- Nova Link SL Elastomeric Self Leveling Sealant
- Looking down at the front cowl seam, Nova Link flowed nicely into the seam all across the cowl
- Drain hole with Nova Link SL forming a nice lip to keep water from puddling Additional drain holes were probably not factory, but they do help is getting water out of the cowl
- Driver's side floor panel showing water damage
- 2 coats of Rustoleum just for extra protection, used gray just for a change over black
- Dry on Passenger side
- Looking very nice and all ready for sound barrier, new carpet and reupholstered bench seat
I had four areas of leaks that was allowing water to rundown the fire wall and make a truck pool out of the Dude. I discovered; a hole inside behind the factory seam seal in the drivers side cab corner just below drain hole, cleaned and reapplied seam seal in the corner and that one was history. Now only the ones I could not see were left and from the posts I read, the cowl seam was the problem.
Having read posts on fixing cowl leaks, I was well beyond the point to access it by removing the dash. So I thought a product I used on my driveway to fill the seams to keep the water away thus preventing winter heave and cracks. That product manufactured by Chem Link is Nova Link SL Elastomeric Sealant; it is self leveling, latex based, does not harden, crack, flake, peel, rot, or anything that normal sealant or calk would do. I have had on my driveway since 2000 and it still is doing what it was supposed to do and withstanding extreme temperature swings (coldest winter in Michigan in the past 100 years in 2014-15) and keeping water out of the seams. You can find their full product line at http://www.chemlink.com/; cost per tube is around $16. So I figured I would give it a try on the cowl.
From my usage history, Nova Link is self leveling I believed if I could get the product along the cowl seam, it would do what it was supposed to, seal the holes and keep the water out of my cab. I was hoping that the holes were small enough that Nova Link would not just flow out, because if they were larger than pin size, I would have to get a backing on the seam otherwise the Nova Link would just ooze right through. Because you cannot really see the area at the ends of the cowl, I had a light up in the vent and a blanket over my head and the cowl so I could see as best I could to get the cowl seam covered with sealant. I used a 3/8"" heater hose that was 18 inches long so I could start at the far end of the cowl near the vent and and pump the Nova Seal along the cowl seam as a pulled the hose back toward the center of the cowl. Then reposition and do the passenger side. In theory I was ready, but there were three things I discovered, one this is two person job, two - use a hose clamp to secure the 3/8" hose to the end of the sealant tube for application, and three - neatness counts. I did not have 2 people, the hose came off during my process as you can see from the dribbles of product in the cowl so I failed on neatness counts too. I was going to try and cleanup the dribbles but I chose not to mess with the product because if you touch it, you create voids and it gets on everything. I felt like the Cat in the Hat, I had sealant everywhere already so I did not want mess up the flow on the seam so I just left the dribbles. I was more worried about the sealant finger prints on my new paint job, sealant was leaking, the hose came off, words were being said, and it was a general mess. In the end I decided I will just fog the cowl with some black satin and it will look fine when some pulls off the cowl panel and looks down there.
I did tape around and below each drain hole and masked with paper to catch any overflow because of Nova Link self leveling free flowing property and it came right out of the drain holes like lava flowing. Benefit was that it created a nice lip inside and around the drain hole like a lava tube so water doesn't seem to get down to the vent corner now. Bonus!
The product skins to the touch in about 3 hours and I let it set overnight before the big test. I put the water hose in the cowl and turned it on and did the victory dance! No leaks, no drips, no more truck pool!!
The former owner had put 2 patch floor panels in but never fixed the problem of the leaks because when I took out the flooring, the jute backing was soaked like a sponge and the driver side galvanized patch had rusted on the surface. Now that the leaks have been tamed, I prepared the cab flooring using 2 coats of gray Rustoleum for its new sound barrier overlay from LMC, Part# 56-7146 SOUND DEADENER KIT $49 and new carpet kit from Stock Interiors - http://www.stockinteriors.com/ - Item 689 - Black loop with extra sound and heater jute padding, a bargain for $129.
I am so happy that this situation is finally behind me and I thank all those that posts helped me piece together the possible areas of concern in the window gasket and cowl so I could be victorious over the water that was winning
Take care.
Rick Mansberger
EL Dude
1970 D-100 Sweptline
(closer now to being back on the road)
