I had seen the PVC trick a while back. I didn't have any lying around,
so I went with the rope. Good one to remember though.

Thanks guys,

Neil.

On 1/21/08, Jim Felder <jim.felder@gmail.com> wrote:
> Scott,
> I've seen the PVC pipe trick you describe and I want to point out other
> features:
>
> You don't have to keep them handy, they are always there, surrounding the
> pistons and ready to be popped into place when needed, and they are very
> handy when you want to support additional weight that the pistons can't
> handle, like a bicycle or two.
>
> Jim
>
> On Jan 21, 2008 3:54 PM, Scott Daniel - Shazam <scottdaniel@turbovans.com>
> wrote:
>
> > I'm very impressed jim, very astute and thorough.
> > I'm a nut about cleaning door gaskets and leaves n' junk out of places,
> > but
> > I've been wondering how water got INSIDE the rear hatch door.
> >
> > I wasn't going to comment even, but wanted to add about a nice little
> > trick
> > for shot rear hatch struts. You get a piece of white pvc pipe from the
> > hardware store, about 10 inches long, that stuff that's about in inch
> > outside dia.
> > Then you undo the 'rod' end of one strut, put the pvc pipe over it,
> > connect
> > the rod back........
> > * and lube those pivot points !* ...........and when you open the hatch,
> > the
> > piece of pipe falls into place and locks the strut in the extended
> > position.
> >
> > After you try to close it a few times forgetting to lift up the piece of
> > pvc
> > a bit........you remember, and from then on you just open the hatch, it
> > stays put, and you just have to reach up and 'release' the pipe to close
> > the
> > hatch.
> > A perfect 50 cent improvement/upgrade/repair.
> > Scott
> > www.turbovans.com
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> > Jim Felder
> > Sent: Monday, January 21, 2008 1:27 PM
> > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> > Subject: Re: Rear hatch leaking water into my Westy?
> >
> > In my experience, there are two places you should look.
> > Open your hatch (or prop it open in your case... don't forget the
> > time-honored method of clamping a small pair of vice-grips on the rod
> > where
> > you want the piston to stop, but just be sure your pistons are already
> > shot
> > if you use this approach) and get a scrubber and clean the surface of the
> > rubber seal where it goes across the top of the hatch opening inside. Now,
> > clean the painted surface of the top where the seal mates to it when the
> > hatch is closed. It takes surprisingly little dirt in this area to cause a
> > leak. Clean out the "tray" up in the body recess above the seal while
> > you're
> > at it, all those leaves and sticks you never see don't help.
> >
> > Second, check to see if your rear window seal has a joint at the bottom
> > center like my 83 does. If there's a gap there, you will definitely wet
> > your
> > mattress... I've watched it happen. Go get some black silicone sealer and
> > masking tape. Mask the top and bottom edges of the seal and squirt in the
> > sealant. Come back in about an hour when the sealant isn't gooey anymore
> > and
> > remove the tape. You may have to cut with a razor blade against the glass
> > to
> > get a nice edge to the sealant.
> >
> > Jim
> >
> > On Jan 21, 2008 2:50 PM, Kim Brennan <kimbrennan@mac.com> wrote:
> >
> > > The rear hatch window seal, like your front window seal can start to
> > > leak. It's one possibility.
> > >
> > > On Jan 21, 2008, at 3:26 PM, neil N wrote:
> > >
> > > > Hi all.
> > > >
> > > > Last week I opened the rear hatch and found it would close part way on
> > > > its' own. ?? I put in new supports just over a year ago. Shouldn't
> > > > happen I thought.....
> > > >
> > > > My theory is that water gathered and froze, adding extra weight. Today
> > > > in warm sun, water ran out of bottom of hatch and it functions as it
> > > > used to. Mystery solved. But rear matresses are kind of wet. Water is
> > > > getting into van.
> > > >
> > > > My Westy is parked on an incline with rear end pointed downhill.
> > > > Recently weather has been cold.
> > > >
> > > > Where are the typical water leaks points on the rear hatch?
> > > >
> > > > Water normally gathers in rear hatch bottom and drains out when opened
> > > > when parked on incline. Is this normal?
> > > >
> > > > IF it isn't a water leak, could it be that with a frozen chunk o ice
> > > > at the bottom of the hatch, any "new" water coming in would overflow
> > > > into/onto the rear?
> > > >
> > > > TIA, and hope my questions make sense!
> > > >
> > > > Neil.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > --
> > > > Neil Nicholson. 1981 Air Cooled Westfalia - "Jaco"
> > > > http://web.mac.com/tubaneil
> > > >
> > > > Engine swap beginings: http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/
> > >
> >
> >
>

--
Neil Nicholson. 1981 Air Cooled Westfalia - "Jaco"
http://web.mac.com/tubaneil

Engine swap beginings: http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/