FROM BUFFING YOUR PAINT, TO REPLACING CRINKLED FENDERS TO SWAPPING A NEWER FRONT END ON, TO SHAVING DOOR HANDLES. TO REPLACING DOOR HANDLES OR INSTALLING CUSTOM TAIL LIGHTS, POST THEM HERE.
as mentioned by many owners .. there's a problem with some of the vans with the rear dutch doors leaking. my 99 is one of them, with original and in good condition weatherstriping. my 93 has no leaks, it does however have dried out and some cracking. that in itself indicated to me that my problem isn't so much the weatherstriping as it was something else.
I laid down 3 good beads of rubber seam sealer (about 1/2" high) all the way across the back end of the van. the plastic trim will cover it when down. the actual worse spots that are allowing the water in to the carpet is on the outer edges where the metal seam stops. you can see it in pic two where the white metal is sticking up.
so far so good and rain again today. I have left the carpet back for a few days to see if any water is getting past the 'dam' of seam sealer
snapple wrote:You ever get water collecting in the upper liftgate? When I open the liftgate,water pours out the corner after heavy storms!
just normal dripping when opened. no actual pooling or collecting across the top.
and the seam sealer seems to have been a success. I checked the van again last night before it got dark at 5pm (stupid time change). there was NO leakage!!
Glad to hear of your success! I meant out of the bottom corner of the liftgate. After opening it up,water literally pours out of the drivers side bottom corner!
'94 Astro AWD EXT LT - Over 211,000 ,parts van now!
DHC Rock rails
Overland Vans 4" lift kit and bumper w/grille guard
Fiamma awning
ah .. I see what you are saying. depending on the angle my van is leaning, yes. it seems like the weather stripping on the lower dutch doors does more to hold the water in than keep it out.
I just want to clarify, there may be a twist on the problem/resolution. no disrespect, even though dean states that this isn't the correct way to solve the problem... there's more than one way to skin a cat, especially if it's a different cat... LOL
my seal on my 99 makes nice contact across the bottom of the door just fine (it keeps all the water IN). my problem lies where the seal is at the top of the lower dutch doors (sides). right where, when closed it meets the upper seal that runs all the way around the upper (lift gate) part of the door. the seal is still good, not cracked, not dried up or shrunk. it just does not make proper contact with the upper seal and the water runs behind that lower seal as opposed to outside of it. I'll try to add a picture of that later tonight.
i have/had this problem and i have the weather stripping in my house but while i was waiting for it i sprayed my weather stripping on the back doors with some silicon lube a couple times and i haven't had a leak since....
1998 GMC Safari AWD, BFGoodrich AllTerrain T/A
Jet performance tuner 91 octane preset, Jet under-drive pulleys
Rancho 999000 series shock, on-board controller to be installed later
DHC rock rails and skid plate Add-A-Leaf
G3500 front calipers
Zexel Torsen Diff
11" drums
180 amp Alternator
Long tru-cool 4590 trans cooler
I just want to clarify, there may be a twist on the problem/resolution. no disrespect, even though dean states that this isn't the correct way to solve the problem... there's more than one way to skin a cat, especially if it's a different cat... LOL
my seal on my 99 makes nice contact across the bottom of the door just fine (it keeps all the water IN). my problem lies where the seal is at the top of the lower dutch doors (sides). right where, when closed it meets the upper seal that runs all the way around the upper (lift gate) part of the door. the seal is still good, not cracked, not dried up or shrunk. it just does not make proper contact with the upper seal and the water runs behind that lower seal as opposed to outside of it. I'll try to add a picture of that later tonight.
BTW my carpet has still not gotten wet since the mod. A little damp maybe if I am parking the van with the nose downhill but I have since made a mental note not to do that.
I actually called my freind at GM looking for the weatherstripping.... $425.00 + gst. I wonder if anyone in the aftermarket ( say Steele Rubber, or Metro ) makes these ??
just wanted to update this one again... i've been waiting for rain but mother nature has been very nice around here lately. LOL
i still have not buttoned up the back end yet waiting for a true test of normal conditions (ie. not using a hose) to see if everything is good. other morning I checked and I did have a quarter size puddle near the jack storage area. it's still trickling in somewhere. i think I know where too.
the top piece of weather striping that runs across the top (roof) of the van and down the sides off the rear opening is rubber, it's fine. there are two pieces about 4 - 5" long where that upper piece ends (that are foam not rubber). check and you'll see, i'd never noticed before until I went along squeezing the weather striping. they are where the top area of the lower doors striping seals against when they close. they were saturated like sponges. so much so that I probably squeezed several ounces of water out of the passenger side pieces, barely any on the drivers side. this morning when I took this pic .. there was a heavy frost .. those foam sections were rock hard (frozen solid) ... thus no longer acting as a seal
I'm going to try and squeeze these buggers dry and use the silicone spray to seal / swell them a bit later this afternoon when the sun comes out..
went to the wrecker yesterday to investigate rear upper weather stripping and took a little physical poll on the 8 - 10 vans with dutch doors there.
seems that all of the 98-99-00 models weatherstrip around the upper gate was flattened, and the end pieces i have pointed out above were saturated with moisture. there were only two older models with dutch doors there so i checked them. someone had shredded one. the other was in great shape and those sections soaked like a sponge on the newer models were dry as a bone on this one. the year of the van was probably a 95.
i wouldn't be surprised as a cost cutting effort along the way the density/quality (rubber/foam blend) of the stripping and foam changed.
hope to get it installed tonight as we are supposed to get rain tmw
(stupid time change). there was NO leakage!!
