Question About Removing Drip Rail

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bryan hartman

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Jul 27, 2015
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Hello All,

I have been chasing some leaks so I decided to go ahead and try and remove the drip rail and seal the roof-to-body joint underneath (based off the
Jim Bounds video).

I tried to remove the first bolt and the head twisted off with very little pressure. I expected a few issues so I just moved on to the next one...same
thing. I have bad luck so I thought I would try the third just to be sure. At first I thought it was starting to move but I was wrong. It snapped off
too. Before I continue to snap off the heads of the remaining 16 billion bolts I figured I would ask if there might be a better technique. Any
thoughts?

Thanks,
--Bryan
--
1977 Palm Beach
 
> Hello All,
>
> I have been chasing some leaks so I decided to go ahead and try and remove the drip rail and seal the roof-to-body joint underneath (based off
> the Jim Bounds video).
>
> I tried to remove the first bolt and the head twisted off with very little pressure. I expected a few issues so I just moved on to the next
> one...same thing. I have bad luck so I thought I would try the third just to be sure. At first I thought it was starting to move but I was wrong. It
> snapped off too. Before I continue to snap off the heads of the remaining 16 billion bolts I figured I would ask if there might be a better
> technique. Any thoughts?
>
> Thanks,
> --Bryan

Bryan,

I have no specific experience with this part, but I do have decades of experience with corroded aluminum and fasteners.
I will suggest that you try heating the fastener directly with a soldering iron or gun (not at flame). Let it cool before your next attack. The heat
will expand the fastener and crust the corrosion thereby releasing it. If this is only marginally successful put some ATF in a pump oil can and use
that to cool it after heating. The AFT will be sucked into the joint.

Good Luck.

Matt

--
Matt & Mary Colie - '73 Glacier 23 - Members GMCMI, GMCGL, GMCES
Still Loving OE Rear Drum Brakes with Applied Control Arms
SE Michigan - Twixt A2 and Detroit
 
Thanks. I am not looking forward to hitting each one of those screw heads with a soldering iron...maybe I'll try the heat gun first.
--
1977 Palm Beach
 
Leave the drip rail in place. The joint between the skin and the extrusion(
which is what the screws you are snapping off thread into) is probably fine
as the skin sits over the extrusion and is sealed with butyl. Aside from
that, the only way you can address this joint ither than topically is to
temove the rivets underneath the drip moldings which pin the skin to the
extrusion and then break the epoxy bond between the skin and roof
stringers. This is a huge job with no reward. The end caps of the drip
molding can be easily removed and cover a four sided joint between the roof
skin/sidewall/end cap upper and lower which is a common leak point. Remove
the end caps and fill the cavity you find underneath with a permanently
flexible sealant. If you suspect you still have a leak from the drip
molding verify it first by running water on the roof higher than the drip
molding but lower than any other roof penetrations. If you find that the
drip molding is the leak seal it to the roof with a bead of sealant which
wraps all the way around the ends of the end caps.

Drilling and removing the screws is a huge pain. The factory screws only
penetrate the outer wall of a tubular extrusion. It can be challenging to
drill while not going too deep or falling off the side if the screw into
the softer aluminum which will require modifying the drip molding to make
the holes line up.
After removing one side if mine (and shearing a half dozen or more screws
in the process) and seeing how good the joint looked once the drip molding
was off i did not bother removing the other side.

Sully
77 eleganza 2
Seattle

> Thanks. I am not looking forward to hitting each one of those screw heads
> with a soldering iron...maybe I'll try the heat gun first.
> --
> 1977 Palm Beach
>
> _______________________________________________
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> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
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>
 
I removed and replaced both drip rails when I painted my coach. One side came off clean with no broken screws and the other broke almost all the
screws. Jim Bounds said to grind the stubs off after the rail is off and just shift the rail about 1/4" in either direction and drill new holes. I got
screws from McMaster Carr and drilled the holes just a tad large so I would not break any new ones going in. The info is in a presentation I did for
GMCWS at http://gmcws.org/blog/?p=2981
--
Armand Minnie
Marana, AZ
'76 Eleganza II TZE166V103202
http://www.minniebiz.com
http://www.gmcws.org
 
18 years ago I removed both drip rails without breaking a single screw or
bending a rail. I found the same thing Sully did: It was a total waste of
time. Follow his suggestions.

Ken H.

I removed and replaced both drip rails when I painted my coach. One side
came off clean with no broken screws and the other broke almost all the
screws. Jim Bounds said to grind the stubs off after the rail is off and
just shift the rail about 1/4" in either direction and drill new holes. I
got
screws from McMaster Carr and drilled the holes just a tad large so I would
not break any new ones going in. The info is in a presentation I did for
GMCWS at http://gmcws.org/blog/?p=2981
--
Armand Minnie
Marana, AZ
'76 Eleganza II TZE166V103202
http://www.minniebiz.com
http://www.gmcws.org

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For what it is worth, I removed all of mine (from the driver side) last weekend without breaking one.

A Craftsman hand (hammer) impact with a #2 Phillips bit did the trick.

The screws were not original. So, it may have been easier.

I ran out of time (and dry weather), so I have not removed the rail yet.

The coach is covered with the screw holes temporarily filled with bits of butyl.

It will be disappointing if this work ends up a waste of time.

I was stored indoors for years, so I don't want to take any chances on seam leaks.

--
Dan Wallace
Detroit Metro
1974 Canyon Lands 260
Headers, 3.55, 16"
Floor plan 26-9
 
Many coaches DO need the whole process of removal. My 75 had leaks near the front and rear of both side rails. I will be pulling them completely, but
they were not agreeable when I tried before. The most improvement I got was the lifting of approximately five feet of the driver rail at rear. Found a
hole (from the factory apparently) about the size of a quarter where all the different materials meet. The skin from the roof was not attached to the
extrusion at all (suppposed to be rivets and butyl?) as far as I could lift without bending rail. I got a line of s40 under there. I will need to go
back this summer with Matt's soldering gun heat trick and ATF to try and remove the whole rail. In theory the extrusion doesn't leak through to the
inside, but with non factory screws used for trim and covers on the interior over the years, it only takes one breach to leak.

I used a handheld, hammer type impact driver to remove the screws I could. Knowing the whole thing can move 1/4 inch for new holes is enough of a
backup plan to finish removing the rest, even if they break.
--
1975 Glenbrook, 1978 Royale rear bath
Raleigh, NC
 
Thanks for the info everyone. Sounds like I have two choices:
1. continue with the removal using heat, penetrating oil, a hammer, & screwdriver...hoping I only break a few more
or
2. Seal up the end caps and if the leaks persist from the drip rail, run sealant along the top edge and around the end caps

I think I will start with option 2. How should I deal with the three or four screws that have already snapped off?
--
1977 Palm Beach
 
Bryan,

I saved some time by drilling off (3/16 drill) the screw heads of the stubborn ones.
Then vicegrip atf removed the body of the screws, tap cleaned the threads and used SS flat head torx screws(McMaster-Carr).

Underneath I found some broken roof rivets, and unfilled holes. The work wasn't bad, the reward for me is no more leaks.

Just my small contribution.

--
”When we avoid the mistakes we might have made, we sometimes make the mistakes that we might have avoided.”

Adrien & Jenny Genesoto
75 Glenbrook 26-3
Yuba City,Ca. Text 530-nine-3-three-3-nine-nine-6
 
I found 'Loctite Freeze and release' worked for me with the concentration on the screw it shrinks the screw breaking the corrosion in the
threads.There are other brands that are available and are used a lot in the electronics industry.
Peter Bailey
from Ozy (Aussie)
 
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Applied GMC
Get your shine on at www.cruzingear.co

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