How did you guys stop the water from getting in from the roof gutters?

Evian · Apr 25, 2010

Hi everyone!
My Bronco seems to leak water into the interior by way of the roof gutters. Why did Ford put that gutter on the tops of these trucks is beyond me. Mine has cracks and rust. I need to seal that gutter. I was going to use silicone but paint won't bond to it. Latex chalk will wash away. What did you use to seal it?

needabronco · Apr 25, 2010

To do it right you need to clean out all of the old seem sealer, then you need to get all of the rust out, re-seam seal, then prime, and paint.

Evian · Apr 25, 2010

How do you remove the old seam sealer? What the best way of removing it without damaging anything?

66ALRIDE · Apr 25, 2010

You can try and scrape/chisel it out. Or use a wire wheel on a grinder.

needabronco · Apr 25, 2010

A buddy of mine works at a body shop and has a tool that makes real short work of it, but the tool is $450! The other way that works is a propane torch and a putty scraper. I've used a scraper and no heat also but it takes forever...

4lofun · Apr 25, 2010

scraper for the loose cracked stuff, then go with a wire wheel to clean it up good. I would recomend a self leveling seam sealer. squirt it in the channel. no touch and it will level right out smooth. the other stuff needs to be worked with a brush, wet finger techniques. i need to do mine too. just havent the time yet

Evian · Apr 25, 2010

I like the torch idea.

NicksTrix · Apr 25, 2010

with the self leveling sealer, be sure the top is sitting level or it will work itself to the lower side.
any good autobody supply sells the sealer. it's a must. be sure to prep the channel accordingly before you apply.btw it takes 2 tubes.
a trick to doign it is right after you apply it, run a nail through the sealer wiggling in, this will help ensure it gets hold of both sides of the channel.

rwill · Apr 25, 2010

gutter issue

Use the self leveling body seam sealer. Probably 3M brand. Any good body shop can tell you how ;Dand what. Its not that big of a deal to fix.

surfer-b · Apr 26, 2010

I used a heat gun and a small screw driver to get the old sealer out, it makes life simple.

Nightmare Bronc · Apr 26, 2010

I used a knotted wire wheel on a 4 1/2 angle grinder. Made life very easy.

pbwcr · Apr 27, 2010

Removong seam sealer?

Evian said:
How do you remove the old seam sealer? What the best way of removing it without damaging anything?

====
Rust fixing is not a trivial task.
I took an old 1/4" screwdriver, sharpened it and dug out the old stuff. Went pretty fast compared to the total fix. Your leak is from rust thru. THis means you will poke thru at the bad places. When done sand blast or use heavt grit sand paper to get the whole area down to bare metal then paint with self etching primer, then add new seam sealer. If the stuff runs thru then use tape to hold it in place until is sets. Keep adding the sealer until you are happy with the fix.
It would be a good thing to use a rust treatment on the inside to keep the rust from getting worse. Do that while the metal is still exposed. Give the inside a seal coat of paint on top of the rust stuff.
The end result should last for another 40 years.
Paul

How did you guys stop the water from getting in from the roof gutters?

Evian

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needabronco

Bronco Guru

Evian

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66ALRIDE

Just BIP It!

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needabronco

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4lofun

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Evian

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NicksTrix

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rwill

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surfer-b

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Nightmare Bronc

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pbwcr

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