Water leak beneath windows

[Ann]

I have a 1967 Overlander with the frameless Corning glass windows, and have intermittent problems with small water leaks near the base of the windows. I treated all the rubber seals with silicon. I think the water is coming in somewhere above the windows, or possibly at the top hinge assembly of the windows. Do I coat the "suspect" outer seams and hinge assemblies with waterproofing? Is the recommended product Vulkem 636? What would happen if I used clear silicon sealant instead? I have a bunch of it leftover from the window job.

Thanks for your thoughts.

[j54mark]

Silicone has some curious properties. Among them are:
Incredible adhesion to aluminum surfaces. Once applied, it is very difficult to remove; and a near total inability to make a watertight seal with aluminum. So, you now have a sealant against your window frames that is both permeable to water, and difficult to remove.

This is where Vulkem and Parbond come in. These products seal well, hold up well over time, and can be removed when necessary. I would clean up all the silicone, reseal the windows with Parbond, and then see where you stand. Screws, suspect rivets, aluminum to aluminum seams, and that sort of thing need Vulkem.

Good luck,

Mark

[thenewkid64]

Silicone =bad

Vulcem or Parr Bond=good


The silicone will never properly bond to the Aulminum and will turn a horrid grey/black color. Worst of all it may not fix the leak.

The Vulcem or Parr bond (2 diffrent products) bot cure slowly and have superior adheision to the aluminum.

More than likely the trouble is that the seals have become either too hard to seal effectivly or there is a crack in one of them. Your best bet is to replace the seals. There are a couple of places you can get the proper material. Inland RV and I think Airstream Dreams have it for your unit. Siliconing is a good idea to help prolng seal life, but if they are 10-15 years old it is time for new.

It could be smoething completly diffrent so I would first start with a leak test. It takes two people and a garden hose. You have someone spray the trailer with a mist of water in one spot for 5-7 min. then if no leak you move to the next spot. You want to keep the spray spot small so if you see water on the inside you have a small area to seal. Always start at the top. Just because the leak appears at the window does not mean that it is the window leaking.

[71tradewind]

I have found that my water leaks around the windows are actually the gray seals around the glass it self , as stated by the others do not use Silicone , I would try the vulkem ,put it on the glass then work it down inside the gray seal area ,Do not get any on the frameof the window or skin of your Airstream, I would try masking the area off , the only area that needs to be done the the bottom of the seal and about 1/2 inch up the sides . I did this repair about 3 years ago and so far no more leaks . I just purchased another Airstream with the same problem this time I'm gonna try using a hyderdermic needle with a big tip to inject the Vulkem or parabond into the seal. I hope you have as good of luck as I have using this method .