Rear slider rebuild kit?

[Wicked_Sludge]

well after i pulled my window out a few weeks ago and cleaned the slider seals and re-sealed the metal parts that hold the windows together...the window still leaked. it was finally nice enough outside today that i could tear the truck apart to get in there and actually identify where its leaking. 10 minutes with the garden hose and its leaking around the big rubber seal that holds the window in. i also have leaks on around the little rubber bumpers on the door jams and the screws that hold my amp to the back wall.

just for fun, i price out that big rubber seal...$90 from ford! since i have no money, i think im going to run a tiiny beat of black silicone under the seal both inside and outside the truck and that should take care of it....im going to regret it when it comes time to take the seal out and replace it.

 

[Bryan22]

mines leaking on the top where the window seals to the cab pretty bad, I tried some sealent my uncle uses to seal his motorhome roof, lasted about a week. grr. i'll probably have to do the silicone thing too, and never take it out again

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

i hate water leaks so much.

im starting to think maybe its not the window after all. i siliconed the outside of the window along the top and both sides of the seal yesterday, then left the space heater in the truck to keep things warm all night. tried the garden hose again today and the leak hasnt even slowed. i tried using packing tape to narrow my search, but after taping up the window top and bottom and taping up the gap between the cab and bed (thinking maybe its a body seam leaking on the back of the cab)...i dont know what to do now. this leak is BAD with the hose on it and water intrusion was worse than i first though.

i dont know what im missing and why im so bad at fixing water leaks

 

[RobbieD]

Wicked- did you check the exterior bed light above the rear window? Mine's leaked there before, and the water would come out on the inside like it was coming through the back glass.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

that was actually the first thing i did. the seal looked to be a bit mashed down so i ran a line of butyl tape around the inside parimeter of the housing to ensure it sealed tight against the cab. the water appears to be coming from the bottom/passanger corner of the window (although, i guess it could be running down along the window seal from higher up). i cant get a mirror or light in there to see under the 2 layers of sheet metal to see if there is a body seam or some problem with the window seal.

 

[RobbieD]

And that's exactly how I fixed my leaking light (with butyl tape AKA "gorilla snot"). Except for the rear glass gasket, the only other place I can think of off top of my head is the body seams on the roof top rear corners, that's got the insert to trim them out. Leaks can be a real bitch; just keep at it, and good luck with it.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

the body seams on the roof top rear corners, that's got the insert to trim them out.

you mean the little lines where the back, top, and side of the cab all meet? is that an actual body seem? i thought it was just a little dip to help guide water into the rain gutters....

 

[RobbieD]

I've never had to mess with those roof trim strips, but it really looks to me that their main purpose is to hide where the skin panels were welded together in the cab assembly process. And, it is pretty common for the rear window gasket to let water in at the top or sides, but it runs hidden down inside the gasket before dripping out, thus making it appear as though the leak is in the bottom part.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

ive never seen an unpainted cab, so im really not sure what the trim strips your talking about look like. but if your talking about the line on the back/top corner of the cab that runs from the top/rear corner of the door to the top corner of the rear window....then i can try sealing it with packing tape tomorrow and see if that gets me anywhere.

i sealed the outside top and sides of my rear window seal to the cab with silicone...so im reasonably sure thats not where the water is coming from. i dont think its coming from the bottom of the seal becuse with the way the seal is designed/shaped, i think i would be able to lift the inside lip of the seal and see moisture under it from inside the cab...but its dry.

ive been poking around online and i found another way to check for leaks that i may try tomorrow. with the windows up, doors closed, and blower motor on high...spray soapy water around the various seals and seams on the outside of the truck and watch for bubbles. hopefully this will get me somewhere tomorrow

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

i decided i should start a new thread since this was kind of getting off the topic of rear window rebuild kits. heres todays findings for anyone whos been following:

http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?p=310502#post310502