Leak through roof (not canvas)

[DominicR]

Hello there

I discovered recently that my Cali has developed a leak in the roof, specifically at the back end, where the nearside aluminium roof rail meets the black plastic end cap. Rain was seeping in (and we've had plenty...) and making the roof lining and canvas wet when the roof was closed.

Fortunately, the fix is fairly simple, although I'm afraid I didn't take any pictures of the process. If it happens to your Cali, you need to:

1. remove the black plastic trim, by sliding something plastic underneath it, while pulling it towards the rear of the vehicle - it is glued to the roof, so go easy... (actually this bit is not 100% essential, as there's a small snap-in cover above the hole underneath, but it's not very accessible)

2. find the mastic-filled 5-6mm hole, just past the end of the roof rail, and dig out the mastic with some needle-nosed pliers. It's quite tenacious; make sure you get it all out - you should be able to see the polyurethane foam roof insulation when it's gone.

3. clean the area with meths and then carefully re-seal the hole with silicone sealant, or the bonding agent used in the next step, if it's suitable

4. replace the plastic end cap, using Silkaflex (or in my case Everbuild Stixall Extreme - cheaper, and gets good reviews)

Result - absolutely no leak anymore! I'm not quite sure why they put a hole through both the outer skin and the inner aluminium frame here - it looks like it should have a bolt or rivet through it, but doesn't. Maybe something to do with alignment on a manufacturing jig, perhaps.

Hope this helps someone, at some point. Just to note that my Cali is coming up to its eighth birthday, and this is the only maintenance I've had to do on the roof - have I jinxed myself there?

Regards

D

 

[Saul]

Hello, I have the exact same issue to the front passengers side. I thought that the little hole underneath the plastic cap was for drainage. If it's not, brilliant as I now know what's wrong...

 

[VW Badger]

Mine was like this from new too, an easy fix- carefully pop out the small covers in the plastic ends of the roof rails and you’ll see the holes. I filled mine with Fernox LSX which seems to have done the trick.