Help! Rot in Duetto roof! What do I do?

When I bought my 1997 LWB Transit Duetto I looked for rust underneath, but not on top! I've just found two areas of rust in the roof that I'm alarmed about and need advice. The first is above the n/s rear door, in the underside of the door frame (ie: above the door, below the gutter trim). The steel is completely rotted away and I can poke a finger through. The second is above the front passenger door, where the gutter has split, so that water runs down the door, not along the gutter. I presume both these problems are caused by a failure of the join between the high-top (which I assume is fibre-glass), and the steel van body, which has allowed water to become trapped inside a closed steel section and rot. 

Is the brown trim at gutter level cosmetic?  Can it be removed to effect a repair, or is it part of the join? How can I replace rotten steel that is right next to fibre-glass. Any thoughts or advice from anyone who has encountered this problem, or is familiar with the construction of these vehicles, would be very welcome.

Ed Mason

edmason wrote:When I bought my 1997 LWB Transit Duetto I looked for rust underneath, but not on top! I've just found two areas of rust in the roof that I'm alarmed about and need advice. The first is above the n/s rear door, in the underside of the door frame (ie: above the door, below the gutter trim). The steel is completely rotted away and I can poke a finger through. The second is above the front passenger door, where the gutter has split, so that water runs down the door, not along the gutter. I presume both these problems are caused by a failure of the join between the high-top (which I assume is fibre-glass), and the steel van body, which has allowed water to become trapped inside a closed steel section and rot. 

Is the brown trim at gutter level cosmetic?  Can it be removed to effect a repair, or is it part of the join? How can I replace rotten steel that is right next to fibre-glass. Any thoughts or advice from anyone who has encountered this problem, or is familiar with the construction of these vehicles, would be very welcome.

Ed Mason

Hi Ed,
If the rot is not to bad IE small patches I would be tempted to repair it with glassfibre matting & resin. As the rot is up near the roof the steel is probably not structural, so repairing it this way should be ok. cut out the rotten steel back to reveal a hole, then push a new car wash sponge from poundland into the hole..this will give the matting some support while the resin goes off. If the repair is under the trim the repair wont be seen. The way the trims are fitted seem to vary on AS vans, mine is bonded at the front & back of the van but the sides are held on with plastic screws. Im sure if you are carefull you could get the trim off without trashing it. Welding new steel in would be the best option but would require removal of the roof..big job. If you could post some photos some members could probably advise further.

Good luck with it.

Tim