DS Safari Roof reseal

Rally

Rally

Active member
Fellow Frogger
Joined
Nov 1, 2010
Messages
740
Location
Pearl Beach NSW
I have obtained a good roof for my Safari , almost rust free , and am getting ready to fit the new roof , hoping someone has done this and can answer my questions .
what is a suitable sealer ,
do I need to use sealer between the roof and rubber seal or only between rubber seal and the cant rails .
any suggestions as to the best way to attack this job greatly appreciated.
 
Assuming you have a new seal and have treated the edge of the replacement roof and cant rail. Sealant between rail and rubber seal. You want one that remains pliable. 3M have one, but I used a mastic, Bostic 5614 black.
 
Ideally you want a non-hardening mastic rather than a polyurethane sealant. There's 2 reasons, the first is that polyurethane will make removing the roof in future more difficult than it needs to be. The second is that mastic will let the roof expand/contract without pulling the sealant away from either the cant rail or roof panel. Usually sealant is only needed between the rubber seal and cant rail but you can go belt and braces if you like. be prepared for lots of cleanup as the sealant squishes out.

Make sure to put plenty of sealant into the two front corners as they always leak. Other than that it's pretty straight forward, put the two B pillar bolts in place with the half height nuts to locate the roof and then shove the front edge of the roof into the cant rail and onto the bolts. Work down either side installing the remaining bolts and tighten as evenly as you can.
 
I don't know how safari roofs seal. Sounds as though you have a big rubber seals and, if so, presumably many bolt points? If that's right, do as Faulksy suggests, rather than follow that video too closely. Use a little non-setting mastic (more in the front corners) to supplement the work of the seal - not to replace it as per the video.
 
Can’t add much to Faulksy’s comment. I glued the seal onto the roof and used black mastic (I think it was Sikkaflex…. Hmmm, 291?) to glue it into the rail. And yes, always a lot of cleanup! And yes: add more to the front corners.

You may need a couple of helpers as the steel roof is heavier and more awkward than the fibreglass one.
 
Thanks for all the advice , I have decided to go with the Bostic 5614 as recommend .
None of the local shops stock ( Bunnings , Repco , Super Cheap etc ) stock it , so I have bought it on Ebay for $20 delivered , I could not even drive to Peninsula Paint and Panel for that amount.
 
You will need more than one cartridge. Clean up with turps. You can protect the roof lining with a plastic roll (like gladwrap) that has a masking tape attached. Check bunnings.
 
Just curious: is the 5614 mastic to supplement the big rubber seal of a bolt-on roof, or to do the full sealing job that 'Sorbit' would have done on a bonded roof?

I ask because my roof is bolt-on but I'm considering what other mastic i might use addition to the big rubber seal. I would imagine that it can't be so thick/ heavy that it displaces the big rubber seal and stops it fitting as expected. I'm thinking I need something fairly runny to get in any small gaps the big rubber seal might leave? When i took the roof off, the previous fitting had been done using black silicone sealant.
 
Just don’t use silicone. The rubber U seal has 3 or 4 raised ridges underneath that bed into the mastic.
 
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