LDV Van Conversion - The problems with the cab floor
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While taking out the seats to fit the new ones, we found the carpet soggy and (starting from the passenger side) a soaking floor, but over nice clean paint (Chloe evidently started life two toned). In fact the water was pooling on the floor. So all the matting had to come out (be warned, it is VERY heavy when sodden) and that showed that the drivers side was much worse with some surface rust problems, but also an area under the drivers seat that had already had a patch welded some time ago and was now rusting again.
Having dragged the heavy mat out to drain (as against dry - that is once it has dripped out most of its water, in the dim distant future or so it seems right now), we could see that it is all fixable, but where is the water coming from? Back to the SBMCC site and I find reports of other LDV Convoys with the same problems. It seems that water comes in from the door hinges or windscreen or wipers or somewhere. I suppose it is nice to know that we are not unique, but still another bit of bad news.
I cleaned it all up, primed and painted the entire floor with Hammerite. Now we need some fine weather to dry and harden it and then some rain source the leaks. Meanwhile the mats are on the drive, slowly drying out (I hope).
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It took 2 weeks to dry the mat, including a dance to squeeze out the water onto newspaper. Having got some rain, we could see that the water was coming in somehow around the windscreen. Not a staggering discovery as the seal is pretty broken. So I sealed it all up with a filler and await some more rain. It is odd how one day you want sun, the next rain, then more sun, more rain etc etc.
In fact we reckoned we had it all sorted, and even with oodles of water from a hose it was dry, but a simple step of washing the bonnet, got the floor wet again, so it is not solved. I think we'll try getting a new windscreen rubber from Autoglass.
But in an effort to make progress I did some more sealing on the bottom of the windscreen. In practice I seem to need some nice fine weather to dry it all, then some heavy rain to tell what is happening, then dry again ad infinitum. having reduced, but not eliminated the leaks, I proceeded to tape plastic backs over various possible holes to try and find what bit was left. It all takes an age if you get just fine weather or just wet weather.
In addition, I have found that the side door leaks when the weather is heavy. It doesn't quite fit at the top and back. I adjusted the front Ok, but the back just clips onto the door and adjusting it in just means that the door doesn't shut. I moved it in and did all the other adjustments as best possible and the leaks reduced, but more work needed yet. I rather suspect that the door is mis-shapen, maybe as a result of a knock.
But yippee, with advice from the lovely SBMCC folk, I wedged the base of the door, climbed up a ladder and shoved to bend it back to a better shape. So seems like no more leaks here
Finally in March, I decided that I had sealed everything I could find, greased the wipers and the leaks in the cab had either stopped or been reduced to manageable amounts. I replaced the mats and seats and hope the newspaper under the mats stays dry.
I added a piece of plastic over the sliding door, as below, partly to deter leaks, but mostly to stop drips down the body when the door was open. In the pictures, you can hardly see anything, which is what I intended - works, but unobtrusive!
Having done all this, and got insured, we had a stone thrown at the windscren and so now need to replace this, so a new rubber needed anyway.
