Common cause of water leaks in the body?

[sm350bl]

Hey everybody, was just curious if anybody else has ever experienced a water leak in the coach? It seemed i had a leak that ended up with water in the closet and rear entry step, i think i discovered it fairly quickly and with a break in the rain, i got up on the ladder and saw the rear overhead marker lamps were pretty cracked up and damaged. I siliconed around each fixture and the points where the ladder attaches to the body, seems to have stopped the intrusion but its a temp repair. My two part question is , anybody have a part number handy for the marker lamp assemblies? And are there other " known" points of entry for water i should inspect?

Rich

[Blue~Go]

I think we had a thread on this recently. I vaguely remember making a list, and others adding to it.

Anyway:

1) Anyplace there is a hole (roof vent, antenna crank, refrigerator vent, roof railing, window... you get the idea). These things all need regular re-bedding. Regular in this case probably being 10-20 years or so. I like to use butyl (but only the good stuff - Bed It brand). You remove the item, clean up, and then put the bedding under the flange.

Well, really all the leaks are where there are holes, because we have no seams like other RV's. So I guess there is no #2 category in body leaks. But a few of the more common ones:

1) Lower refrigerator vent. These are not the best design anyway (Dometic) and then since the Chinook body slightly angles in there it's even worse. This leak can run across the floor depending on how you are parked, but normally deteriorates the area just under and inboard of the fridge.

2)" Tire locker" compartment door. Usually just the gasket is leaking. Again this can run anywhere across the floor depending on the angle you park at.

3) Door

There can be others, but I think those are the most common. Again, just remember that where water comes in may not be where it ends up, due to water traveling.

[BobW9]

I've had intermittent problems with some dampness in the closet floor (mostly under the fake floor, where an AC junction box sits), which then crossed the lower step. Recently, I think I've traced it to heavy rains with wind pushing some water through the generator compartment door grill (the fencing/holes on either end of the door that let air in when the generator runs). This then sat on the floor at the back of the compartment (it's usually parked on a very slight incline), which then seeped through down into the closet.

When I finally realized what might be happening I checked the back floor of the generator compartment and could feel the dampness and that the floor/side felt like it was rotting a bit (this was days after a big rain, and still damp). Anyway, I cut some Lexan panels that bolt on to the grill and seal the generator compartment door. I plan on leaving them normally, and then just remove them when I need to run the generator.

Now I just have to wait for some big heavy rains with wind and see if that fixes the issue or not.

Bob

[Blue~Go]

Bob:

That's curious to me because my generator compartment "floor" is well below the Chinook's floor (where the junction box is). The whole gen compartment is lined with a sheet metal box with folded (sealed) corners, and that box sits 3/4 above the Chinook main floor and 1/4 below. So how does water get up to even the lowest closet floor section? (The wiring for my junction box would be the only penetration but it's up off the "floor" of the metal box and sealed - course it could be re-sealed if necessary.)

Is yours different?

Here is a photo that shows what I mean. Although you can't see it that sheet metal box is continuous (no seam at Chinook floor level) and runs down below the Chinook floor. The black caulk line between the box and the Chinook floor is just to seal the floor to the side of the box, but the box doesn't "end" there - it extends further down.

[Scott]

I also had water on the closet floor. It entered through the tail light housing, which is partially glassed into the Chinook body, then caulked at the seams; the caulk had dried up. I also had a very slow leak at the water pump.

[Blue~Go]

I think BobW has around the same year as I do. Scott, does your year use the stock Ford van taillights? Mine does and I think they are just gasketed a-la-Ford vans. Or....??

Still, that doesn't mean they couldn't leak. Anything that comes through the body has the potential, so not a bad tip to check it. (Same goes for the rear marker lights and the ladder stand-offs.)

[Scott]

Scott, does your year use the stock Ford van taillights? Mine does and I think they are just gasketed a-la-Ford vans. Or....??
Still, that doesn't mean they couldn't leak. Anything that comes through the body has the potential, so not a bad tip to check it. (Same goes for the rear marker lights and the ladder stand-offs.)

You know, I couldn't tell ya . They're tricolored and have a horizontal bead profile. Did I read somewhere that they used something from a minivan at one point? Aerostar? I don't even know if they're Ford or not. [Edit: yes, they from an Aerostar]

The actual light assembly isn't the problem. Water get's behind it due to a crusty gasket, then pools in the bucket that Chinook glassed into the main shell (pictured). The piece that the wires go through is not a part of the main shell. The joints aren't 100% fully glassed, so they put a bead of caulk to seal it, which failed and caused the leak. Easy fix, though. It's really not as bad as it looks. If you see the silicone boogers sealing the wires, you might get a bit of a feel for what's going on. Mine could be totally different from other years/models (caveat).

This is the driver side, which didn't leak into the coach, but made a pretty cool mud puddle. On the other side, it leaked in under the closet floor.

not ideal.JPG (33.07 KiB) Viewed 2033 times

[Blue~Go]

Very interesting. I think I now remember kdarling saying his were from an Aerostar also. Mine (and BobW's, I believe) are the stock Ford E-Series van taillights of the era. I looked at a 1997 Premier and that had the stock E-Series van taillights also, but interestingly were the ones with the amber turn signals (which I think were last used in 1995). I prefer amber turn signals as they are more useful, but alas, Ford got away from them

I'll have to take a closer look at the details of the "inner buckets" next time I'm rooting around back there. See if they are like yours or different.

[sm350bl]

Great food for thought. That was what I was really curious about if you all had a particular smoking gun like oh closet leak? well thats the a/cand the water shoots backwards when you drive the thing kinda scenario. But we got a good dousing of rain last night here in Santa Cruz and there is no new accumulation in my problem area. I will check the taillights out for sure. Its funny, I was looking at those on friday. there are no screws holding it them in. They seem to be just pop out?

[Blue~Go]

Its funny, I was looking at those [taillights] on friday. there are no screws holding it them in. They seem to be just pop out?

Note that Chinook used many different taillights over the years, so this doesn't apply to all of them. But, your 2000 probably has the Ford Expedition taillights. You can recognize them because they have three "Michelin Tire Man" bulges. They do just push in and out from what I understand. These started in 2000, and may have run to the end of Concourse/Premier production.

My '99 has stock Ford E-Series taillights. They attach with the stock Econoline screw system. I don't know when these started, but it may have been around 1997. Earlier than that, some have Aerostar taillights (early/mid-90's). Before that it was likely something different again.