T4 Trident hi-top/windscreen joint is failing

Hi all,

New member here, loving our T4 Trident.

Although not leaking (yet) the join where the fibreglass hi-top joins the windscreen is in a sorry state.
Now that I've taken some pics for here I will attempt to slow the decay but it is in desperate need of expert TLC.

Does anyone know of a body shop which specializes in this kind of work? Or at least has some experience of it?

Thanks in anticipation

Dave

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Basically Dave any decent bodyshop should mange this ...
Windscreen out attend to rust and repaint windscreen back in with new seal !

Good luck Gray

Hi Gray B and thanks for the reply.

I just wondered if anyone had any experience of having this fairly major work done by a specialist in this type of work.
It seems that maybe I am unlucky that mine has started to go seeing as I can find no mention of anything similar on the site.

As it happens I live in Bournemouth and there is an excellent body shop between Poole and Wareham, TrickettWeldingLtd.co.uk.
I have used them before and found them to be absolutely first class. I plan to take it there.

Dave

I had the screen surround rot away on our Duetto along the bottom and the near side. The biggest issue was the time taken to strip the interior before starting work. Had it been at cill or a wing to repair it would have been a quarter the price. 
Being a motorhome there’s a lot more to remove on the inside like insulation, trim or furniture.
A friend of mine that’s a welder showed me a camper van that some one had tried to weld on the cheap and nearly burn it out by not stripping the interior properly. My friend was asked to finish the job. The owner nearly fell over when it was explained what needed removing from the interior. 
Sorry to spread gloom and doom but I thought it best to say something. I hope you get it sorted.

I'm fairly certain that there was a thread here a few years back in which someone described a similar problem, and how they fixed it - including photos. It was probably in the "Classic Models" section, and a forum search may find it.

Essentially, for a high-top van, it divides into two cases: If the rust has damaged the screen recess but has not yet gone under the join with the high-top, it should be possible to remove the windscreen, treat the rust (which may involve chopping out and welding back metal), spray and then put the screen back.

If the rust has crept up under the joint with the high-top and you want a longer-term solution rather than a short-term bodge, then you really have no choice but to remove the high-top - which is what was done in the thread I refer to.

Thanks Dave & Roopert,

I have found searching the forum using different filter words very enlightening, I hadn't appreciated quite how much is on here.

I'll post my progress.

Hi all. 

Since Feb we have taken the plunge and had this significant leak attended to by [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] of Poole. 
True to form the problem was greater than originally feared, mainly due to an earlier "repair" involving the use of body filler and expanding builder's foam. The latter which had soaked up and held water and ensured the total rotting of about 6" of the original steel roof where it disappears under the glass top and essentially forming the floor of the over-cab locker.
To cut a long story short Tricketts were a one-stop shop, remaking the hardtop/windscreen join as well as all of the intricate welding work. We took advantage of their open invitation to drop in at any time to see the work in progress.
A couple of months down the line and we are out and about in the van as God intended and no longer worry when the heavens open.

Enjoy a small selection of the photos!

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Wow - it must take some nerve to chop into a high top like that! In my opinion worth it on a T4-based conversion though - base vehicle build quality was good and parts should be available for a long time yet, so it should have many more years on the road, hopefully.

We were lucky with our Duetto only having rotten meatal on the door pillars and the scuttle. Having said that the rest of the rotten metal made up for that.
Enjoy youre travels, it ill be worth the wait.

I do hope it'll be worth it but I'm still reeling at the realisation that what rust can't destroy, phasing out of E5 petrol in 5 years might! I live in hope that E5 will in fact be available for longer than 5 years, or additives will become available, or kits of replacements for the incompatible components will be available.

A very helpful thread, thank you all. I have a similar problem with our T4 Trophy, which now lets water in above the windscreen when driving in heavy rain. I had expected to be able to leave it with Junction 21 later this month, but they've gone bust. I was just wondering if anyone has any body repair recommendations up North, ideally Sheffield to Leeds sort of area.
Thanks for any suggestions, Richard

The work on our Duetto was done by DMR between Doncaster and Bawtry. They were very thorough and kept me informed with what they had found and progress of repairs. Considering the amount they did I thought the price was reasonable and gave us another three years travels without any leaks.

Thanks very much for that, I'll give them a call

Thanks for this! Our T4 Trident (2002) is starting to rust in exactly the same place, I will take it into a body shop this winter!

Hello. We have just noticed our 1993 Trident has started to leak through the winscreen join to the roof section. Could you give an idea of how much it cost to fix yours please? Looks like a good job. Thanks.

mdavesimon wrote:I do hope it'll be worth it but I'm still reeling at the realisation that what rust can't destroy, phasing out of E5 petrol in 5 years might! I live in hope that E5 will in fact be available for longer than 5 years, or additives will become available, or kits of replacements for the incompatible components will be available.

According to this and other E10 will do it no harm....You will, however use more of it......

E 10 petrol - VW T4 Forum

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28 Jun 2021 — It'll be fine. E10 has been in use in other countries for years. There are very few engines that are incompatible and curiously they tend to be ..

Thanks @mdavesimon for the reply. Have taken it to a local restorer who reckons he can fix the rust round the windscreen. We will need to arrange to have it removed and he said it might crack… Will get it done as dont want a leaky van. Will post on forum how it goes. Taking in it mid feb. Cheers.

Good luck jima007. Our screen already had a bad chip so we had it replaced as part of the job. We had a tinted screen fitted which is more comfortable in the sun than a clear glass one.