Water leak in DA40XL

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Soareyes
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Re: Water leak in DA40XL

Post by Soareyes »

In the previous forum it was said that this 3M Fast Cure 4000 UV was what Diamond used in the factory to seal around the windows.

I used it to fill in some gaps that developed around the rear windows back when I had N787DM, circa 2012.

If I remember correctly I first scrubbed the existing caulk to clean it, improve adhesion of new to old and so there would be less of a color difference. Then just ran the nozzle along the gap and feathered the ends to blend. Working time was short. Consider masking the edges with tape. Don't get some on your finger and then forget and touch something else. :roll:

"Dant" has that plane now. We can ask him if it has held up.
Current: DA42-V1

Previous: Hang gliders, Paraglider, DA40(x3), Cessna 150 Aerobat, SR22
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Josh F
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Re: Water leak in DA40XL

Post by Josh F »

I also get a lot of water in, but it’s in the front - pools in the pilot side cup holder and drains out the little canopy drain hole when the canopy is up. I assume that’s the canopy seal, but any alternate thesis would be appreciated.

And I’ll raise it on a different thread, but I’ve now had two consecutive EGT probe failures in 2 weeks, so I’m wondering if it could be related to water getting in to the panel.
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dant
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Re: Water leak in DA40XL

Post by dant »

Finally remembered to actually look at the caulking. The back of the back right window is showing a bit of cracking, however there's no evidence of water intrusion inside the cabin, so seems to be holding up well:

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Rich
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Re: Water leak in DA40XL

Post by Rich »

Josh F wrote: Sun Nov 14, 2021 7:17 pm I also get a lot of water in, but it’s in the front - pools in the pilot side cup holder and drains out the little canopy drain hole when the canopy is up. I assume that’s the canopy seal, but any alternate thesis would be appreciated.

And I’ll raise it on a different thread, but I’ve now had two consecutive EGT probe failures in 2 weeks, so I’m wondering if it could be related to water getting in to the panel.
This is a puzzler. The attached picture shows one of the 4 drain holes in my canopy frame. There is one on either side. They generally would be at the low points so any water in the canopy should drain out of these and go overboard. The seal around the base of the frame should keep it from flowing inside the plane, as it jams against the vertical surfaces on the inside edge of the fuselage structure.

The arrow in this picture indicates a piece of weatherstrip I recently installed to fill a visible gap (on the left side only) where the canopy frame and fuselage structure don't fit exactly right. This hasn't even caused a water leak problem, but did produce a bit of wind noise. (This noise is only audible to my right ear when I move my head to the left.) This little extra strip eliminates that in cruise. I show that here because the picture does illustrate things that might be relevant to the water leak you're experiencing. Like maybe a different fit problem or misplacement of the seal.
N40XE Wind Silencer.jpg
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
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