| Drip Rails [message #248117] |
Mon, 21 April 2014 20:59  |
jcurran
Messages: 52
Registered: May 2009
Karma: 0
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I'm thinking about painting the roof and was wondering if anyone could share their experience removing and replacing the drip rails ?
What about broken screws?
How did you remove the original sealant?
Any other complications?
Materials and fasteners used to put it back on?
Thanks in advance,
Jim
Jim Curran
1976 Palm Beach
Alexandria, OH
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| Re: [GMCnet] Drip Rails [message #248123 is a reply to message #248117] |
Mon, 21 April 2014 21:59  |
Ken Henderson
Messages: 8726
Registered: March 2004
Location: Americus, GA
Karma: 9
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Senior Member |
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Jim,
I did that 15 years ago. In my case at least, it was a waste of time. The
sealant beneath the rails and the adhesive holding the roof and side panels
to the longitudinal member were all in good condtion; it's VERY doubtful
any leaks penetrated them. What WAS possible was leakage around the end
caps fore and aft; those cover a multitude of meeting panels and can admit
water to the longitudinal channels where it can travel all the way to the
other end of the coach, exiting at numerous points along the way.
The R&R is a tedious, laborious job which requires great care and handling
to avoid distorting the rail, causing more problems. The cleanup of the
underlying sealants is even worse. That's even if you don't break off any
screws (I worked in 90* temperatures in direct sunlight after carefully
soaking them with penetrating oil).
Personally, I'd examine an clean out any existing visible caulk, then apply
a creeping sealing followed by a good 3M sealant along the joints. Then
carefully seal the end caps. NOT remove the rails.
JWID,
Ken H.
Americus, GA
'76 X-Birchaven w/Cad500/Howell EFI & EBL,
Manny Brakes & 1-Ton, etc., etc.
www.gmcwipersetc.com
On Mon, Apr 21, 2014 at 9:59 PM, Jim Curran wrote:
>
>
> I'm thinking about painting the roof and was wondering if anyone could
> share their experience removing and replacing the drip rails ?
>
> What about broken screws?
> How did you remove the original sealant?
> Any other complications?
> Materials and fasteners used to put it back on?
>
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Ken Henderson
Americus, GA
www.gmcwipersetc.com
Large Wiring Diagrams
76 X-Birchaven
76 X-Palm Beach
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| Re: [GMCnet] Drip Rails [message #248146 is a reply to message #248123] |
Tue, 22 April 2014 02:01 |
sgltrac
Messages: 2797
Registered: April 2011
Karma: 1
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Senior Member |
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I agree with Ken. I pulled one off The Pig and it was a nightmare for no gain. The roof skin over laps and is sealed to the roof/wall extrusion with butyl and secured with large headed rivets which cannot be seen with gutter cap in place. Once the cap is off there is no way to improve on that joint unless there is an abnormality in that junction( prior improperly repaired roof damage). The original screws holding the gutter do not penetrate all of the way into the hollow part of the extrusion which is potentially open to various other areas INSIDE the coach. When I pulled the one gutter cap I managed to shear one out of every three of the screws despite extreme care and patience( I have removed a LOT of rusty screws successfully on many automobiles). Of those which the heads snapped off about 2 out of three were removed with vice grips and lots of wiggling( and more patience) once the gutter was removed exposing enough o the screw shaft to clamp onto. The remaining screws ha
d to be ground flat, center punched and drilled out which sucked even more. Up on a ladder trying to get a good center on the frozen fastener shaft while not dropping into the aluminum surrounding it or not plunging too far while drilling was a huge pita. Not to mention blowing through lots of drills due to dulling.
The little caps at each end of the gutter strip come off easily with one screw each ( sheet metal type rather than machine thread iirc) and expose a huge void right where all the different segments connect that can allow water in to flow wherever gravity takes it. Pull those and stuff the holes.
My 2c
Todd Sullivan
Sully
77 royale
Seattle
> On Apr 21, 2014, at 7:59 PM, Ken Henderson <hend4800@bellsouth.net> wrote:
>
> Jim,
>
> I did that 15 years ago. In my case at least, it was a waste of time. The
> sealant beneath the rails and the adhesive holding the roof and side panels
> to the longitudinal member were all in good condtion; it's VERY doubtful
> any leaks penetrated them. What WAS possible was leakage around the end
> caps fore and aft; those cover a multitude of meeting panels and can admit
> water to the longitudinal channels where it can travel all the way to the
> other end of the coach, exiting at numerous points along the way.
>
> The R&R is a tedious, laborious job which requires great care and handling
> to avoid distorting the rail, causing more problems. The cleanup of the
> underlying sealants is even worse. That's even if you don't break off any
> screws (I worked in 90* temperatures in direct sunlight after carefully
> soaking them with penetrating oil).
>
> Personally, I'd examine an clean out any existing visible caulk, then apply
> a creeping sealing followed by a good 3M sealant along the joints. Then
> carefully seal the end caps. NOT remove the rails.
>
> JWID,
>
> Ken H.
> Americus, GA
> '76 X-Birchaven w/Cad500/Howell EFI & EBL,
> Manny Brakes & 1-Ton, etc., etc.
> www.gmcwipersetc.com
>
>
>> On Mon, Apr 21, 2014 at 9:59 PM, Jim Curran wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>> I'm thinking about painting the roof and was wondering if anyone could
>> share their experience removing and replacing the drip rails ?
>>
>> What about broken screws?
>> How did you remove the original sealant?
>> Any other complications?
>> Materials and fasteners used to put it back on?
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
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Sully
77 Royale basket case.
Future motorhome land speed record holder(bucket list)
Seattle, Wa.
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| Re: Drip Rails [message #248184 is a reply to message #248117] |
Tue, 22 April 2014 12:34 |
bwevers
Messages: 597
Registered: October 2010
Location: San Jose
Karma: 5
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Senior Member |
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I re-did the sealant on my roof rails before painting the roof.
It was a messy job. Removing the rails was a pain. I had to drill out most of the screws and replace them with oversize screws.
If you aren't careful, you can easily damage the roof rails.
I used an acrylic latex paintable putty to reseal it.
The result was no-more-water-leaks.
Regards,
Bill
Bill Wevers GMC49ers, GMC Western States
1975 Glenbrook - Manny Powerdrive, OneTon
455 F Block, G heads
San Jose
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) 1 Vote
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