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I had the same problem on my 1984 chevy van, in the right rear corner there was water leaking in. I understood right away that there was a lot of work included in fixing it and quite sadly the build quality of the work mounting the roof was very poor..

The first thing to do is considering how to strip down the light ramps and any other accessories in the roof. Both electrical stuff such as lights, antennas and speakers in order to avoid cables following the top when lifting it, you may have to lift it all the way off the van or maybe just put some wooden planks across the top edge of the van between the glassfibre top and metal body.

So start with stripping down the interior around the overlap between the top and metal body. Disconnect (cut) any wiring (repair them later with soldering + heat shrink or other prefered method) then start removing the rubber/plastic lining around the outside aluminum strip holding the top in place. Remove all the screws and the aluminum strip. Then try prying the top upwards until it comes loose from the old sealant.

Inspect for rust, you may need to weld in some new sheet metal, I had to replace a lot of it on my van.. Remove all the old sealant (get some new one first) make sure the surfaces are nice and clean. Then smear on lots of new sealant on both the van and the roof surfaces, better off using too much than having new leaks later needing to make all that work again.. Use heavy duty rubber based or some sillicone sealant, make sure it will handle the enviroment such as high temperatures in the sun and cold winter climate. I used sealant for box truck wall edges. I think windscreen sealant may work too, but wouldn't recommend it.

Then lower the roof back on to the van, make sure that it fits nicely and that some excess sealant pushes out both on the inside and the outside. Then reapply the aluminum strip for the screws (use stainless screws that wont rust) you may want to put some sealant in between the strip and the van in order to make it stay tight. Drill new holes in between the old screwholes with a drill slightly smaller than the screws you intend to use, this way you will eliminate the problem with bad sync between old screwholes trough all the layers. This saves you a lot of trouble.

Inspect it all and if it looks good, then put the rubber or plastic lining back in the aluminum strip to cover the screws.

When it's confirmed that there are no leaks after the repair work (and if there are, just inject some sealant where needed) you may start to reassemble the interior in the reverse order.

When it's all done and put back together you'll be happy and proud with the accomplishment :)

You may want to check all windows for leaks too, windshield, rooftop and the doors, the rubber seals dry with age and may have shrunk a bit letting water in.

The metal around the windows may need inspection for any rust including the windscreen that is known to both suffer from leaks and rust. You can use the sealant that you used on the roof to put in all critical areas where water may pass trough in order to make a complete sealing and keeping the water outside.

I hope that this answer is good and wish you good luck with the work, it's easy if you're 2-4 persons extra to do the work and remember, it's not impossible to do!

Cheers from Sweden!

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13y ago

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