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A Leak!

February 15, 2011, 08:47:57 am

A pretty heavy rain overnight resulted in a drip, drip leak around the forward AC in our 40ft 1999 U320.  We've been away from the coach for 9 weeks, and it's no longer level (front being lower than rear).  Air pressure is down to 30psi or so.

It appears to be associated with the AC seal to the roof.  I'm told the AC seal needs to be compressed a certain amount and tightening it more now might stop the leak or do something worse.

Ant suggestions appreciated, including someone I cold trust to do this in the SF Bay Area.

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best, paul

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Reply #1 – February 15, 2011, 09:04:42 am

Paul,

Your A/C owners manual should show how to access the 4 bolts that secure the lower unit to the roof-top unit and therefore compress the gasket. 

Do not overtighten. 

And, any shop that works on RV's can replace the roof-top gasket.  They are standard.  With two people, it should not take over 1 hour.

Brett

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Reply #2 – February 15, 2011, 10:03:16 am

And that 1 hour @ local RV shops would be $120.00, plus parts, plus tax.
A case of beer/bottle of Jack Daniels to neighbor to help would be a lot cheaper.
Not rocket science you know

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Reply #3 – February 15, 2011, 10:18:43 am

Paul, 

I had the same thing last summer on my rear A/C.  I was expecting a major recaulking job.  Unlike Brett, I STILL have not learned to read the owner's manual first.  I started taking things apart and raised the A/C unit off the top of the motorhome to access what I expected to be old cracked caulking.  Instead I found a nice neat compression seal.  So I put everything back together, tightened the four hold-down bolts (as the manual instructed) and it has been leak free ever since. 

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Reply #4 – February 15, 2011, 11:12:23 am

Paul,
Back last summer I also had an issue with a A/C roof gasket leak. I followed the Duo-Therm installation instructions, which was to EVENLY tighten the bolts to 40-50 inch pounds. After restarting the A/C I found that the blower was rubbing on the housing. This was apparently due to distorting the unit as a result of the roof curve. I backed off the bolts entirely and re torqued to 30 inch pounds. The rub was gone and thus far so has the leak.

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Reply #5 – February 15, 2011, 11:20:34 am

Bill,
Now that you have established your "project rate" do you have some free time next month?

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Reply #6 – February 15, 2011, 01:22:04 pm

I'll chime in that if tightening doesn't do the trick, installing new gaskets is pretty easy. Just place a rubber pad or some other type of protection in front of the unit on the roof and tilt it forward after removing the anchor bolts from inside the coach and unplugging all electrical connections. Scrape off the old gasket and clean both the roof and the base of the A/C with denatured alcohol. Install new gasket and base cushion where the old one came off and tilt the A/C back in place. That's about it.

If the coach is 10 years old or older, its not a bad idea to replace the gaskets. The more you tighten the old ones, the more the gasket is compressed and the more vibration and noise you will get in the coach.

Also, don't go cheap on the gasket. The better gaskets use higher density foam and include the cushion for the overhang of the A/C base. I bought my first one from ebay and the second two from FOT.  The FOT gaskets were much better.

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Reply #7 – February 15, 2011, 07:14:58 pm

If you were in an open area and the wind was blowing the rain sideways to either side of the coach (not head on) then the evaporative pan probably got filled with rain water and dripped down inside the plenum area. Not much you can do about that problem other than covering the AC with a canvas cover or parking headed into the wind. Based on the way that Foretravel put down both of my AC units, I doubt that the seals will ever leak, EVER. If anyone has replaced their AC unit, I am sure they will chime in and describe the difficulty in removing a Foretravel installed AC. With the wind, it will happen but, not very often.

Regards,
Jon Twork

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Reply #8 – February 15, 2011, 07:36:57 pm

Hi Paul,
  If our 1997 U 320 is parked with the front end slightly lower than the rear, heavy rain, strong wind from the rear, our front air will leak a small amount. It also leaves a dirty stain on the ceiling material. I thought the rear would also leak. It never does. It has happened twice, same place, same nasty weather.

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Reply #9 – February 16, 2011, 01:20:40 am

My rear Duo-Therm Penguin leaked once or twice while it was in storage.  It didn't come in under the gasket.  I think it was from a crack in the plastic cover as it hasn't leaked since I replaced the cover. The leak was near the switch on the front. The front ac is a Coleman and it hasn't leaked, but it makes a lot of noise.  It is as old as the coach and has a piston compressor that is probably about worn out.  The Penquin is newer and has a rotary compressor that is quieter.

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