Advice please

[Gagakev]

After washing the van today I had water coming in from the offside wheel arch/lower skirt awning rail area, I need to remove the plastic wheel arch first to investigate then possibly the rail, the problem is how do I remove the plastic caps on the top side of the arch,and what type of fixing is under there? the rail I dont have a problem with, are the caps re-useable?

The cap is shown in the photo

A differant veiw

As the leak is on the offside there are no vents for the water to enter the van, any ideas folks.
By the way the van is Fleetwood Sonata 2010

 

[Damian]

The retainers shown on your pictures are two stage plastic rivets.
The centre should push out, preferably from under the arch, but can be done from above, this will allow th eclaws on the rivet to close up as you carefully prise it out.

 

[Sproket]

Kev !
This is how they work / clamp together

 

[Gagakev]

Thanks Chaps, guess what I'm doing tomorrow

 

[Brum1]

Kevin.
Surely this is covered under warranty, get back to your supplier to get a free repair.

 

[Gagakev]

Kevin.
Surely this is covered under warranty, get back to your supplier to get a free repair.

Brum, got the van second hand just over 12 months ago the van is 2008 model and the warranty was for 6 months.
Didnt actually do it over the weekend as we are away from this Thursday and didnt want it in bits to dissapoint the grandson.
So hopefully will do it on my return early next week , before Stowfolot. I'm hoping it will be a case of just re-newing sealant etc and luckily I still have some left over from the other van.

 

[forestgump]

the inside walls off the aeches should be insulated so this may make the leak a bit harder to find

 

[Gagakev]

Thanks Forest you ole croc, had a quick peep under the arch earlier when checking tyre pressures for tomorrow (off to one of your haunts River dart Country Park, 3 nights) and yes it looks well insulated and it does'nt help when the inside is covered as well, oh well always up for a challenge.

 

[Sproket]

Have you got a video camera , either on your phone or a small camera ?

Can you position it so that it will film the area that you suspect to be leaking whilst playing the hose on the side of the van ? you might get a better idea of where to look then & it might save lot of time.......

Or could you be inside watching whilst someone else plays the hose on the side ?

You don't happen to have a window near-by to the suspect area that was not sealing properly ?

 

[Gagakev]

Hi Sprocket, there are no windows in the vacinity of the wheel arch and after looking inside the water was coming from the rear of the arch so on that scenario I,m 50% there, the van is fitted with vinyl flooring so it was easier to detect, so investigation is the only way to go.