're thinking about buying, there are differences over the years.


Brad

[Beltran]

Just got in from working all day on the AS.
Today I got the floor back in. I then started on the window. That was my intent anyway.

I spoke with Ken for 1.5 hours about leaks in these classics. Yes it took that long to discuss them. I got a lot of good tips and decided to take off the inner skin next to the passenger seat. This allowed me to change the drain tube and vacuum out all the wet insulation that was compressed down to the bottom of that wall. You can imagine what was there.

All the wiring looked ok. Fortunately.,

I then started on the window as the Schlegel was shot and would cause leaks To continue. Taking it out was easy enough. Clean up was easy too. But I spent 4 hour’s reassembling the darn seals. Mostly because a) I had the wrong size whiskers. Package due on Thursday…. And that center channel is different than the outer channel. The pieces I removed were identical. However my replacement seal would only work on the outside rim of the window.

It was simply too big to fit in that small channel that runs diagonal from top to bottom. So I had to modify a piece to Fit it.

Once I got this in, I was able to put the window back while I wait for my whiskers to arrive.

The last challenge I have with this glass is that I cannot engage the locks. I need 3/8 ty o 1/2 an inch more for the lock to engage properly. I don’t see a way to adjust these slider lock mechanisms. If anyone has done this please speak up.

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by Beltran

..
The last challenge I have with this glass is that I cannot engage the locks. I need 3/8 ty o 1/2 an inch more for the lock to engage properly. I don’t see a way to adjust these slider lock mechanisms. If anyone has done this please speak up.

They are not adjustable, as far as I know. Its all a matter of moving the slider back far enough for them to engage. You didn't mention which track seal you used? The Schlaegle with the metal or the As1268, I recommend using? If you used the 1268, did you slice the back in the corners?

[Beltran]

Yes Peter I used your suggestion. I did slice the corners as well. Looks great in there. Slides nice. Worked on the lock a bit as well.

Needs some clean up but now it will engage properly.

[Beltran]

Assembly day. Looking much better now. Certainly drier.

[Beltran]

See below the added whiskers to the outside facing edge of the inside sliding window. This gives additional sealing and reduced wind noise, I’m hoping.