Leaking roof rack.

[02xltdonut]

hi guys from down under..i have a 2003 xlt,black with all the fruit as we say here...i bought from a mate heading back to texas...last week thought i would give the rear carpets a vacc out...got into the rear seats area (7 seater) and my bare knee got very wet...wet,very wet...nothing pisses me more than wet carpets...so on a little detective work i traced it to the roof area...now here is where my hate towards ford starts.........who in their right mind would build a car (suv) with the channels on the down side...deep enough,when full of water to satify my sheep...the water just lays there leaching thru the 2k paint.....and then what r sole at ford decided to put plastic covered strips of ali down into the channels...they serve no purpose what so ever....and then what moron at ford decided to drill holes into the roof,thru the ali strips and anchor down the strips with of all things pop ****tin rivets...4 channels by 5 rivets....thats twenty.....yes twenty holes you dumb *******s...now let me excuse all you american boys perhaps its just us poor aussies who cop this sort of rubbish.........??????any how after much tire kicking and looking in the used car section of our paper decided to get on with it as i do love black beauty or the hulk as its sometimes called...step 1 remove roof rack..step 2 drill out all 20 pop rivets and throw ali strips into garbage can...very carefully,dont drill thru headling...step3 what am i going to do,perhaps silicone etc to fill the channels,no no do it right...step 4 remove all plastics and headlining....step 5 remove seats...step 6 consult shrink...step 7 lift mig welder up onto roof....step 8 have mate (buddy) inside with flatten out copper tube 1 inch,flatten out 1.5 inch at end to hold over hole...step 9 weld,low heat the holes,yes i know all 20 of them....check for pin holes in weld....step 10 elec wire brush paint out of channels,dont grind,too much heat.....step 11 mix your favorite bog (filler) i use the fantastic usa made rage gold....mix and apply into the channels....it will drive you made used around half a tin of bog.....80 grit it down with a small block,feather,prime and next week will see about painting the roof....oh boy its taken the best part of two weekends....my roof is now perfect,flat and smooth,with no water traps....oh by the way,on removing the paint i found rust eating into the front of the channels over the driver and passenger areas.....real good for a 7 year old car...and if your wondering if i got some quotes from pro panel shops....oh yes i did...........sittin down...to remove all...weld....remove paint...weld...bog and paint and put all back again a very reasonable..............6,yes 6 thousand aussie dollars,i guess they are too busy with the hail damaged cars....and so on ending...thank you ford...you have taught me to weld,bog and paint........................................

 

[BrooklynBay]

There are several good sealants to try such as flashing cement, silicone, polyurethane or butyl.