Thanks everyone for the suggestions and warnings.

Stuart: I agree that it is a job that needs doing - I just wish that list
was not so long and I had more time/money on my hands (and why do you own
this van again?!.... :) oh right, it was fun to work on.) .  One excuse is
wanting to give the van a paint next year - but I guess new rubber will be
easier to remove and replace without damage the rubber?  I fear removing it
and seeing a giant rust spot and having to deal with that before putting it
back.... eesh... I really should just get to it huh.  If there is a rust
spot in the window, sooner is better.  How long did it take you to do the
job?

I'd rather not do a quick job now that will cause a lot more work later.
 The suggestion of a silicone sealant in between the glass and seal seems
like it would be reasonable and not cause too much more work.  One way or
another I want to sort these leaks out in the next week or so.

Thanks again all,

Tom

On Wed, Nov 21, 2012 at 12:07 PM, Stuart MacMillan <stuartmacm@gmail.com>wrote:

> Usually window seals leak between the glass and the rubber, not between the
> body and rubber (unless you have a lot of rust there).  I just replaced my
> rear window seal for this reason.  It was hard and dried out from being in
> a
> sunny climate for years, but the rubber to body side was fine.  It's over
> an
> inch wide, and there are three or four small fins that seal really well.
>
> Order a seal, pick up a can of silicone spray and some 1/4" cotton rope and
> replace it (with an assistant, of course).  You'll thank yourself since you
> won't have a bunch of gunk to clean up later!
>
> Stuart
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> Courtney Hook
> Sent: Wednesday, November 21, 2012 9:52 AM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Emergency/temporary window rubber fix
>
> Up here in Canada you can buy a product by Permatex called Flowable
> Silicone
> Windshield glass Sealant. Comes in a blue blister pack and as the name
> suggests, is specifically for leaky seals. I used it on my baywindow about
> 2
> yrs ago, with complete success on the windshield passenger side corner. It
> is a very "seeking" product; it crawls down under the seal and you think it
> won't flow when you first put it on, but you'd be wrong. I came out a few
> hours later and couldn't find where I'd applied it. It had crawled down
> under the lip of the seal as intended. I think it's great stuff, and will
> probably buy you time. My time has been 2 years; darn, I gotta get on that
> body resto. :-) Courtney
>
> ========I'm thankful to all those who said "no". Because of them I did it
> myself.========
>