Yet another roof leak

[Redcup]

I replaced the third brake light gasket when I noticed this a month ago. It got this wet from sitting overnight in the rain. The roof also has brackets that were poorly installed using bolts and fender washers through drilled holes. I have since redone all the mounts using rivnuts and sealing washers. No leaks except this corner. I redid this corner using urethane with the rivnuts and liquid ptfe tape on the bolt threads. Is it possible this mount is still leaking or could it be the third brake light still?

 

[SitKneelBend]

I replaced the third brake light gasket when I noticed this a month ago. It got this wet from sitting overnight in the rain. The roof also has brackets that were poorly installed using bolts and fender washers through drilled holes. I have since redone all the mounts using rivnuts and sealing washers. No leaks except this corner. I redid this corner using urethane with the rivnuts and liquid ptfe tape on the bolt threads. Is it possible this mount is still leaking or could it be the third brake light still?

Best way to find out is to get the roof really wet and inspect for water intrusion point unfortunately...you might be able to tell now if the rain event was relatively recent. I'd drop the whole back headliner by removing the C-Pillars and garment hangars.

 

[markabby]

clear rtv silicone sealant should stop it better than a gasket...once you find the leak

 

[bigdodge]

Use butyl rope on the third brake light and rule that out. I had water coming in the roof seam and travel to the back of the cab. Under the molding that seem is welded and can have pin holes. The paint will crack in that area and let water through. I hand to seal that seam to stop my leak.

 

[Redcup]

I have off this weekend and it is supposed to be nice. So I will follow all y'alls suggestions and hope that I can figure out the leak and it's not serious.

 

[Blackhawk2014]

I discovered cracks in the welds under the roof strips at the back of my cab and it caused leaks in those spots. Might be a good place to check

 

[bigdodge]

I discovered cracks in the welds under the roof strips at the back of my cab and it caused leaks in those spots. Might be a good place to check

Yup. I think this is way more common than people think.

 

[Redcup]

I discovered cracks in the welds under the roof strips at the back of my cab and it caused leaks in those spots. Might be a good place to check

I did discover a couple small cracks on the side where the one roof bracket was terribly installed. The hole that was drilled off center was also reamed out to over an half inch. When I removed the bracket there was water under it. So took a paint stripper wheel and got it to the bare metal, flattened the spurs from the hole, and cleaned the area with a couple small cracks. Then I bought some white 3M Seam Sealer and sealing expanding foam. I used the foam to seal the back side and make a base for the seam sealer by filling the hole. I know expanding foam is bad but the way this hole was body putty with a screen wouldn't work. I then laid a nice base layer of the seam sealer, mounted the bracket so that the big hole was in the middle of it (the bracket was a bridge) and carefully placed seam sealer around the bracket and covered the cracks. Then laid the weather stripping back down. I think this leak is fixed. I'll know today as my area is expecting snow showers. Yeah I'm no body shop and really didn't know what I was doing but other than having a shop do it for me I feel this was a good solution. Plus with the 3M stuff being white you can't even tell that it's there unless you get up close to it. And this could have all been avoided if the installer that did the roof rack (previous owner) took his or her time. Attached is a photo of the hole when I first removed the bracket. And no I didn't yank it out. It was being held on with a huge fender washer and bolt. The installer also gobbed the bracket with rtv to "fix it". And the truck the day I bought it. Little did I know I what I was in store for over the next 3 months!

 

[Jas34]

A little late to the party, but if you're still looking for leaks, here's how to make it easy on yourself. Put the blower on high drawing air from outside (ie, not on recirc). Close all the windows. Soap up the suspect areas outside with soapy water and it will blow bubbles at all the leak points.

One caveat. To get the pressure to build inside you may have to remove the rear seat back and seal the vents behind it with pieces of cardboard and tape so they don't vent the pressure.

Works every time.