Windshield water leak just started - Itasca 30B

[spotrot]

When raining (and the RV parked) water has just started dripping steadily near the upper left corner of the windshield. It's a pretty big leak: a drop every 4 seconds, a cup every few hours.

I inspected the insides of the overhead cabinets as well as possible. Everywhere is dry. Outside on top, the calking at the cap to roof joint looks good, as does the calking on the sides of the roof near the front.

I hate to tear off the rubber molding at the top of the windshield (outside) just to take a look. I have no diagrams to show how the cap seals to the windshield or its frame.

Just thought I'd post to see if someone else has had a similar leak there and found a good way to troubleshoot it.

[jpmihalk]

Last summer we had a windshield crack on our 98 Itasca Sunflyer and when the windshield was pulled to replace it, it was found that the windshield frame all around on both sides was rusted, in some places all the way through where there was nothing under the glass to adhere to. We were surprised that it hadn't cracked sooner but no visual inspection would have caught it. In the end, the whole windshield frame had to be replaced on both sides and both drivers and passengers windshields replaced. I am glad insurance covered some of the cost, but not the labor and parts to rebuild the frame.

After the repairs, we have had no issues. Lesson learned the hard way about buying a used older Winnie/Itasca...

[catkins]

Have friends who have had to get the windshield pulled and rust dealt with. Window place said they see LOTS of Winnies with this issue. Rust is the enemy - unless you get it removed and sealed properly, the problem comes back, so they were advised. Luckily windshield did not crack and they got the fix done.
Good luck!!

[atodalen]

spotrot wrote:
Based on my experiences, Winnie really needs to get a person who understands exterior coatings on vehicles.

In my mind, there is absolutely no excuse for Winnebago not dealing with the issue long ago. They must have been aware of it due to customer feedback many, many years ago. It seems to have continued for years without a process change being made to correct it. I'm also quite surprised that they haven't been held legally responsible for the many repairs made over the years due to lack of action on their part. Undercarriage frame rust seems to be another issue that could be improved in my opinion. With that off my chest, I must say that other than those issues I have been pleased with the overall quality of our Winnebago.
Al

[spotrot]

I decided to pull the top windshield weatherstrip almost all the way out (except where it is pinched behind the R side pillar piece) and found that the frame was also rusted above and between the windshields.

I scraped those areas too, cut and removed the w/s track (it is held on by thick adhesive tape) as far as needed, two coats of POR-15, sealed under the cap with RTV silicone sealant, and reattached the track segments using 3M w/s adhesive (after removing the old adhesive tape). Water test was fine. Cleaned the w/s tracks of sloppy sealant and wiped a little silicone on the back rib of the w/s to ease its insertion into its track.

Then I looked up under the 'hood' and found that the lower edge of the windshield frame was also rusted all the way across.

Based on my experiences, Winnie really needs to get a person who understands exterior coatings on vehicles.

[atodalen]

It looks like you're well on your way towards dealing with the leak. Sorry that I can't help with the removal of the weatherstrip part but perhaps you could identify it in the parts catalog and give Service Administration a call. They have a reputation of being quite helpful to owners. They can be reached at

How do I contact Winnebago Industries?
Mail: Winnebago Industries, Inc.
605 W. Crystal Lake Rd
P.O. Box 152
Forest City, IA 50436-0152
Corporate Switchboard: (641) 585-3535
Service Administration: (800) 537-1885
Fax: (641) 585-6966
E-mail: or@winnebagoind.com

and the page in the parts catalog that shows most of the relevant windshield parts is on the next to last page, 218 I think.

Windshield parts details


Al

[spotrot]

Well, I'm sorry to report that a rusted windshield frame is the cause of the leak.

I pulled the rubber molding out from its channel at its left end (it was partially glued in because some of the white sealant used to seal the cap had oozed onto the molding track).

The steel was heavily rusted in a 4 inch area near the upper left corner. The rust extended under paint and sealant so I cut that out too where needed. I'll have to cut out a portion of the plastic tack for the molding because there's rust under that too.

Because the rusted area goes to the corner of the frame, I had to remove the large painted fiberglass side molding. The link helped locate the 3 nuts, two phillips screws and two allen head screws.

The condition of the rubber molding is good, so I'll not replace that.

The rest of the top of the windshield frame is completely covered by the white cap sealant or by the black windshield adhesive so I can't see any underlying rust there. I think I'll leave that alone because cutting it all out to search for rust underneath would be a lot of work and maybe unnecessary.

After cutting a portion of the weatherstrip track out and hopefully finding the endpoint of the rusting, I'll clean it, coat with POR 15, and then look for a very sticky, non-hardening sealant to go over the POR 15.

Does anyone know how the plastic weatherstrip track is attached to the windshield frame?

If a photo is helpful for others, I'll try to post one.

[atodalen]

It's not polite to rub it in. 🙂 It's like 30 degrees here in Spokane this morning with a heavy frost. I guess I'll have to be satisfied listening to Jimmy Buffett and perhaps an out of season Pina Colada.
Enjoy, my friend.
Al

[spotrot]

Wow! Thanks for the great links.

We had the AC on all the way to Ft Meyers yesterday, wering tank top, shorts and sandals.

Overnighted at an terrific roadhouse Buckingham Blues Bar, best Sunday Blues jam we've ever heard. Hopefully snorkeling this afternoon in the Keys.

[atodalen]

You're welcome. Glad that you found your leak. As far as I know there isn't an assembly manual available. There are plumbing diagrams and wiring diagrams available at Winnebago/Itasca resources in PDF form. The parts catalog is there also or for your unit directly to 2008 Itasca 30B parts catalog
Hope you have a great time in the Keys. I talked to my sister a couple of days ago and they were walking the beach outside of Naples in winter jackets.

On edit: Here's another post that I ran into today where several Winnie/Itasca owners talk about their rusted windshield frames.
More rusted windshield frames

[spotrot]

Thank you for the link. I assume the diagram is from a parts manual. Do you know if there is a CD of that? Or better an assembly manual? I've been spoiled, there's an actual assembly line assembly manual for everything on my old Corvettes. They show every bolt, torque, and and procedure.

After removing and inspecting the running light, and deciding that was probably not the cause of the leak, I pulled the end of the upper weatherstrip away from the windshield. The rear center of the rubber has the protrusion that snap into a narrow metal channel but it appears that the last few inches are simply glued or calked.

In any case, I used a hose to direct water just into that area and voila - it leaked. It looks like they got a little sloppy here and barely barely contacted the glass in that area. Now I will decide whether to pull then weatherstrip off across the entire top and look for rust -- or just fix the current leak.

Thank you all for you excellent advice. Great members in this forum.

Off to the Keys now and hope it won't rain too much before I fix this item.

[atodalen]

Here's a post that shows how to remove the outside trim on either side of the windshield.
2008 Sightseer A-pillar trim removal with diagram
I'd bet that yours is identical. There was a screw under that holding the end of the windshield top rubber trim.
I just went into our 2008 Sightseer and noticed that I can see the bottom side of the sealant that holds the windshield in if I use a strong flashlight and put my head right against the windshield. It may be worth your time to take a look before you do much more. Best of luck.
Al

[spotrot]

I unscrewed and pulled the running light away. The outer calking had shrunk and failed. There was dirt behind the light but no real way for water to enter inside, so that's a dead end.

My upper molding must be different than the 04 because it's one-piece over both windshields and the center appears to be glue in. Also it looks like the large painted molding pieces on each side need to be removed. No clue how to do that.

The molding between the windshields became gummy and fell apart after a few years and the factory replacement is a flimsy plastic that doesn't fit well and flops about. That makes me want to get a new top rubber molding and make sure it's good before tearing out the old one.

To get a view of the inside of the cap, I'd have to tear out all the front cabinetry, TV, etc. SO my plan is to just tape over the upper molding and then water test it to make sure that leak is coming from there before creating a lot more work for myself.

[J-Rooster]

I have a 04 Winnebago with the same problem this past summer! The heat of the Southwest finally shrunk my windshield seals which caused a leak. I had Novus take the old seals off and inspect my entire windshield assembly! Novus found that I had a lower windshield frame rusting out. Novus didn't want to do anything with both split windshields since they are glued in from the factory. Trying to move a glued in windshield according to Novus would most likely (90% of the time) cause the windshield to break. The rusty bracket was still holding so I took a chance and had Novus reseal the windshield put in new moldings and of course they caulked everything. It worked they fixed the leak and just charged $100.00 Next time my windshield leaks,or is broken or cracked I'm going to have new windshield frame installed along with new windshields. In the mean time I bought a dehumidifier that I place between the split windshields when I'm not driving and that little machine is the best investment I have bought for my coach. I empty it once a week 3 to 4 inches of water that is not going down into my windshield assembly. When I'm in Arizona during the winter I do not run the dehumidifier due to the humidity in Arizona is 8%. Anywhere else I go when RVing that little machine is on 24/7.

[spotrot]

Excellent info re the window frame and rust. Thank you all.

Even if the current leak is from the running light, I'll still check the windshield frame, POR 15 where needed, and bend the tabs down.