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Does your Avalanche bed leak water?

ces

Full Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2012
Messages
23
Location
S.F. Bay Area
Hey CAFCNA, I got my first AV a month ago. I bought it used from a Chevy dealership.
It's a 2008 LT with about 65k mi.
To my surprise, it's had problems with leaks.

I'll try to make a complicated situation simple...
the bed leaks! :E:
With the tonneau covers on. Correctly in place and latched.
With what looks like good rubber seals.
The bed, covers and rubber molding are stock and in good shape.

After sitting in my level driveway for a few days in some heavy rain,
I went to put something in my bed, and there water back there.
It was only a few cups or so, but enough to render my bed useless for that days task.
I was attempting to load something that I needed to stay dry.

Is this normal? Do these all leak? Does the dealership tell you that when purchased new?
I got a bumper to bumper warranty on my AV so if these beds are supposed to remain dry,
I have a valid claim with service.
If it's common that these are not water tight or get wet inside, then I'm afraid I may be out of luck.

Please advise! :help:
-3-5.jpg

:B: :B: :B:
 
yes .... my 08 leaks way more than my 03 did .....

this is another thing to add to my list of things to fix in the spring ....
 
DJ Payaso said:
mine never leaks thank God or I would have a serious problem.......
:eek: sweet
 
If I remember correctly there is a 'correct' way to lock your bed panels.

1.  Firmly slide panel 1 in place
2.  Lock the left side first, then the right
3.  Repeat for steps for panels 2 and 3

If you still get leaks, then reverse the steps by locking the right side first, then the left on all panels.  You have a 50/50 chance  :laugh:
 
DJ Payaso said:
mine never leaks thank God or I would have a serious problem.......

Now I see why you do not drive it in the rain - I wouldn't trust the seal either if I were you.

CES - you may also want to check to see if the water channel under the top seal is in tact.  In my O7 after I noticed some water in the bed, I found that the gutters/channels on each side of the bed were split down the center.  I thought about replacing them but in another thread duct tape has been used.  I went the black duct tape route and have not had a problem since. 
 

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GHP said:
Now I see why you do not drive it in the rain - I wouldn't trust the seal either if I were you.
I try to check everything from time to time to make sure if I do get stuck in the rain it will drain properly. But as long as its not leaking im almost scared to take the covers off to check thinking I might cause a leak just by taking things apart. 
 
i clean the rubber between the pannels, maybe you can try it
 

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Mine only shows a little water after the high pressure car wash. Never had intrusion from rain or snow, or just hosing it off at home.

Be careful not to ingest too much di-hydrogen monoxide. Causes belching.  :laugh:
 
My 05 has been leaking for years now. So far I have not found a way to stop it. My next attempt will be to take the weather stripping off the bed covers and to re attach them with caulk.
 
I had lots of puddling appearing in the bed and water would always be running down the sides. After looking into the issue I realized that water was collecting under the weatherstripping which would fill up and drop into the bed and also funnel a lot of water onto the channels that would leak around the water channel and onto the sidewalls. So I decided to rip off the weatherstripping from each panel, cleared out the old gunk and then filled with a silicone sealant for windows and doors. Took me all of 15 minutes to do. My bed has been water free since the day I did this, no puddles in the middle and no more leaking on the sides... and that was years ago... As far as I'm concerned, my bed is now waterproof.  ;D
 
GHP said:
Now I see why you do not drive it in the rain - I wouldn't trust the seal either if I were you.

CES - you may also want to check to see if the water channel under the top seal is in tact.  In my O7 after I noticed some water in the bed, I found that the gutters/channels on each side of the bed were split down the center.  I thought about replacing them but in another thread duct tape has been used.  I went the black duct tape route and have not had a problem since. 

YES! finally found the problem I'm having! Duct tape eh? Anyone done this without the help of tape? I can't find this part anywhere, that's for sure....
 
ca2kjet said:
I had lots of puddling appearing in the bed and water would always be running down the sides. After looking into the issue I realized that water was collecting under the weatherstripping which would fill up and drop into the bed and also funnel a lot of water onto the channels that would leak around the water channel and onto the sidewalls. So I decided to rip off the weatherstripping from each panel, cleared out the old gunk and then filled with a silicone sealant for windows and doors. Took me all of 15 minutes to do. My bed has been water free since the day I did this, no puddles in the middle and no more leaking on the sides... and that was years ago... As far as I'm concerned, my bed is now waterproof.  ;D

A walk through or at least some pics would be awesome!
 
ThreeD said:
A walk through or at least some pics would be awesome!

I don't have any photos at the moment but here's what I did...

Take each panel off. Then pull off the rubber weatherstrips. They may be firm but they'll come off with a little effort. Nothing will break as it's just a goopy caulking material holding them on.

Once you've removed the rubber weatherstrips just wipe away as much of the OEM caulking from inside the weatherstrips as well as anything on the panel itself.

Then I got this GE Silicone Window & Door Sealant because it was a soft seal (not something that would dry hard) and would hold up under constant temperature changes (no idea if it's still specifically sold but you should be able to find an equivalent at your local hardware store)

Apply the sealant inside the weatherstrips enough so that when you put them back on the panels the sealant should almost overflow. I quickly wiped away anything that squeezed out when I put the weatherstrips back on and actually added a little here and there to make sure there was a enough to prevent any gaps inside and that gave it a flush seal.

I gave it a chance to dry (I think I waited until the next day), put the panels back on my truck and not a drop of water has gotten in since.

Hope this helps  (y)
 
ca2kjet said:
I don't have any photos at the moment but here's what I did...

Take each panel off. Then pull off the rubber weatherstrips. They may be firm but they'll come off with a little effort. Nothing will break as it's just a goopy caulking material holding them on.

Once you've removed the rubber weatherstrips just wipe away as much of the OEM caulking from inside the weatherstrips as well as anything on the panel itself.

Then I got this GE Silicone Window & Door Sealant because it was a soft seal (not something that would dry hard) and would hold up under constant temperature changes (no idea if it's still specifically sold but you should be able to find an equivalent at your local hardware store)

Apply the sealant inside the weatherstrips enough so that when you put them back on the panels the sealant should almost overflow. I quickly wiped away anything that squeezed out when I put the weatherstrips back on and actually added a little here and there to make sure there was a enough to prevent any gaps inside and that gave it a flush seal.

I gave it a chance to dry (I think I waited until the next day), put the panels back on my truck and not a drop of water has gotten in since.

Hope this helps  (y)

AWESOME. Thanks ca2kjet! I will give this a try as soon as it drys out here in washington state:D
 
ThreeD said:
YES! finally found the problem I'm having! Duct tape eh? Anyone done this without the help of tape? I can't find this part anywhere, that's for sure....

Perhaps until you try a more intricate fix, black duct tape from the bottom may hold you over.  You may even forget about the issue since you will not even see the tape.  I was planning to replace the gutters completely but I have not had any issues since I added the tape back in November of 2010.
 
Here is what I'm currently trying:

Liquid gasket/silicone

I've put tape below the gutter and have applied the adhesive to the top part of the gutter. It's lookin flawless right now. The next step is to remove the tape and apply it on the underside and flat side for more support. I'll update with pics when done
 
I have found 2 leaks in the bed  :cry:
(I located them by crawling into the bed from the midgate during a rain storm...lol).

One leak is between panel #3 and the tailgate do to that panel having a sag to it.  I have tried re-forming the panel back to straight without any luck so far.

The second leak is from the end rail catch drain where the water is supposed to funnel down and out the side.  I still need to see if there is anything clogging it inside, but through visual and external inspection, I have not found anything.  It will drain, but slowly, which, in a heavy rain, the end will get heavy, tilt, and water will start coming over the sides.

The quest continues...  :E:
 
ThreeD said:
Here is what I'm currently trying:

Liquid gasket/silicone

I've put tape below the gutter and have applied the adhesive to the top part of the gutter. It's lookin flawless right now. The next step is to remove the tape and apply it on the underside and flat side for more support. I'll update with pics when done

Sounds cool, I'm interested.
 
Not trying to revive a dead thread, but has anyone had  a fix for the panel 3 to tailgate? Mine is leaking right in the middle... looks like either the tailgate is bowed out or the panel is bowed in...
 
Mine leaks in the middle between each panel, I'm going to try what ca2kjet said with the sealant. If it fixes mine it will fix anyones, I'll let you know what comes of it. Supposed to get rain most of the week so it will be the perfect test. 
 
:E: Sound like a good project, removing the panel seals and renewing the sealant with window RTV. I've just lived with the interior "rain" problem for some time now. Just not leaving any valuables in there since I had some tools and golf shoes ruined.  :cry:
 
I think the gutters are the main reason most see water in the beds. Mine never leaked and all of a sudden after a wash or rain it would have water in the bed. I checked the gutters and all looked good until I twisted one side and discovered what GHP is showing in his post, the gutter was split down the middle. I ordered both sides and problem solved. They are about $24.00 each.

I would start there since the seals between the panels are about $80.00 each...

GMPartsDirect.com

Gutter Center Left    PN-  20787412
Gutter Center Right  PN- 20787413

 
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