New Passenger van - Water leak into passenger side B-column

DukeAV

New member
I am in the middle of installing a cabin heater in my brand new passenger van. To avoid any major drilling through the floor, I was going to route the exhaust through an existing opening in the passenger side b-column. After I removed the interior trim from the B-column, I noticed that water was puddled up inside on top of a Styrofoam pad that is sitting in the middle of the column. There seems to be a small leak somewhere from the roof into the column. I was wondering if anyone else has seen this type of issue before.
See the attached picture:The foam pad, on which the water collects, sits right under the larger rectangular opening in the column.
 

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mikesprints

Active member
Most likely one or more of the plugs in the roof where the roof track bolts would be, is/has failed or the gaskets/washers around the roof track bolts themselves seems a good 1st place to look.
 

DukeAV

New member
Thanks for the feedback ! Yes, this was the 1st possible root cause that came to my mind, too. However the last (most forward) bolt of the rail sits about a foot behind the B-column and further inward. In any case, I have painted the bolts with three coatings of rustolium enamel yesterday. Still waiting for the paint to dry completely before I do my next test.
 

DukeAV

New member
Just want to report back that the leak appears to be fixed.
Aside from painting over the roof rail bolts I did one more thing. I took out all screws of the sliding door hardware that is mounted to the b-column and re-installed them with blue locktite.
Not sure which of the two fixed the issue. I am glad I caught this now before any onset of rust.
 

mikesprints

Active member
Tri polymer sealant like Henry 212, or Geocel 2300, both clear is a good choice too. I used it on my sliding door moulding clips. Can be used on ether side, pre or post installation. No acetate's like silicone.
 

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