Both of my roof airs are leaking a little water into the coach so I'm going to replace the gasket on the roof. Tomorrow I go get the seals.

How do you replace them? I took off the covers and the foward part of the sheetmetal and it doesn't look that difficult BUT I've learned it's easier to pick you all's brains for ideas and pointers....

Thank you in advance for input, suggestions, experiences and ideas!

K&E

I have 1995 vintage Colemon Mach airconditioners

The entire unit has to be removed from the cutout; there are usually four or more mounting bolts on the inside accessed by removing the interior shroud.

When they're originally installed, the gasket is usually the first thing put in place.

quote:

Originally posted by K&E:
Both of my roof airs are leaking a little water into the coach so I'm going to replace the gasket on the roof.

Thank you in advance for input, suggestions, experiences and ideas!

I saw water leaking inside one of my Coleman units about 3 yrs ago - all I did was tighten down the 4 mounting bolts and it didn't leak again.

http://barthmobile.com/eve/for...=403105911#403105911

http://barthmobile.com/eve/for...=119108931#119108931

I'm with Bill on this one. Colemans come with little plastic tabs that gauge where you should torque it down to innitially. It doesn't compress the seal very much but it works. If the tabs are just touching the roof, I'd crank all four bolts down a few turns, maybe an 8th inch or so. If the seals are already squashed down, it's time for new seals. As Rusty said, not a hard job. A deep well 1/4" socket and a driver drill will save some time if the nuts are way up on the bolts. Disconnect shore power, you have to disconnect the wires to the AC to remove it. I can't remember if the new seal has adhesive for mounting to the AC, but I believe it does. The new seal should only need to be torqued to the tabs. There may also be a thicker strip to prop up the rear of the unit. Use it. Not trying to be a know-it-all, but I did all this last year and I know how intimidating it can be with no knowledge going in. Good luck.

AC leaks unsettle me. the opening has a curb that should keep roof water from getting inside.

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the opening has a curb that should keep roof water from getting inside.

This may be on yours, but mine has a hole cut in the roof that the AC sits on top of. No flange or curb of any kind. The foam seal is it!

Here's the inside looking forward.

Here's the tabs used to gauge torquing down the seal.

Here's the roof. It does appear to have been cut, perhaps when a different AC was installed, so it may well have had a flange at one time.

Also, I stand corrected about the 4 bolts. They extend a long way throught the framing and are fine thread, which is why I was thinking of the driver drill to get them out. A deepwell isn't required.
Hope this helps a little.

Finished replacing both A/C seals today. It took about 4 hours total to replace both of them including about 1 hour of runs to the hardware store.

Interestingly, the previous owner spent a lot of time trying to stop this leak...goobered it up with caulking tape...I'd say several hours...THIS IS A RELATIVELY SIMPLY JOB!!! DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME HALFWAY FIXING IT.....FIX IT RIGHT AND GO ON!!!

The original seal was so crimped down, I thought it was caulking tape they used around the windows. They had kept cranking down the hold-down bolts trying to stop the leak until the seal was maybe 1/8 inch thick.

One thing I did extra, was after I put down the new seal, I ran a bead of silicone around the outside of the seal to the roof....I figured this was just an added layer of protection. Incidently, my unit only has 3 hold down bolts....2 in the center and one on the back.

Guys, this is an easy job....don't put it off if your unit is leaking! If you can drive a Barth, you can do this!

Is the hole for the ac unit 12" x 12"? The same size as the vent opening?

Standard cutout is 14"X14".