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Tram
Samba Socialist
Joined: May 02, 2003
Posts: 22728
Location: Still Feelin' the Bern- Once you've felt it you can't un- feel it.
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 Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2018 5:26 pm Post subject: Re: The Bi- Coastal Bi Polar Bus. |
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| D/A/N wrote: |
Thanks for all the tips about the shifter and etc. Unfortunately, NY seems to have swapped climates with another part of the country and it has been raining non-stop for the last 24 hours. I've lived here all of my life and don't seem to recall mid-February being 55* with torrential rains. Where's the cold and the snow?
Anyway, since the bus lives on the street, we haven't been able to do much of anything in terms of the shifter, engine compartment seal, etc. However, we've been able to find loads of leaks!!!
Not what you want to see on your door....bubbling and rust already
There's at least one leak from the bottom edge of the window. There might be another one higher up because there's water on the back of the jump seat too.
There's some mold or staining under the window frame so this one has been going for a while
Getting on the floor and messing up the trim
And this vent window seal isn't doing such a good job
Only discovered these leaks because we found that water is dripping down one of the handles on the pop top, which means we need to re-seal the hole outside. Found everything else when we went in to mop and put a towel on the floor...
So yes, aftermarket rubber sucks. But what can we do to avoid warping all the wood and the door cards and rusting all the metal? Any obvious solutions here? |
Bubbles on the door: That was on a list of stuff we were going to address last summer. We got waylaid on a thousand other bullshit things, though. My plan was to surgically sand the spots with a Dremel and a small pointy sanding stone, re- treat with Rust Mort, seal, and then build up paint with a small artist's brush. After sufficient dry time (at least 90 days) the spots can be gently wet sanded to blend, then buffed. There were a few on the other door too that are impossible to see without the right light. All that was full disclosure.
Those good intentions got lost in all the excitement of everything else going on and the boundless joy of me getting to do a re- overhaul of everything mechanical in the first thousand miles. 
The rusty corner looks like the corner of the door got smacked against something and chipped. Mix two drops of blue paint and a drop each of hardener and reducer and dab it on with an artist's brush or a Q tip after a dab of rust treatment at the first opportunity, if you ever see dry weather again.
On the water leaks... it just fucking figures. Get some clear silicone adhesive sealer and go over the fasteners through the top again. NOW we know where that condensation on the plastic battery box was likely coming from. Even when I washed the damn thing several times I never saw a leak... and I was using the washing of the Bus as a leak test, too.
When the weather gets better and you get some time peel or razor blade the silicone off and get a little fiberglass resin and hardener and seal them off that way. Follow it with some of the white paint in your stash mixed like the blue. It's for the top. I should have thought of that but I was too busy thinking about why the fucking bus wasn't running like it was supposed to. Sorry.
The sliding window one above the table is weird... look at the picture closely, realizing that water can't flow up. It doesn't look like it's flowing in under the window... is it coming in around the glass? If so, maybe a flexible silicone putty string in the channel around the glass will keep it out, and you should be able to remove it for the summer. Maybe that old grey plastic trim just isn't sealing.
The wind wing up front... there was a drip- one single drip- coming through early this summer when I washed it so I re adjusted the vent window before you put the door panel on. If it's coming in around the pin that the vent window pivots on we'll need to figure out something there. Unless it's just gushing in around that tiny point, though, it almost looks as if it is flowing in underneath the damn seal.
I just have to laugh at that white seal on the floor... you know what that is, right? It came from Jerry's, your favorite store, and it's a fucking sealing strip for your shower  , and yet there it is running away from a few drops of rainwater.  I used that rather than painted wood in case you ever wanted to mop the floor, figuring it would be safe and keep the mop water out of the joint... you know... like it's supposed to be designed to do.
I can't win.
And yes, the weather everywhere is just stupid this year. Be thankful you're not having to put up with what's happening to the west of you... almost 70 one day, cold and snow the next, snow at night, melt off during the day, then deep freeze and more snow.
Besides... I told you that Bus loves Oregon. If the Bus cannot stay in Oregon, then Oregon shall come to the Bus, I guess. 
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| Bryan67 wrote: |
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Tram
Samba Socialist
Joined: May 02, 2003
Posts: 22728
Location: Still Feelin' the Bern- Once you've felt it you can't un- feel it.
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| Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2018 5:37 pm Post subject: Re: The Bi- Coastal Bi Polar Bus. |
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One other thought... I was totally underwhelmed by the quality of those door panels AND the kick panels, frankly. You already got ABS kick panels for the front... what about ABS door panels? Not as sexy but at least they'll never warp or crumble to shit, or have the vinyl covering shrink or come detached, like they were doing right out of the box. I can send you some M-B "Bamboo" vinyl paint like was used on the windlace. With proper prep and a coat of Bulldog adhesion promoter it shouldn't ever come off.
Just an idea. You might find this way less frustrating.
I also blew up your pic of the window leak over the table. Are my eyes deceiving me or is the water coming between the window frame and the rubber in the lower rear corner right above the inner frame?
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Tram
Samba Socialist
Joined: May 02, 2003
Posts: 22728
Location: Still Feelin' the Bern- Once you've felt it you can't un- feel it.
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| Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2018 5:40 pm Post subject: Re: The Bi- Coastal Bi Polar Bus. |
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| neena wrote: |
| Xevin wrote: |
| What’s it look like under the front floor mats? |
Xevin, as I traced leaks, lifting the mats was one of the first things I did (currently have a problem in our T3 which results in mysterious water pooling under carpets...). Front floor was surprisingly dry and we just went out to check again. Still dry. Unlike this towel that was only in place for 2 hours. Totally soaked and I could wring the water out of it. This is the spot the black mold is growing in!!
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Unfortunately, that towel is just acting like a wick.
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D/A/N
Samba Member
Joined: August 13, 2010
Posts: 2227
Location: 11222
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| Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2018 5:57 pm Post subject: Re: The Bi- Coastal Bi Polar Bus. |
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| Tram wrote: |
Unfortunately, that towel is just acting like a wick. |
Yeah, it's acting like a wick....it's at the point where the most water seems to be coming in. The felt channel that the base of the window slides in is also soaked but I haven't sussed out just how it's coming in there. That's on both sliding windows. Too late and wet to go back outside now to see exactly what's happening.
I thought we was friends. Why are you trying to drown us? |
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Tram
Samba Socialist
Joined: May 02, 2003
Posts: 22728
Location: Still Feelin' the Bern- Once you've felt it you can't un- feel it.
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| Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2018 6:14 pm Post subject: Re: The Bi- Coastal Bi Polar Bus. |
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| D/A/N wrote: |
| Tram wrote: |
Unfortunately, that towel is just acting like a wick. |
Yeah, it's acting like a wick....it's at the point where the most water seems to be coming in. The felt channel that the base of the window slides in is also soaked but I haven't sussed out just how it's coming in there. That's on both sliding windows. Too late and wet to go back outside now to see exactly what's happening.
I thought we was friends. Why are you trying to drown us? |
Because you took off and left me alone with my wife and a fierce pit bull! 
Besides, I live in OREGON, jackass... drowning is how we live, so I didn't think it was a hugemanatee. We're like Elbonia, only we wear shorts!
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Tram
Samba Socialist
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Location: Still Feelin' the Bern- Once you've felt it you can't un- feel it.
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| Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2018 6:36 pm Post subject: Re: The Bi- Coastal Bi Polar Bus. |
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Youtes guys may just have to string putty those windows shut temporarily or it will rat boink the woodwork and floor and cause further mold issues, unfortunately. Gawddammit.
The rust under those windows was horrendous. Now I know why. I had to drop back and punt on the lower lip on the sliding door because the PO who was the king of expanding foam filled it from the inside that way... with the porous stuff that just absorbed water and really did a number on that lower lip in spots. There wasn't enough solid metal left to spot weld metal strips for a lip in the bad areas there like I did everyplace else, so I used metal strips plus body panel adhesive coated with gorilla tape and silicone adhesive sealer to fill in the really bad spots. I installed both window seals with adhesive sealer so they wouldn't leak around the seals, never imagining that they would leak through the damn glass channels... FML.
I actually went on a quest for another sliding door but they were all stupid money for examples with even worse damage.
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neena
Samba Member
Joined: September 10, 2010
Posts: 581
Location: Brooklyn, NY
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| Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2018 6:51 pm Post subject: Re: The Bi- Coastal Bi Polar Bus. |
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What is string putty?
And could our problems be that there's not enough solid metal for the seals hold onto? |
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Tram
Samba Socialist
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Location: Still Feelin' the Bern- Once you've felt it you can't un- feel it.
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| Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2018 7:29 pm Post subject: Re: The Bi- Coastal Bi Polar Bus. |
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| neena wrote: |
What is string putty?
And could our problems be that there's not enough solid metal for the seals hold onto? |
I guess they call it tape putty these days.
http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2809561
It stays soft so it will be easy to remove later.
And no, the "not enough solid metal" isn't your issue. The reason it rusted out there was because of the open cell expanding foam used to "noiseproof". In order to get inside from there water would have to travel UP and over. It's really sealed between the black seal and the Bus.
From what I am seeing in the pic the water is getting in higher up- either around the glass or between the window frame and the rubber.
Ironically enough, the one that's leaking is the one that didn't require any fancy footwork on the lip.
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Spike0180
Samba Member
Joined: June 06, 2015
Posts: 2269
Location: Detroit, Michigan
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| Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2018 11:25 am Post subject: Re: The Bi- Coastal Bi Polar Bus. |
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Obvious Solution: Farmers weather protection, Grease it ALL.
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Brutis Patches Izabich: 1970 VW Transporter - 1776cc DP
Current State: Projects never truly end...
Location: Grosse Pointe, Michigan
Other cars: 2003 F150, 2003 Jetta GLI vr6-6sp
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tristessa
Samba Member
Joined: April 07, 2004
Posts: 3992
Location: Portland, OR
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| Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2018 11:56 am Post subject: Re: The Bi- Coastal Bi Polar Bus. |
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| Spike0180 wrote: |
| Obvious Solution: Farmers weather protection, Grease it ALL. |
It's helping keep my "new" '73 Mercedes interior dry until I can replace the window seals... |
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Tram
Samba Socialist
Joined: May 02, 2003
Posts: 22728
Location: Still Feelin' the Bern- Once you've felt it you can't un- feel it.
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| Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2018 1:23 pm Post subject: Re: The Bi- Coastal Bi Polar Bus. |
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Well, pshaw. Not ever having been a farmer, I never would have thought of that.
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tristessa
Samba Member
Joined: April 07, 2004
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Location: Portland, OR
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| Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2018 2:02 pm Post subject: Re: The Bi- Coastal Bi Polar Bus. |
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| Tram wrote: |
| Not ever having been a farmer |
Never been a farmer either but come from a long line of them. All the way up until my grandpa decided to get the fuck out of Illinois in the '30s... |
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Tram
Samba Socialist
Joined: May 02, 2003
Posts: 22728
Location: Still Feelin' the Bern- Once you've felt it you can't un- feel it.
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| Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2018 2:48 pm Post subject: Re: The Bi- Coastal Bi Polar Bus. |
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| tristessa wrote: |
| Tram wrote: |
| Not ever having been a farmer |
Never been a farmer either but come from a long line of them. All the way up until my grandpa decided to get the fuck out of Illinois in the '30s... |
Yeah, I heard the "Dirty Thirties" was a good time to get out of farming.
It was a good time to get out of Deutschland as well.
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D/A/N
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Joined: August 13, 2010
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Location: 11222
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| Posted: Wed Feb 14, 2018 6:42 pm Post subject: Re: The Bi- Coastal Bi Polar Bus. |
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This is a bit out of left field given all the other stuff we've posted about (none of which has been resolved yet) but at least the BN4 works as it should. Rainy days and/or lack of daylight led to it taking close to two weeks to make a hole for the combustion air pipe, drill holes for the screws to secure it, and test the heater out. Today we drilled the last 3 holes, mounted the combustion air pipe, hooked up the last two wires, primed the pump, reconnected the fuel line, and now we've got heat!
Now onward to the shifter and all the other shit. |
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Tram
Samba Socialist
Joined: May 02, 2003
Posts: 22728
Location: Still Feelin' the Bern- Once you've felt it you can't un- feel it.
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| Posted: Wed Feb 14, 2018 6:49 pm Post subject: Re: The Bi- Coastal Bi Polar Bus. |
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Nice! You know what this means, right? Winter is over.
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sjbartnik
Samba Member
Joined: September 01, 2011
Posts: 5998
Location: Brooklyn
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2018 9:18 am Post subject: Re: The Bi- Coastal Bi Polar Bus. |
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| Tram wrote: |
| Nice! You know what this means, right? Winter is over. |
Well, it is 60 degrees here today!
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D/A/N
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Location: 11222
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| Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2018 1:15 pm Post subject: Re: The Bi- Coastal Bi Polar Bus. |
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Trying to get this reverse lockout crap to work but no damn luck. We replaced the aftermarket shift plate (which was made of soft metal and bent up where it shouldn't be) with an OEM one but that made no difference. No matter how we adjust the plate we can shift right into reverse no problem.
Plus, when taking the shifter out, we discovered a new issue.....the stupid spring loaded pin in the base of the shifter keeps popping out. It's real fiddly to get it back in and if the pin so much as touches the large spring when trying to lower the shifter base into the "pipe", the pin pops out. Hours of this shit. Is it possible to reseat the pin semi-permanently? We had the shifter out a million times over the summer and the pin wasn't an issue.
Then....finally got it all back in, go to take a ride and the damned shifter pops out of the pipe and just spins around making it totally impossible to find any gear. This is the SAME SHIT we spent several frustrating days dealing with over the summer. I guess it wasn't fixed because the issue is back. We tried to reassemble everything two more times but the shifter kept popping out of the pipe and spinning.
So what to do now? We have three issues:
1) No reverse lockout with both an aftermarket and an OEM plate
2) Pin popping out of the shifter base
3) The shifter popping out of the pipe
Are these separate issues? The same issue? Is there an obvious fix that we aren't seeing? |
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busdaddy
Samba Member
Joined: February 12, 2004
Posts: 51156
Location: Surrey B.C. Canada, but thinking of Ukraine
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| Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2018 1:19 pm Post subject: Re: The Bi- Coastal Bi Polar Bus. |
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| D/A/N wrote: |
So what to do now? We have three issues:
1) No reverse lockout with both an aftermarket and an OEM plate
2) Pin popping out of the shifter base
3) The shifter popping out of the pipe
Are these separate issues? The same issue? Is there an obvious fix that we aren't seeing? |
#1- plate installed upside down?
#2- Hole that pin rides in is worn, possibly fixed by re peening.
#3- Simian car hauler driver has bent the front guide pin on the body down, bend it back up so it's level with the floor.
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neena
Samba Member
Joined: September 10, 2010
Posts: 581
Location: Brooklyn, NY
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| Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2018 1:42 pm Post subject: Re: The Bi- Coastal Bi Polar Bus. |
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| busdaddy wrote: |
| D/A/N wrote: |
So what to do now? We have three issues:
1) No reverse lockout with both an aftermarket and an OEM plate
2) Pin popping out of the shifter base
3) The shifter popping out of the pipe
Are these separate issues? The same issue? Is there an obvious fix that we aren't seeing? |
#1- plate installed upside down?
#2- Hole that pin rides in is worn, possibly fixed by re peening.
#3- Simian car hauler driver has bent the front guide pin on the body down, bend it back up so it's level with the floor. |
#1: plate is definitely right side up. That's about the only thing we can confidently report! 
#2: we'll try to repeen the pin with a hammer & chisel
#3: when the rain stops we'll try to manhandle that pin back into place |
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D/A/N
Samba Member
Joined: August 13, 2010
Posts: 2227
Location: 11222
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| Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2018 1:48 pm Post subject: Re: The Bi- Coastal Bi Polar Bus. |
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Simian car hauler is probably the right way to put it. This thing is more screwed up than I first realized.....
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