92'1stGen

I've attached a few pictures of the drip rail on my truck. Not to bad really, the worst is just some surface rust on the parts that run above the windshield. In the pictures you'll notice some cracking in those areas as well, any idea what that is? Is it paint? Is it some kind of sealant from the factory? The way I was figuring on fix all this was basically going over the entire inside of the drip rail with a wire wheel to remove the rust and old paint. Then, go back over it with a rust prohibiting primer and multiple coats of a blue similar to the original color. How's that plan sound? Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.

Crossy's son

That is the sealant that's cracked.

My dad's theory is the Diesel rattles the truck so more much, the sealant cracks, allows water and other junk in the roof, and that's what rots out the gutter on the front.

I have NEVER seen a gas truck with the roof rot, and the sealant is never cracked either. weird

Douglas2

heh-heh-heh...he's not looking very hard I think. I have a rusty '91 that should get a nice gasser set of sheet metal and rest assured there are *PLENTY* of gassers with rust above the windshield.

IMO it can not be fixed. It can be helped; remove the windshield, with a stiff wire wheel remove what rust you can, treat with phosphoric acid and etching primer and you'll buy a bit ov time.
cheers,
Douglas

oilcan64

it can be fixed, if you cut the entire outer and middle panel off like i did and weld new in. and just backing what you said there are plenty of gassers around here that are rotted along the drip rail...my patch panel came off a gasser and the spot where they all rott out had no primer on it, just bare metal, that would explain why, moisture between the roof panels causes the bare metal to rust away haha. i wish i coulda bought one of these trucks brand new.

Crossy's son

I am not saying gas trucks with rotted roofs don't exist' BUT out of the 30 1st gens we've had, 7 or 8 were gas and none of them were rotted but almost every diesel was rotted. i think the diesel causes pre mature failure of the sealant

thrashingcows

I think the diesel roofs rot more often simply due to the amount of miles...and therefore wear and tear the have to endure.

92'1stGen

So am I going to have problems if I run the wire wheel over the cracking sealant to clean it up, and then lay some fresh primer and paint on it? It isn't leaking right now but I certainly don't want to cause it to start.

Trebor

I have a gasser cab here with a rotted through roof. I think it's an 83 model.

I believe 3M sold a "gutter sealer" which BTW was also used by GM in the 60's. It came in a tooth paste type tube. Eastwood may also sell something that will work.

squarenose

Just curious, Has anyone ever just shaved the gutter totally off, Can it be done? I think it would be a clean look!! I would like to do it anyways

thrashingcows

I just had my front windshield redone...the old gasket was hard as a rock and damaged and leaked like a sieve!!. So I pulled the front window and gasket and wanted to clean up "under" the front drip rail. Had a little surface rust so I broke out the twisted wire wheel on the angle grinder and started cleaning it up. Worked very well. Then I primed with a zinc based primer, then a few coats of rust inhibiting paint and I was done.

SO I would say go ahead with your wire wheel and clean it up as best you can. I know I'll be doing my inner drip rail, like yours soon. And I don't plan on installing and sealer over it when I'm done.

92'1stGen

Thanks, sounds good. I may go the windshield removing route too.

packratc

Hope you don't mind if I kinda' revive an old thread. The the other day I was looking at my front drip rail. I've only had this '92 350 a few weeks. It came with only a fair white paint job over its original black. The drip rail white has sort of a crack in the paint which I would imagine is in the sealer. That crack is rust brown which leads me to believe that there might be bad things under it. My plan has been to drive it as it for a couple of years and then put some good paint on it. If necessary I'll weld in a new roof at that time. But, one thing about my truck.It sits down in the front a couple of inches. I think due to wear and tear due to the weight of the Cummings. Therefore, I think water stays in the front drip rail while it would tend to drip out and away if the truck were level. Has anyone tried doing away with the drip rail and welding it up smooth? Has anyone tried drilling drain holes in the lowest part of the rail and letting the wipers take care of the water? I'm just thinking out loud here. I'm a big boy and can take it.Tell me how crazy I am and that I ought to be driving a Subaru. Your welcome for the chuckles. Packratc

sootnsmoke

I had a couple 2 inch spots along the drip rail where I noticed the paint was starting to peal. I just removed the loose paint in those couple areas and sanded the light surface rust underneath down to metal. I applied 2 coats of POR-15 and top coated with an oil based gloss black paint. Cant notice the repair given its location and black color of truck. In my drip rail, there was NO sealant along the entire drip rail anywhere. Only paint and primer in there. A few weeks later I cleaned the entire drip rail thoroughly and applied a 2 coats of synthetic wax all along the drip rail.

Buddy Stewert

I cleaned up the drip rail with a 4 inch wire wheel on the end of a 6 inch grinder.
Epoxy sealed it and then filled the drip rail with 3M5200.
I also had the front glass out to do the same thing.

BCRick

I just had my roof and hood repainted for the usual reasons and there was a little rust just bubbling the paint above the sealant, which cleaned up with a little grinding. I was lucky the PO had the truck under cover for the previous 10 years. After the repaint I pulled the headliner and drilled a few small holes so I could spray rust inhibitor into the trouble area. I used Fluid Film in a spray can. Time will tell.