Water water everywhere AKA leaking windows

[Van-essa]

Good evening everyone. Quickly into our interior dismantling I suspected that there was a leak in the roof. I found this tiny hole on the side of the van near the top where someone drilled into the drip rail and hit the side of the van with the drill. I did a temporary fix just in time as it rained a couple days after the fix. This morning when I went to investigate the leak situation (in anticipation of patting myself on the back) I was greeted by a puddle inside the van

After work I used a hose on the side window while my girl friend sat inside the van. She was treated to a beautiful waterfall from the window. It leaks bad at the top of the rear side stationary window. We thought that sucked enough but then found that the side pop out window on the same side also leaks badly...

So I am sending this message out to see what my options are.

-It seems like the best fix would be to remove the window clean it up and use butyl (tape or caulk) to reseal - Im concerned that the window mounting "screws" are rusted and not going to come off and go back on well...

-Can I just pump a large amount of some sort of sealant into the crevice between the window and body of the van - Im not sure this option would work on the pop out window and still allow me to open the window (maybe if the sealant is only added to the top)

Additional info: it appears that the van was in an accident on the driver side of the van and repaired (same side the leaks are happening)
Van is a 2001 ford e350 v10 15 passenger van.
I will also be installing pop out windows in the very back that I sourced from a salvage yard (read a great write up on here and was inspired to find some)

[Flux]

These windows are not that hard to get on and off and plenty are available from junkyards for a decent price should yours be unsalvagable. Best way would be to remove the window. Clean up the butyl as you suggested, and put some new stuff on there and reinstall.

I used 3m Window Weld and it worked great. Replaced 3 windows that I messed up when grinding welds in the van. Whole other story, but it's pretty easy to remove and fix these up.

[JWA]

I'm in the auto/truck glass biz and oddly enough worked with member AnnieO on her 2010 Quigley E350, the drivers side rear window was leaking at the top.

As suggested here it would be best to remove each window and completely refresh the butyl sealant. Naturally this includes removing every bit of old butyl both on the separator ring and the body first---skipping this step could cause the glass to break. (Sadly I've done that my own self, thinking I was saving time. )

When reinstalling the glass use something like a nut driver first to gently seat or squeeze the butyl between the glass and body. Make sure you tighten the mounting nuts in a circular sequence, just a turn or so each time.

While the glass is out inspect the body flange where the glass mounts for Since there is evidence of prior collision repair its possible irregularities that might interfere with the butyl making full contact all around the separator ring exist Make sure there are no outward bumps or inward depressions---this can affect sealing but more importantly stress the glass causing it to break when tightening the mounting nuts.

BTW 3M Windo-Weld would be my only choice for this---it should be available online but mine comes from the local NAPA store.

HTH

[carringb]

My back windows leak too!

I haven't gotten around to it. I just crank up the rear heat to dry things out. But the last time I had the interior panels off, I remember all of the windows nuts were loose. Not even finger tight. No doubt from the factory sealant drying out. I snugged them all down. Which probably made it worse.... Anyways, you shouldn't have any issue taking it apart.

[86Scotty]

CarringB, I suspect that jumping your van repeatedly has contributed to this a bit.

[arctictraveller]

Originally Posted by JWA

As suggested here it would be best to remove each window and completely refresh the butyl sealant. Naturally this includes removing every bit of old butyl both on the separator ring and the body first---skipping this step could cause the glass to break. (Sadly I've done that my own self, thinking I was saving time.HTH

That's really good to know. I have a new to me pop out window to install and would have probably done a less than complete removal of the old sealant as I had no idea I could break the glass. As for the OP's question, I have tried more than once to seal a window from the outside, using different sealants without first removing the glass, and it never worked.

[carringb]

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

CarringB, I suspect that jumping your van repeatedly has contributed to this a bit.

Roof top dance parties probably don't help either

[BrianW]

Originally Posted by arctictraveller

That's really good to know. I have a new to me pop out window to install and would have probably done a less than complete removal of the old sealant as I had no idea I could break the glass.

I assume you've seen the install thread on installing the rear pop-outs? Should basically be the same for any of the pop-out windows on the E-vans. I used a plastic scraper and some acetone to get all the old sealant off the van and window frames.

With regards to the pop-out windows, I don't think they are as likely to break during install as the non-pop-outs, because the frame is separate from the glass. It's the frame that you mount to the body with the sealant, and the attachment bolts from the van metal go into the metal window frame and not the glass. So you're not stressing the glass at all.

[Van-essa]

Thank you everyone. We stopped at a glass place today and just asked for advice. We left there with a little more confidence and a free roll of butyl tape. I didn't have the van with me but he said he would be willing to take a look at the windows and give me free advice so, I will be going there again tomorrow morning to see what he says and to get more butyl.

We noticed that the pop out window doesn't sit flush with the vehicle so that may be a big problem but hopefully not with some fresh sealant. The window bows out a bit.

after we fix the windows I think I will be adding structural support to the roof in order to accommodate the roof top dance parties and maybe getting an inspector out to set a safety code weight limit. haven't figured out how to solve the problem of jump induced repair problems yet though

[saline]

I too had leaky back windows. It was quite bad when it rained.
Since it's cold and I didn't want to mess with it I had a glass place fix it for $120. One hour later I was on the road.