A job you MUST do! - Sprinter And Crafter Side Trim Sealing
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- Опубліковано 2 сер 2024
- In this video I expose what has to be one of the worst design flaws I have ever seen on a major scale. It takes no prisoners, from panel vans, camper conversions and your standard minibus EVERY single Sprinter and Crafter van will suffer from this problem and if not addressed WILL cause your van to eat itself from the inside out!
Watch the full video on how to remove and reseal your factory plastic side trims and combat this problem and save your Mercedes Sprinter or Volkswagen Crafter from certain death...
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Thank you so much for doing this. I’ve just retired and want my van to last as long as I do. We will be going everywhere together. I will do this asap as it’s 12 years old ❤️
O.K. valid issue and your video is great in showing these problem areas in perfect detail. 👍
A few issues if I may though: I absolutely cringe 😖, when I see these sidepanels being removed with a bare metal screwdriver. You'll be putting scratches in the paintwork causing other corrosion issues.
You should also remove the trim clips from the bodywork using similar PLASTIC tools meant for the job.
And PLEASE: Remove the markers PRIOR to removing the panels to avoid damaged wiring whilst pulling the panel. The markers have an etched in arrow on one end of the lens, push them in that direction, lift them out and remove the bulb socket with a twist (as shown).
Replace ALL (125 on our LWB Crafter) clips with new FACTORY ones (don't use cheap Chinese knock-offs, they are brittle out of the bag). Add a waxing agent, "Mike Sanders" fluid or similar to the INSIDE areas aroud the clip holes. And only use a clip sealant, that remains flexible over time (we used Dekaseal).
We've done the lot on our 2014 Crafter and along with a Raptor coating on the side and lower panels, rust should not be an issue. 😎
You just ruined Mercedes-Benz' planned obsolescence...
Exactly. I have the '98 Sprinter with unbreakable engine. So they designed it with cheap steel otherwise nobody would ever buy a new van:)
I agree totally,,,, these alleged oversights are designed to fuck up your plan to keep a van for years,,,
Hard to believe this is a simple, undetected flaw, especially since it has been affecting sprinters over many years and fix is simple. On the other hand, these are commercial cars, so they tend to do high mileage and get beaten on the job.
Fantastic I shared it on self build campers having helped a friend do that job. Congratulations on how many people you help save their vans from rust. Your style of instruction and presentation makes you an excellent instructor and a pleasure to learn from.
Yupp 👍😎❤️👌👍
Mate I'm in the early stages of my own Sprinter conversion and came across your video by accident. This is next on my ever expanding list but a van saver. Great presentation.
Thanks so much for that top tip, I have a planned Crafter build out for end of this year so these types of life saver videos are invaluable. Cheers!
Can't thank you enough mate, brilliant, simple solution to a potentially serious future issue. I just got a new one and it will be one of the first things I do. I plan on keeping my rig till they put me under so want it to last. Much appreciated from the other side of the pond.
Great advice, thanks for sharing. Im doing my 2nd van fit out and already planning my 3rd. These are the things you don't think about till its too late. Thanks
Thanks for this. I'm getting a van to convert on a budget so I'm gathering the skills for remedial maintenance that I'm going to need on the van I can afford!
Thanks so so much we are just starting to convert our VW Crafter 2011 lwb, i am going to sort ours out in the next few weeks great video, its people like yourself sharing your knowledge and ideas that make it all worth while many thanks again...
Nice mate! just got a 2012 sprinter and starting my camper van convertion. first thing I will do ;)
Superb video. Just doing my 2008 sprinter and the 50p discs are half off already. One has disappeared completely. Explains the surface rust on the inside of the box section! Thanks for this - the van may last another 10 years now!
Great advice. One other thing I would add is to make sure that the narrow slotted drain holes are cleared with a piece of wire. One of mine was blocked & the panel full of water
How many narrow slotted drains per side budd ??… on an 07 plate
Soz xlwb 07
brilliant, thank you! I had found out about this, but your video is the absolute best at explaining it all really easily.
You remind me of Richard Hammond for some reason when he does top gear. Well done on showing us the fix!
Good video. Recently found out about this issue. Which is after I'd done my conversion. Definitely on my things to do list
Liked, subbed and rung the bell! Invaluable info for people like me driving camper conversions over 10 years old with very low mileage, thinking that your maintenance regime will keep it looking and driving great indefinitely, only to find Mercedes themselves are shafting you. "kin pee's me off! The only issue I have had with my bodywork has been due to the installation of a window prior to delivery when new. It developed problems a few years later which shows that they couldn't even be bothered to seal the bodywork properly when cutting into a new £35k van. Would have taken less than a minute. Everything else as long as you keep it clean and serviced has been spot on. Although I am now dreading taking these panels off and finding anything. Great video, thanks. (Enjoyed your humour too!)
I'd probably use a marine grade sealant/adhesive on those holes. I can't see any reason for needing to unseal them anytime soon. I'm talking about the plastic round patches now, not the clips that really hold the trim in. For instance, 3M Marine 5200 adhesive sealant. That stuff will probably survive the apocalypse. Although, why not - 5200 is permanent as heck, so if you use that, those side panel grommets aren't coming off without violence. But the plastic might still come out, but replacing any of the grommets will probably be a bit more painful.
Very good presentation, have a 2015 144 ex ambulance 906, ran a seal of silicone along the top of the plastic side piece all round and check drain holes regularly, works for me.
Thank you for this video. This is the next step for my van when it comes back from paint .
never thought of those trim pieces doing that... plan on a ram promaster but i bet that one would have the same issues too. thanks again for the tip
Awesome video and really easy to see what to do. I need to do this on my van and this video is perfect! Thanks so much!
Thank you for this one.We just looked at a 2015 Sprinter LWB for sale in Chertsey England.It has Satnav it had Aircon.It had been owned by a landscape gardener.It is still for sale £11250.Luckily for us the seller had removed the ply lining off the walls which meant we could look into the the depths of the walls of the van inside.It had a perfect tide scum mark from the front of the load area to the back of the load area with soil/rust at the bottom.We walked away from it.Thank you for this vid we could have bought a load of trouble
Stevie, I was looking at that van in Chertsey, the photos I saw showed damp on the ply lining, I just bought a 66 plate for less than that. good luck with your hunt.
Accidentally came across this video and I'm glad I did.When i checked there were water marks , dirt inside the panels and also a few rust circles round some of the clips. Thanks
Nice 1 Adam, after watching several other videos of Crafter and Sprinter owners sealing up their holes, yours is the first to highlight those larger 50p sized holes. I'm trying to think what they would of been for, but cannot think what, I first thought maybe for a 4x4, I know they have plastic trim over the rear arches, but this still doesn't make sense why those larger holes are there.
Maybe they are acces holes to ge to some hardware/bolts etc...
Just started a crafter, 16 plate, gonna do this straight away, thanks great video
Ive just bought 15 plate crafter so thsnks for the warning mate ill look into this
I’m just about to start converting a new van. Glad I came across this video before I started. Great vid. Thanks
Thanks for the video. Under my sprinter panels was an absurd amount of rust holes which caused major leakage into my vehicle. I have fiberglass patched all of the rust holes but I would like to apply a sealant to the top and bottom of the side panels on the outside of my van. Would you recommend this and if so, what type of sealant would work best? Thanks!
Super detailed and positive-It makes doing this very possible-and as you say- you must. Thank you.
Thanks for the video. I have a leak and rust on the inside wall behind the driver seat. This is probably the culprit. I will pull the panel and reseal.
Also clear the drain holes at the bottom of the panels (Regularly!)
If you don't you could be driving around with a buckets worth of water rusting away
great tip and note the same sikaflex is used to bond windscreens it sets in about 4 hours like rubber and will never let water through... its murder to get off your hands or parts of the van but does come off with the use of WD40 ... best not to get messy with it in the first place..... great tip though & something id never of considered without you pointing it out cheers bud
Hi I've removed & sealed up my trims as per you're recommendations, it seems to be a controversial issue on installing insulation & vapor barrier with some people arguing to never insulate the inner cills themselves as you'll never get a 100% VB partly because of the cill drain holes. what your thoughts on these? What do you do with the cill drain holes after draining them in relation to this? thanks
Hi there, have got the plastic wheel arch trims in stock for a lwb sprinter?
Great informative vid, thank you. I'm just about to tackle a few rust spots on my 2009 Sprinter and found your vid on a YT trawl, subscribed.
Thanks for sharing Bud - what a shocking design flaw! Unbelievable!
Do the wheel arches come off the same way, with the t20 for the screw and then the snap fittings? Great video. I don’t have one yet but looking at a one or two year old used one in the near future.
Nice one Adam, thanks for the great gen
i've subbed mate, really enjoyed your presentation style
Thanks much, my Sprinter’s had a California life, little water so no such rust yet, but this is key for humid/rainy locales.
Hiya just done my plastic sides took about 2 hrs good job done thanks
Ian Trowsdale Nice work, glad the video helped and thanks for watching!
Please can I ask which number sealant you used
as I just looked online and there's lots of different numbers for the sealant you say use.
Thank you
For any replies.
Best wishes.
hi great little video! do you know if the holes for the plastics lead directly to the sills? im looking to cavity wax my van and was thinking i can kill 2 birds with one stone. thanks kev
Awesome video. Did you have any issues with removing the panel after sealing the clips and then putting it back on?
The sprinters ALL rust in the body... this is a great tip!
I just snagged a 2011, i will be checking this asap!
Thank you for your videos! They're so clear and well-filmed. I really appreciate you sharing all this knowledge. And now I know what my next job on the van is ;)
I guess Im asking randomly but does any of you know of a tool to log back into an Instagram account?
I somehow lost the login password. I love any tips you can give me
@Yehuda Nehemiah Instablaster ;)
@Deshawn Enrique thanks so much for your reply. I found the site thru google and Im in the hacking process atm.
Seems to take quite some time so I will reply here later with my results.
@Deshawn Enrique It worked and I now got access to my account again. Im so happy!
Thank you so much, you saved my account!
@Yehuda Nehemiah happy to help :)
Great vid what wheels and tyres are on the van in the vid they look smart cheers
Great advice! Thank you
Informative and Entertaining. Thank you from Canada!
Great Job 👍🏽.
One question - why you put the clips firstin the panel and then the Sika to the clips and all together with the panel to the car? Why not putting Sika on the clip and then the clip to the car and after the Sika dryed put on the panel?
Any reason to do it that way?
great vid seen one were a guy just sicoflexed the hole trim sealed it all the way round
What kind of sealant did you use? I did a quick adhesion test on the plastic clips with silicone, PU window sealant, and sikaflex 221, but neither will stick.
What a video to come across, I've just been given a 2012 Mercedes Sprinter, my plan is to do a conversion. Question I have, is it still easy to change the bulb on the side marker lights after doing this fix?
Brilliant video thanks for sharing. I'm glad I've watched it.
Will share it with my friends 👍
Fantastic advice thank you I am looking to get a an old sprinter early next year guess what I am doing first . 😊 thank you .
That's great I haven't bought mine yet but I didn't know about that !!! Is the Ford transit the same way ???? Skål !!!
Must do mine ! Fortunately I’m in Spain and my sprinter is mint but moving north soon 🤔Thanks , subscribed 👍🏻
One off the best vids THANKS PAL JOBS A GOOD EN
What about the big hole of the position light, is that well enough sealed from factory side?
can you still change the bulbs on the side lights ?
sooooooooooooo glad i watched this, thank you! anyone know how many clips on a long wheelbase sprinter?
Brilliant work. I would suggest using butyl tape as it allows for expansion and contraction in cold and hot weather
Great video, I have a 906 2011, it gas virtually no rust, I want to keep it that way, for years. Its low mileage. Sikoflex is the product I ysed to install monumental scilpture we bonded really heavy items with it. Are there any drain holes I can empty any possible water from my sills
Feel better that I have a TN1 with no cladding .Stickers for hole covers??? Crazy good info
Do cars and suvs with plastic panels have the same issue?
Going to do this on my Renault/Vauxhall van also. Water also came in and rusted inside and side panel of my van exactly because of this design fault. Thanks!
What happens if you need to change that bulb in that light? Do the clips still come out to allow this?
👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 good job bro!! I’m doing mine now 😃😎😍💪🏾👏🏾🙏🏾
Great vid, word of advice to fellow van converters, some of the panels look very similar, such as the one on the sliding door and the one opposite, but they are slightly different, the clips are in a different location on each by about 1cm, varely noticeable until you got the thing covered in sikaflex and it won't go on😂
Great to know!!! Thanks!!!
What rims and tyres you got on that van
Brilliant! thanks man.
Do you know if this is needed on the 2020 please
Fantastic video.. but i do have a question, how easy is it to remove plastic pannel at a later date??
Do you know if this is still a problem with the new Crafters?
Very excellent video. Thanks mate
Great video, but how do you drain the water out first.?
I just bought a 2016 crafter du recon this needs the same treatment cheers
great video mate, would you recommend doing the same on a Ducato?
Nice vid what wheels are on this van?
Is this a problem of the newer VW Crafter (2017 onwards)?
Hallo many thanks for that information
Does the Vito van have this problem too?
Do you not have to do the marker lights?
Very good. So why do Merc or VW put that black plastic strip there at all? I mean, what's it for, what's it do? Alan, in Norfolk.
Having just brought my crafter this is great
is this the same on a boxer van?
Thank you so much for this video iv got the problem now with water coming in....thank you
Can you still change the bulb in the future?
What about the light socket? It seems like a massive hole as well?
So,. How do you ever get the trim off without breaking the clip holders on the trim (this ruining the attachments) after you seal the clips to the body?
Unserstand so far but whats about the hole for the light?
Excellent video “ people can actually see how you do these jobs “ unlike some ‘ which do time lapse ‘
Have you anymore videos on UA-cam.
Thanks 🙏
Brilliant mate. Talk about a light bulb moment. Ive just got an 06 sprinter and one side panel is rusted out behind the plastic trim...b#$@rd, lol. How do I replace a whole side panel!? Good on ya mate. Subscribed!😄
Great job, I subbed.
It's shocking to see how they've done it, until you see how much time is needed to do it correctly; as it was, it was done in less time, will ruin the van, customer'll have to buy a new one. Mother lovers !
Does anyone know if the 2021 Vans still have this issue??
We also used to run a bead of black silicone along the top of the black trim
Thanks for posting this! :)
I think the side rail is also to be checked for leaks, and in my case, the back door rubber seal at the top was letting water in the crack between 2 body parts that were not sealed properly (gummy material was missing). Reapplied silicon all along the body parts hidden by the seal. Hopefully no more leaks