Club 80-90 Forums

Hi all, bit of advice please. Looking to repair the side panel of the van which has been unloved for sometime. After cutting away the rusty parts I have discovered a few holes. I cant get a welder at the back and to put over a thin sheet of metal over the top but if i vactan'd everything and treated the rust and left the holes would that suffice? 
Only 3rd welding project so a bit of a newbie. 

Have attached pics

https://photos.app.goo.gl/bzk4mEYU9iSAJNWu9



Many Thanks

Have you removed your interior?

Nope, was hoping to do in situ

Personally, if it were my van I'd remove the interior and investigate further. Why did it rot there in the first place?

It's a slippery slope though. At the end if the day it's your van.

Matt

The sill is a structural box section, and my guess is that if the top of the box section is made of a lattice of rust, it might have lost some strength. The question of why it is rusty is a good one, and it's most likely due to a leaking window seal above, or condensation (is that the back of the fridge? Is there insulation that holds water, or just no insulation?), or both. Or maybe the rear arch is rotting internally and water enters there and runs down to the exposed area in the picture.

Regardless, what did the water do after it got through the rusty holes, where did it start to rust next? It may pay (or horrify) to investigate the sill with a suitable wee hammer or pointy thing. When jacking up to investigate, always use axle stands, and don't use the jacking points as they may no longer be strong enough. Water sloshing in the sills may have settled over the front or rear to do its rusty work. Collapsing the front jacking point is ok, the rear one is also your outer trailing arm mount so not okay to collapse. Use the outriggers from the main chassis rails instead.

You won't be a newbie for long...

Another benefit of removing the interior is that you don't set it on fire whilst welding. Always a bonus.

I've had that on my van it blew out the inner and outer sil. Had inner and outer replaced for about 1.5k. Water was getting in via the sliding window as the gutter drain holes were blocked with crap. I cleaned em out and drilled more holes, hopefully won't happen again.
Id take the interior out so you can do the job properly, sure it might take more time but at least you'll see the full picture.

Great advice many thanks. Interior taken out and found some more signs of corrosion so good call

Cheers

Might be more of a Ballache with the interior removal but its worth it. Plus you can tidy up the interior while its out and maybe fix any bodges you might find or add or renew stuff.