Welding advice? Cost etc

[Hack]

Hello all,

I am new to mig welding and I believe this is far above me especially for MOT standards.

My car has a small hole (picture attached) and it needs to be welded before the end of the month.

I am planning on grinding it back myself to see how big it actually is but I wont be able to weld this to a high standard.

Looking currently it looks like as its on the box section of the sub frame under the car, it should be a case of chopping out the right hand face and then a few inches either side for a flat plate (when I clean this up ill post another picture but it wont be until the weekend)

My question is how much should I be looking at to pay someone else for this? and a bit cheeky but is there anyone from the Chichester/Bognor area who could do the work on here?

Thanks in advance

 

[Bear]

Wow im suprised looking at that image that your only worried about welding up that small hole

By the time its be cut out and ground back i bet most of that area needs replacing

 

[rikrobson]

I'm afraid that the hole you see there is just the tip of the iceberg from the looks of that photo. Probably best not to support the care their until its fixed.

if it were me it check the extent with a good proding just to make sure thats the only hole.

you'll need to cut out 50mm either side and check the thickness of the metal thats lest and determine if its weldable.
If its not then cut back another 25mm .. rinse and repeat.

Once there is good metal it will need cleaned back to shiney shiney. then you can weld the patch(es)

Please dont be dissapointed when you have a hole the side of a plate.

 

[gordon stephenson]

Keep the hole and scrap the rest by the looks of it.

 

[Jim Davey]

Very helpful chaps, give me a PM and I'll drop you the number of a helpful old boy in Gosport if you don't mind travelling that far?

 

[PTvor]

Whoever does it has to get back to good metal. You can't weld to rust.

From the photo it looks dire, but you can't tell until you investigate, it might just be that you only have to patch over the obvious hole, although I suspect it's a bigger job.

As for how much you'd have to pay someone to do it, it depends on how much they have to do and they can only say that when they look at it.

 

[Richard.]

To be fair it doesn't look great. The chassis/under floor looks very ropy in the whole pic. What I would first do is gently poke and tap away at starting at the hole and move out till the crunch sound turns into a blunt knocking sound. Then do the same again in all directions till you have a firm idea where things start and finish. Where it's Rotton knock it out then start sanding till it's thick enough and clean. If you do a good job of the prep this can save you a lot of money because that's where the time is. BUT!!!!!!! Speak to the welder first, if it was me I'd gladly let you crack on with that s##t but some like to do there own prep and so it's best to communicate before. Expect to pay around £20-30 per hour for a private job and garages will be double that so the more you do the better. Good luck.

 

[Member 66061]

It would be a good idea to lift the carpets and see what horrors lie beneath.

 

[cumbriasteve]

Before spending money I would check elsewhere in great detail, I would be surprised if there was not more heavy corrosion that the MOT examiner may be able to find and you are unaware of at the moment, unless of course you have already been under the whole car.

 

[F.J.]

Unfortunately, we're all of the same thinking mate. I personally turn the majority of those jobs down or my price means I don't get the job. As you describe just cutting the face of the box section out implies your lack of knowledge (honestly no dis respect intended) of welding. The whole box section just in the picture alone would need replacing in my opinion and the floor pan given a good prodding and cleaning with a wire brush on a grinder. If you clean the job yourself, don't what ever you do use a grinding wheel as you'll create more woes for the welder as you'll be making thin rusty metal even thinner. I dare say the hole will be much bigger once you have gone back to good metal as there a few more suspect areas in the picture that show severely corroded panels.
Don't mean to dampen spirits of it's an otherwise solid motor but I can very well imagine more of the same if you look else where underneath as has been mentioned by others.

 

[Kent]

It's had it by the look of it, sorry but when the photo alone looks that bad

 

[Ton-up]

Seriously, I think you have a jack as well, but I certainly wouldn't put an axle stand there!

 

[Hack]

Thanks for the replies guys,

It looks worse then it is, majority of that is surface rust from where the underseal was punctured.. I have got it back to bare metal and the hole isn't that much larger.. as for the box section its the same thickness all the way through and not bent or rusted internally.

I admit I am very new to welding and may not know too much but some of you are going a bit over the top...this is a track car which was dry stored for the past year and no rust anywhere else (just the OSF as in the picture) this was due to someone previously welding a plate over a drain hole which I quickly noticed over a year ago.

Jim, I have sent you a message.

 

[PTvor]

I admit I am very new to welding and may not know too much but some of you are going a bit over the top...this is a track car which was dry stored for the past year and no rust anywhere else (just the OSF as in the picture) this was due to someone previously welding a plate over a drain hole which I quickly noticed over a year ago.

People could only comment on the picture you included, which looks grim, and their own experience, which is generally that when you start to prod with a view to getting back to sound metal, things are often worse than they appear at first glance.

 

[Richard.]

^^^^^
Exactly. The pic is all that can be commented on. Give it a good poke about, seek advice and most importantly let us know your finds as would be interested to know the outcome.

 

[blenkie1]

I've welded worse. Just did a fourtrak for a farmer and that was bad.

 

[Richard.]

I've welded worse. Just did a fourtrak for a farmer and that was bad.

I've welded worse too but I think the OP is concentrating his thoughts on the little hole which could lead to slight disappointment upon further investigation.

 

[Kent]

I've welded worse. Just did a fourtrak for a farmer and that was bad.

Oh gosh those things can really let go. Good motors but lots of rust traps

 

[Kent]

I've welded worse too but I think the OP is concentrating his thoughts on the little hole which could lead to slight disappointment upon further investigation.

Thing is given the job to do I wouldn't not on a road going vehicle. Not unless it was a case of do it once do it right, too much responsibility for things beyond your control

I admit to doing some crazy stuff to cars once over but now with hindsight? Imagine if someone was hurt or worse

 

[Richard.]

Plated up properly it can be a very safe and sound repair job. I don't do it on the principle I couldn't earn enough money to make it worth it any more. I used to weld on vehicles for cash in hand, done a few Landy chassis plate ups too but I'd want stupid money to get me under a rust bucket with a grinder and welder nowadays.