Leaky fiberglass...Leer cap leaking water in the center...

So I have an older used Leer 100R cap I bought off Craigslist. It has some road/weather/age pocks/pinhole size over the roof a bit. I know it needs a good coat of wax/sealant, but the holes are all adding up and it's leaking in the middle of the cap on the inside. Not leaking enough to drip yet, but it looks like when you get a leak in the office ceiling tiles. It's got a brown water stain and it looks wet when it's raining outside or I wash it. Any ideas how to seal or fix the inside of the fiberglass roof? Thanks all.

 

on the top? clear silicon will fix it right up. press hard from inside to drive it into the fibers and voids causing the leak. Clean the outside also.

 

So just smear it around on the inside of the cap roof where it's got the leak stain? It's almost like its just seeping through. Like the middle of the cap is like a coffee filter. lol.

 

Pics would help. Sounds like this cap does not have the interior carpet lining?

 

That's not what I was envisioning at all. Disregard my previous advise.

Has to be cracks or pinholes on the outside. Maybe not even right above it. could be quite a ways from the staining.

 

Welllll....fart.

 

Flex Seal Bro

 

Hey I like that idea. AS SEEN ON TV!

 

Try about 2 or 3 good coats of wax, and see what happens from there...

 

the problem with sealing the inside is you didnt fix the problem.

Water will still be getting into the voids in the fiberglass. The voids will only get bigger due to vibrations. Then more water will fill the voids, eventually getting through to the indside. Now comes the fun part. freezing. a few freeze and thaw cycles will do nasty things to that fiberglass

 

Wow. Uh. Well, it's impossible to tell with all the rain drops in the pic. Possible the previous owner loaded heavy shit on top and cracked the gel coat or worse. You'll really need to get it dry and take a good look at the outside surface using different sources and angles of light.

As other said it may be migrating from somewhere else. That raised area (looking from inside) is basically a cellulose (cardboard) honeycomb reinforcement layered into the glass. Other than an outright crack from above from loading abuse, the most common source of roof top leaks would be a failed gasket/seal around the third brake light housing, which is easy to fix suing cork or rubber, plus silicon sealant. It could be somewhat feasible this is your case, but seems odd it would wick that far forward. I made a new gasket for mine and then caulked this shit out of it.

 

Just bought a new brake light today so will be replacing that and sealing it.

 

my light didnt work when I bought the truck. Judging by the previous installers sealing job, I bet it leaked quite a bit.

my wife seals airplane wings, she sealed my new light. guaranteed no leaks, no matter how fast or high i go

 

How to tell if your 3rd light gasket is the source LOL:


This was my old gasket.



Working with stuff I had on hand (neoprene I had was too thick, but this cork did the trick)


After reinstalling, I applied a generous bead of silicon to the exterior perimeter. Hasn't leaked in 2 years of very rainy winters mixed with very hot summers.

 

When you gently push on the center do you hear cracking sounds? You've most likely got damaged gel coating with micro-cracking. You need to redo the gel coating. There are plenty of tutorials on how to do this on marine (boat) sites.

 

Super appreciate all of the advice fellow Tacoma fans. I'll get her fixed up and let you know what works.

 

It is leaking from the outside, not the inside! The top needs to be painted and repaired. The Leer uses a piece of ply in the top which will rot out if wet for long. Then the whole interior liner may fall down.

I would consider maybe a truck bed liner or similar on the top like Durabak. Or refinish and prep the top and paint.

 

Honestly that would probably work pretty well and be the easiest thing. It won't have quite the strength that a proper fiberglassing will but it's not like you should be loading it up after this anyways. They also make an elastomeric paint for re-coating RV roofs but that would work to seal it but probably look pretty ghetto. Otherwise it's sand, re-apply gelcoating with a microfiller, then repaint. I've had to repair a couple of VW Westy tops and helped a few friends with their boats in the past. It's not hard, just a time consuming PITA. Wear gloves and use a respirator, not just a dust mask, when messing with the chemicals.

 

Ive got one doing the extract same thing. How did you fix it?