Question on weatherstrip/seal/gasket

[Millennium Falcon]

Hello,

I'm a new member...although I've been stalking the site for awhile now. I promise I'll properly introduce myself (and my B190) as soon as I figure my first issue out, as I've been doing some repairs since I bought it a week ago.

So, the first problem I've hit that I haven't been able to solve is the all rubber weatherstrip/seal/gasket that's on the window in the front loft area above the cab. It's an L shaped wrap around. Appears that it was replaced with a improperly fitted locking gasket...as it was smeared with at least three different kinds of silicone. The rotted wood beneath the pullout bed I rebuilt is also a good sign that this gasket was the wrong type of gasket. After some research, it appears that the (wrong) gasket used was a 1/8" body side and 1/4" glass side gasket. From my measurements the proper sizing should be both 1/8" glass (plexiglass), and 1/8" body side (fiberglass). So, my question is, has anyone successfully replaced these gaskets or strips? And where can I get them?

Thanks!
Jim

[Tucsonan]

Hi Jim,

BTW awesome handle, ...I'm a big StarWars fan!

You may have to dig, but I remember a post sometime back where someone broke and replaced that window. If you find it, ask them about the gasket. I'm sure they had to replace it along with the window. Good Luck, and welcome to the club! Rick

[Millennium Falcon]

Haha, me too. Thought of the name when I was driving it back home. Mine's a Ford Falcon B190, made by Intervec.

Looking, but can't seem to pinpoint one with useful info yet. Seems that it's a common issue though...which leads me to believe that I might have to go with Plan B, just pulling the windows and patching the holes up with fiberglass. That should take care of the problem.

[Mgittrich]

Not sure this is what your looking for? Hope this helps.

http://b190.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=44 ... laze#p4623

Mike

[Millennium Falcon]

Thanks, Mike! Sounds like the last poster on that thread has the same window problem...with the "permanent" windows. Was thinking of using some sort of shim or filler to make up for the 1/8" gap, sounds like that butyl tap might work. I'll ask if he was successful. And if that doesn't work, on to Plan B.

[Keystone]

Hi Millennium Falcon Jim,
Not sure what year your van is, but for my 1994 the Airstream part number for the glass (which comes with the gasket) is 195329-167. This you can order from a local certified Airstream Dealer. So, the procedure is to phone the Airstream Dealer with the part number and ask for the cost of just the gasket and have them order that for you if that's all you need. I have a list of the dealers by state if you need it.

I found the cost of the replacement glass breathtaking, so I just had the glass "welded" by a windshield repair service, and it's been holding. Soon enough, I suppose we'll drive into an unyielding tree limb and break the glass altogether, at which point I'll be in your shoes.

Good luck, and welcome to the club!

[Keystone]

Sorry, I see now that yours is similar to, but not an actual Airstream. Looks like you may have a split front window? In any case, my original reply is likely not relevant.

Hi Millennium Falcon Jim,
Not sure what year your van is, but for my 1994 the Airstream part number for the glass (which comes with the gasket) is 195329-167. This you can order from a local certified Airstream Dealer. So, the procedure is to phone the Airstream Dealer with the part number and ask for the cost of just the gasket and have them order that for you if that's all you need. I have a list of the dealers by state if you need it.

I found the cost of the replacement glass breathtaking, so I just had the glass "welded" by a windshield repair service, and it's been holding. Soon enough, I suppose we'll drive into an unyielding tree limb and break the glass altogether, at which point I'll be in your shoes.

Good luck, and welcome to the club!

[Millennium Falcon]

No worries, and thanks. I have a 91 Ford Falcon 190 TBF with the split window. I would have taken a picture but had to tape the hole up and cover it with a tarp since it might rain. I do plan on showing before and after pictures at some point though.

[Alaskan]

On the Airstream that front window is installed with a two-piece rubber that was very common for years in the boat/marine industry.

The rubber is assembled around the opening (the fiberglass) and then the glass is set in from the front side.

The final set is to install the second part of the rubber (a rubber strip)into a grove on the outside. There was a special tool for inserting that rubber piece....as that piece is fit into its grove the rubber tightens onto the glass to form a water-tight seal

There were two other discussions on that upper front window

http://www.b190.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1482

http://www.b190.com/viewtopic.php?f=13& ... 1852#p1852

Here you can see the original window rubber, and you can also just make out the piece in the center of
it that when installed into the other piece tightens the entire system onto the glass....

[lido14co]

Can't help with the gasket but our license plate is OBWAN90. May the force be with you.

[Millennium Falcon]

Lol, that's awesome lido14co!

Thank you Alaskan. Unfortunately I couldn't get my hands on an Airstream B190. My Intervec B190 is really hard to find parts for since Intervec no longer exists. Although, a hand full of the people that worked at Intervec started up another company called Phoenix and still make conversion campers. I called them up to see if they had replacement gaskets, but no joy.

Anyway, I went to an auto glass repair shop to see what they had to say, they have experience with RVs and have a lot of good reviews. They confirmed that Plan B would be the best route. They said they could try and put some kind of gasket it there but that there'd be no guarantee that it'd be leak proof. Said that the design is fundamentally flawed. I would have to agree since it appears there are a lot of people out there with the same issue, and that in later models they no longer incorporated those windows into the design. Covering the holes with fiberglass seems to be the most logical choice.

Oh, another interesting piece of info. The glass repair guy also said that those windows used to be glass in the beginning, but eventually were replaced with plexiglass. Apparently those windows had a problem shattering very easily. And I imagine those all rubber gaskets get a work out with all that force put on them driving down the interstate...and add in UV, heat, and freezing temps...

[Keystone]

Hey Jim
There's a Falcon build over on ExpeditionPortal.com and lots of chatter about weatherstripping. If you haven't already, see the thread called "Boomer the Quadravan 4x4 Camper", O.P. Spencyg. Might be a resource for before you cover over your upper window forever?

[Millennium Falcon]

Hey Keystone,

Checked out the thread, really cool custom build, but wasn't able to find anything relating to my particular issue. Decided to hold off on glassing it over until I exhaust all options. Ideally I'd like to keep the windows. My step dad had an interesting idea, he suggested fabricating some kind of frame for it. Wouldn't be easy, but it would greatly reduce flexing/stress caused by driving down the road. Would provide a solid surface for the weatherstripping and plexiglass to rest on, as opposed to just having an all rubber gasket holding the plexiglass in place. I also have some more questions for y'all, but later... trying to focus on one thing at a time. Doing some more research for now. And any more suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[Alaskan]

Toss in a picture of what you are working on....unless its like this.

Replacements similar to these should be available in the RV industry...

[Millennium Falcon]

la-bestia.jpg (61.34 KiB) Viewed 18892 times

3698816061_0487b3c6ca.jpg (107.71 KiB) Viewed 18892 times

Covered her back up since it's threatening to rain again, and forgot to take pictures. Had her out today for an vehicle inspection. I'll be sure to take pictures before I start working on them, but in the meantime I'll use images from the internets to show you what they look like. The weatherstripping gaskets on mine look much worse and are two piece locking gaskets. The gasket in the image above appear to be a one piece locking gasket. Not sure what type of gasket that is in your image, Alaskan. Looks like the window is offset on that type. I have no problem finding locking gaskets, it's just finding the right kind that will fit my camper's thicknesses, that's the problem. 99.9% of the locking gaskets I've seen don't go down to an 1/8th of an inch on the glass side. I did however, thanks to my MOM, find the only one in existence yesterday, that may just work! Good ol' MOM pointed me in the direction of Vintage Trailer Supply and told me to give that site a try. Sure enough they have a one piece locking gasket that takes windows down to 1/8" thick. Should be coming in a couple days, and hopefully will have it done this weekend. I'll keep you updated.