Bellows becoming detached

[dspuk]

MyT6.1 Ocean went in for it's 2yr service today - with a hand full of things to fix.

One issue being the Pop top roof bellows (pulled away in 2 corners & repeatedly does so after poking the rubber sil back into the groove).

My local VW service centre said they have to try glueing before they are willing to replace the bellows - feels a little like i'm being fobbed off?

Also the roof sags when left open (over night). It does however go fully up when I ask it to via the control panel. VW said this is normal - and after a set time, the van will raise the roof automatically - has anyone else had this experience?

There will be a service bulletin that for any warranty claim to be approved on the bellow where there is pulling a glue remedy has to be tried first. Unless the garage does this then VW is unlikely to approve the larger claim.
There is a lot of chatter around how normal it is for the sag. Ours does, about 1", after 3 days. Others are worse. It's to do with the quality of the seals on the hydralic rams. Over time some sag as the pressure "leaks". Some have managed to get it fixed with lots of complaining and new rams, others have done themselves, others have your explanation. Always felt to me the automatic roof raising was a bit of a software after the fact fix for a downstream issue not properly resolved. So far not been bad enough for me to complain.

 

[tweeks71]

Stow, many thanks for this reply, much appreciated.

This might make me laugh.

Just picked my van up from the VW service centre. I asked if the bellows have been successfully glued, and if it’s been tested to see if the bellows pop out. I was assured it was.

Then, with no sense of irony, the chap said that the workshop had requested that I don’t raise the roof for 12 hours, just to be sure that the glue has set.

I really hope I’m wrong, but I’m fairly confident I’m going to be returning sooner than I had hoped.

 

[Deskman]

Most glues gain their max strength after 12 to 48 hours. Even stickers do improve on strength after some time. So the advice is not as senseless as you might think. You can test, make sure everything is OK and then remove the tension to let the glue set for permanent fixation.

They could have kept your van for some extra days for this. I wonder if you would be happy to pay for that...

 

[tweeks71]

Stow, many thanks for this reply, much appreciated.

This might make me laugh.

Just picked my van up from the VW service centre. I asked if the bellows have been successfully glued, and if it’s been tested to see if the bellows pop out. I was assured it was.

Then, with no sense of irony, the chap said that the workshop had requested that I don’t raise the roof for 12 hours, just to be sure that the glue has set.

I really hope I’m wrong, but I’m fairly confident I’m going to be returning sooner than I had hoped.

All interesting. Let’s see how the glue holds up.

Many thanks all.

 

[flying banana]

Stow, many thanks for this reply, much appreciated.

This might make me laugh.

Just picked my van up from the VW service centre. I asked if the bellows have been successfully glued, and if it’s been tested to see if the bellows pop out. I was assured it was.

Then, with no sense of irony, the chap said that the workshop had requested that I don’t raise the roof for 12 hours, just to be sure that the glue has set.

I really hope I’m wrong, but I’m fairly confident I’m going to be returning sooner than I had hop

Stow, many thanks for this reply, much appreciated.

This might make me laugh.

Just picked my van up from the VW service centre. I asked if the bellows have been successfully glued, and if it’s been tested to see if the bellows pop out. I was assured it was.

Then, with no sense of irony, the chap said that the workshop had requested that I don’t raise the roof for 12 hours, just to be sure that the glue has set.

I really hope I’m wrong, but I’m fairly confident I’m going to be returning sooner than I had hoped.

Sikaflex is the best fix. But from factory the bellows are sort of crimped in with a tool. No glue or sealer

 

[RockinNRollin]

Thread resurrection here; just discovered (days away from our European tour!!) the rear corner of the bellows has popped out. 2023 Cali and has had umpteen replacement bellows due to leak-gate but I was under the impression there was supposed to be some sort of sealant/adhesive in the corners? No evidence here of anything - totally clean metal? I’ve managed to pop it back in again (although it hasn’t really positively clicked into place or anything) so I hope it holds while we’re away.

 

[Betsycalifornia]

Ours did the same, put it back in a few times, gave up in the end. Never got any worse than yours looks now and that was over a month of travelling. Hope yours is similar.

 

[Lee.Van.Cleef]

We've had the same issue for a while. Not quite early enough to catch the warranty (2019 T6), but never really been a major problem.
It actually survived several windy nights on Orkney over Easter without any problem, but oddly now it's back home on the drive it's popped again. So maybe it's a temperature thing.
I've usually managed to push it back in again with the roof open just far enough, but maybe I've never quite fixed it. The only silicone I have is that horrible black stuff which I'm reluctant to use anywhere near the bellows.
Just fitted an isotop but maybe should hang on to the topper just in case!

 

[Lambeth Cali]

Don’t use a bungee

 

[WelshGas]

Thread resurrection here; just discovered (days away from our European tour!!) the rear corner of the bellows has popped out. 2023 Cali and has had umpteen replacement bellows due to leak-gate but I was under the impression there was supposed to be some sort of sealant/adhesive in the corners? No evidence here of anything - totally clean metal? I’ve managed to pop it back in again (although it hasn’t really positively clicked into place or anything) so I hope it holds while we’re away.

View attachment 123546

I don’t believe any sealant is used in the factory to fix the bellows, top or bottom. But I have heard of Dealerships using it for this problem. Whether that is a VW fix or their own I have no idea.

 

[RockinNRollin]

I don’t use a bungee anyway. My concern is all the bellows replacements (lost track now, 5 or 6) have weakened the “teeth” that grab the bellows in the roof slot.

 

[finchy168]

I had mine sealed last week at Listers Droitwich, I had the same issue, it came away in the corner.

 

[Lee.Van.Cleef]

Don’t use a bungee

I remember pondering the bungee for that reason when we got the van. We do have a bungee but it's now fitted much slacker - just enough to help the bellows into shape but not enough to pop the seal. So either the bungee isn't the cause, or the bungee was the cause of the initial issue, which hasn't quite been fixed.
Having just fitted an isotop I'm reluctant to remove the bungee altogether.

 

[RockinNRollin]

Already popped back out again. Urgh. Typical the issue arises just before a massive trip!

 

[flying banana]

this happenend a bit at the front of the old bellows too. the best cure is to sikaflex it back in and let it set before fully raising the roof,the issue with doing that is that when they fit your 8th set of bellows it will be a pain to clear out of the groove. did you tap it in with a mallet and maybe a wedge to see if it grips harder rather than just push it in ?

 

[RockinNRollin]

this happenend a bit at the front of the old bellows too. the best cure is to sikaflex it back in and let it set before fully raising the roof,the issue with doing that is that when they fit your 8th set of bellows it will be a pain to clear out of the groove. did you tap it in with a mallet and maybe a wedge to see if it grips harder rather than just push it in ?

Given it’s in warranty still and it’ll be warranty issue to resolve I don’t want to do anything too forceful! I expect we can cope it’s just a pain.

 

[Hawthorn37]

If you’re close to a dealership I’d get them to fix it - their problem. Otherwise see if your fix works. Our 6.1 single skin bellows came adrift in the same location within its first year. The dealer is about an hour away, and always a long wait for an appointment. So I did it myself. Method used: On a warm sunny day, bring the roof down enough so the canvas isn’t taught, without glue or any lubricant, two bike tyre levers to prod and push it in - from the outside and the inside - flat on my belly in the pop top (nice and sweaty!). I did our fix around 18 ago and it’s not moved. I think that the warmth of the day made a big difference in making the sealing rubber strip pliable.

I know it’s not relevant to your case, but I reckon that the use of a bungee cord (as recommended by a friend) was partly to blame, and we’ve not used one since.

 

[RockinNRollin]

If you’re close to a dealership I’d get them to fix it - their problem. Otherwise see if your fix works. Our 6.1 single skin bellows came adrift in the same location within its first year. The dealer is about an hour away, and always a long wait for an appointment. So I did it myself. Method used: On a warm sunny day, bring the roof down enough so the canvas isn’t taught, without glue or any lubricant, two bike tyre levers to prod and push it in - from the outside and the inside - flat on my belly in the pop top (nice and sweaty!). I did our fix around 18 ago and it’s not moved. I think that the warmth of the day made a big difference in making the sealing rubber strip pliable.

I know it’s not relevant to your case, but I reckon that the use of a bungee cord (as recommended by a friend) was partly to blame, and we’ve not used one since.

I am close ish but I worry it’ll end up in more of a mess if something goes wrong then we’ve no vehicle for our holiday. I might live with it for the trip and deal with it when we get back

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

Ours did this last week in the warm weather. Two corners. It's highly likely a rear corner (probably opposite) has also or will detach in the same way.

The first fix is supposed to be sealant adhesive. We're about to head off to Europe for 2 months and we'll just live with it. Booked in for late July.

I guess if the sealant doesn't work then another set of bellows...

 

[California Dreamer]

Ours did the same kept popping out - dealer (also listers Droitwich) fixed it easily under warranty, back the same day. Been fine since!


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