Cargo van rear window leak.

[motogeezer]

Has anyone re-sealed their rear door windows on a cargo? We just had about
6" of rain, and found water dripping from the upper inside of the rear window.
Will the window come out when the inside studs are loosened? Is it a "do it yourself" or should I take it to a glass shop? Looking for a voice of experience here
Thanks

 

[BrooklynBay]

You could loosen the rear stud nuts, remove the glass, then use butyl tape or polyurethane window sealant. Get an estimate from a glass shop to see if it's worth doing yourself. As far as material goes, it should cost less than $20 to do yourself. I don't know how much a window shop will charge.

 

[rv4fun]

I re-did one of mine for the same reason. I found the original butyl tape very skimpy. I bought a roll of tape from my local RV dealer under $10. After taking the nuts off the studs, gently push on the edges of the window from the inside working your way around. It will come slowly at first as the tape holding it in place lets go. Clean it all up and apply the tape to the channel before reinserting the window and begin working your way around it slowly and evenly tightening the nuts. Some of the butyl will squeeze out over time. You'll end up with a better seal than the original.

 

[motogeezer]

Thanks guys. I think I'll take a shot at it myself.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Take some pictures as you do the repair, and post them here.

 

[rv4fun]

The "studs" that hold the window in place are more or less vulcanized to the glass. If they come loose as a couple of mine did, you can reattach them with the mastic used to hold windshields in place. The stuff will cost you around $20 a tube at auto-parts stores but can be had cheaper online. Once it's opened, the whole tube will solidify in a couple of weeks no matter how good you reseal it. A dab is all that's needed to hold the studs in place. The stuff has amazing holding power but is expensive and seems to come in caulking size tubes.

Whatever you do, don't seal the rear window with this stuff. Use only butyl tape! This stuff is made only for holding the windshield in place. Windshields MUST be held in place with this super strong sealant - NEVER mount a windshield with butyl tape or it will pop out during an accident!

 

[motogeezer]

So....The other evening I start up the van, and an apparent 5000 watt "Check Engine" blinds me. Well, this is something new. Today I take it to the garage for a computer check. Turns out the cam shaft position sensor went into self destruct mode. I did get it replaced.
Anyhow, there in the garage parking lot is a mobile window repair truck, replacing the windshield in a Honda Van. I asked the guys what they thought about the possibility of the rear windows leaking, and they said they'd pop 'em out and reseal them for $50. I said do it.
The old tape didn't look to bad, still pretty sticky, but it did have some moisture underneath. Resealed both, and now waiting for some rain (or car wash) to see what happens. I thought 50 bucks was a decent price. Took the two guys about 20 min.

 

[rv4fun]

But you missed the satisfaction of doing it yourself.

The side windows of a previous Aerostar I had leaked, I had the professionals take care of it - more than once! I'm not sure what they did but it couldn't have been much because their fixes were always short lived.

After resealing (actually, I replaced the old window that was the only one I ever saw that didn't have a heater with one that did. All the wires were already there as well as the harness for the switch on the dash. The window cost me $20 at the junkyard) the window with the black butyl tape from the RV dealer (about $0 a roll which could do the window twice), I'd bet money it will never leak. The original tape had places that you could see had been letting water past. I haven't seen any sign of leak since I did that.