Casita window screw problem

[Al Bear]

I was checking the screws on the side window of my 2016 Liberty when I discovered that one of them had been torqued in half (not by me--not this time). I got a good quality 5/64 bit and an extractor bit, but I'm having a hard time extracting the "root" of the broken screw. Normally, at this point, I would grab a bigger bit and just drill the thing to smithereens. But I don't know how much damage that might do. I've never had the windows out, so I don't know what it looks like under there. We've only owned this trailer for about a month.

The reason I was checking the tightness of the screws is that I'm trying to discover the source of a rain leak. This model Casita has a rubber gasket between the outside lip of the frame and the fiberglass. It looks like it properly seated. Would one defective/missing screw make that much difference? The broken one is about 7 inches from each of its neighbors. There are 22 screws in all around the window. It's at the bottom edge of the window, so the fit of the gasket is a little less critical there anyway.

[LarryB.]

Broken screw notwithstanding, you might want to try cleaning out the weep holes and associated channel in the window trim with .080" plastic trimmer line.

[Madelinecap]

The rainwater drains for the windows can get clogged with road dirt . We used folded “ pipe cleaners” , a kind of craft wire with fuzzy fibers to drag the dirt out and open the drains.

[jerrybob]

Originally Posted by Madelinecap

The rainwater drains for the windows can get clogged with road dirt . We used folded “ pipe cleaners” , a kind of craft wire with fuzzy fibers to drag the dirt out and open the drains.

I carry a piece of weedeater line for that purpose.....works well.

[Al Bear]

Hi all,
Thanks for the suggestions. Actually, I checked the weep holes right off the bat: low-hanging fruit. Wiggled in the weed-whacker line and all. Did turkey-baster squirts into the window pane trays. Those slots in the frame do weep, as the French say, "like a Madeleine". (Bit not like our Madeline!)

Was close to the date of departure on a trip, so I tried slobbering the frame all over with Butyl Tape. Super ugly, but might work. We need to do some more testing.

Left the broken and useless screw in place for now.
--Al