Resealing high top gutter

[caercamper]

Hi all

I’m trying to reseal the gutter on my high top, where the fibreglass roof meets the metal, as it’s clearly gone bad. I’ll be sorting out some rust in the gutter too as I go.

I’ve tried the usual silicone remover to try and get the old sealant out but it’s a pretty tight space along the side and proving pretty difficult. Worried about cracking the fibreglass as I go.

What have others done? Do the best of getting it out, give it a clean and reseal over the top? Or does every last bit have to come out?

Thanks

[caercamper]

Come to think of it - what sealant have folks used for this? I’ve got Sikaflex 522 and assume that is okay? Presumably it’s not the only thing holding the roof to the body?

[In-transit]

I have a feeling that the roof IS just held on by the edges with sealent. They don't seem to blow off though. I'm putting off doing mine at mo and keep 'filling' the gutter with good silicon, still leaks though. Will have to remove it totally, and sort rusty gutters, then plan to stick it down again.

[MinorMatt]

The factory roof is held on by

*dependant on year* a row of screws behind the rubber trim above the windscreen
4 Bolts in the rear door apature
a row of sealant on the inside of the roof to the "vertical" steelwork behind
Adhesive between the steel ribs and the fibreglass
and as a afterthought the selant in the gutter has an adhesive effect too.

I need to reseal the gutters on my van at some point (I need to take the roof off and do some repairs first though) and when I do I will be using a polyurethane adhesive sealant. In my opinion it doesn't matter too much which one - but sika 522 is perfect.

[In-transit]

[quote="MinorMatt"]The factory roof is held on by

*dependant on year* a row of screws behind the rubber trim above the windscreen
4 Bolts in the rear door apature
a row of sealant on the inside of the roof to the "vertical" steelwork behind
Adhesive between the steel ribs and the fibreglass.

Thanks for the heads up on the cab roof screws and rear door bolts.

[caercamper]

Hi all - just to report back after a couple of days up a step ladder

Doing the side gutters wasn’t awful - just a lot of stripping the sealant away with knife and blunt screwdriver - I can see that it goes behind and around the back of the fibreglass too but wasn’t willing to go as far as removing the roof! So some spot treating of rust and a bead of Sikaflex and it’s looking a lot better

The back gutter was harder and I didn’t manage to get some large chunks of it off, so it’s more of a seal over the top of the old stuff. Might solve the leaks this winter but not a totally satisfactory job.