Cab floor pan repair advice please

[nutbox]

Hi there,
I have been slowly cutting out rust to finish off the body repairs to my van and have just cut out a section of cab floor on the passenger side and have found that the rail underneath this section has got a few holes in it so was just wondering,
1 is it ok to rust treat and protect and weld the patch over it
2 cut bad section off and weld a replacement to the left over rail.

Here is a pic of said area all advice appreciated



Also a few more question I was wondering if you good people could answer .

1 ) for sealing up the seams in the panels what sealant should I use? Could I use sikaflex and if so could this be used to glue the tabs of metal that are behind the side panels,I think there like strengthening for the panels?

2) the sealant on my hightop on the outside Is cracking and needs digging out and redoing but the sealant on the inside looks all good ,what sikaflex could I use on that ,could I use the same as in question 1.

Sorry if these are silly questions and as I said before all help is very much appreciated thanks dazz

[Plasticman]

where is everyone ?
well your nearly there, i would despot and remove that last bit on the bottom of your picky, so your new bit of plate sits ontop of the wheelarch lip , then you just puddle weld through , deasd easy ,neat andf replicates the oe.
as dor the rust under, well how far do you want to go and can you do it all yourself ok ,sorry for asking but i dont know that,
i would want to remove a bit more rust and then treat it,
let a new bit in and but weld it and puddle through where you can,
afterwards use brush on seam sealant, ( about £12 from most motor factor type places)
flaps ? picky please ?
hi top, dig all old stuff out , you really need to get under the lip a bit, again a picky may help
mm

[nutbox]

Hi mm,
Thanks for the help , I was going to remove the bit on the arch lip but I can see the spot welds I've never be that good at finding them,is there and easy way of doing it?

As for the rust underneath I was thinking cut off the Bad bit and replace with a cut from another van I have for cutting up and butt welding it together?

How far would you go with the rust?

As for the tabs here's a pic

These are supposed to be stuck to the panels aren't they?

Here is a pic of the roof as good as I could get anyway .







As you can see there is a bit of rust that needs treating but it doesn't stretch into the inside as far as I can see?

As said be for all help is appreciated dazz

[Plasticman]

Ah youve made life hard for yourself, youve taken a disc to the bit with the spots, usually clean of roughly with some 60 or 80 grit paper and wipe off, then spit on finger ,wipe over area and spots show, mmark with pen and drill out.
now just gey a thin chisel, wood one or whatever and tap it under and you will see the resistance around the spot,
well hard to say how far to go, can you weld a bit in there thats as neat as it should and will it look right, else grind a bit more away ,blasting is the way but messy, ,
as for the lips for the rear wings, yes, bond them , have a gentle feel over the outside where they are, make sure they are not pushing the wing out at all, these pattern ones are real thin, its usually the front one that does.
also gently see if you can push the pan al in a bit where the flaps are,
idealy you shoul d be able to, if not bend them gently away from the wing, this way you can get the stuff squirted in easier,
it need doing as it give great stiffness to the panal and prevents drumming and stops it delving in when prepping or heaven forbid ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,polishing at a llater date

roof, hmm , front and back are easy, ppry up away from body , cut out old sealant apply new and be done. there sides there is no neat easy way that I know off, others may, but whilst you can cut the old off anmd m,ake a tool to sort of get under a bit, you will struggle to add any bonding under the roof side, maybe easier to lift it a couple of inches and rebond it, ( i dont know what you have in the top)
sorry cant be more help
mm

[nutbox]

Thanks mm you have been a lot of help,I ain't a competent welder but I can put my hand to it meaning my weld ain't nice and clean like your stuff you do.

I can see its going to be fun with the roof but it needs doing dont it,what sikaflex should I use I.e 221,291 etc and could I use it to seal the seams to.
Thanks

[Plasticman]

personally i dont ever buy sikaflex prooductsa, too expensive , for the roof and such as your flaps use
http://www.stickwithusltd.co.uk/silicon ... d_465.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
wurth are a top quality brand,
seam sealer,
1st one google threw up
http://www.autopaintsbrighton.co.uk/tra ... 2475-p.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
then buy some of the cheapest nastiest horrible paintbrushes you can lik 10 for a quid, and when you use the brush on, please tape the area so you get a nice neat line and it then looks like vw did it......
mm

[nutbox]

Thanks MM you have been a great help and you are right sikaflex is over priced I just didn't know there was anything else I could use.
Thanks again dazz