Welding on a bulkhead

[whycanismellburning]

I have an old disco that has just failed its mot. it needs a new o/s inner wing and some patching on the bulkhead. The patch is neede behind the pedles in the o/s footwell. The only solid steel starts just below the master cylinder for the brakes and then right down to the steel of the floor of the drivers foot well.

What should i watch out for to make sure it goes through the Mot?
What thickness plate should i use?

Any help much apreciated. (will post pics tonight)

 

[peterd51]

Hi,

sounds like you'll need to chop it back some distance to get to good metal.

Have you got any photos?

Depending how much metal needs to come out...if it was a big square patch then I'd be tempted to do it in two, three or four sections as each piece would be easier to make, easier to fit and the welded joints between each would add some strength.

But then I'm no expert on Discos.

Regards
Peter

 

[Robotstar5]

As the footwell's one of the Disco's rustspots you should be able to get repair panels from the usual sources.

 

[whycanismellburning]

Sorry for the delay in coming back on this one... Life is a bit hetic at the mo.....

I havnt got any photos yet but will do and i'll keep you all informed as we go!

The normal people who make the pannels have gone under apparently and there are no inner wings to be had in the country. that means that i've got to make one myself.... This could be a disaster in the making but i'm already commited!
embarrasingly i really dont know what thickness steel i need to buy for the bulkhead and what for the inner wing.....

 

[Paul90]

I haven't measured the thickness of those bits yet myself but 1.2mm thick would be a safe bet I think.

 

[whycanismellburning]

Paul do you think for both bits?

 

[Robotstar5]

The other option is Range Rover classic repair panels as the Disco 1 is built on the same bulkhead / inner wings etc



Does this look familiar?
Stuart

 

[whycanismellburning]

The other option is Range Rover classic repair panels as the Disco 1 is built on the same bulkhead / inner wings etc

View attachment 4320

Does this look familiar?
Stuart

The inner wing has disintrigrated from under the expansion tank back all the way to the bulkhead on the outside edge. where it meets the bulkhead there is a hole about a foot in diameter. I'm thinking of doing in sections (as peter suggested) and using a light weight frame work to support it all. As soon as i can find the digital camera i'll post some photos.

 

[whycanismellburning]

Update time! I cant find my digital camera at the moment....:full I have got the steel for the job. I need to make the new pannel from scratch and i dont have a plasma cutter so its going to be jigsaw and grinder job. Does anyone have any advice before i start. (i'm making a new inner wing!)

 

[Staffy]

Advice make a template out of cardboard first. Double check it then cut your steel.

 

[whycanismellburning]

Advice make a template out of cardboard first. Double check it then cut your steel.

Was stripping things down last night and am thinking of just patching now. the wing is bad but there is till plenty of good steel there.

 

[Staffy]

That sounds better

Just cut out the rot use cardboard for templates where complex/needed and jobsaguddon.

Remember that the inner wing on a Disco is non structural apart from the 6inches near the body mounts on the bulkhead.

Phil

 

[Highway_Star]

It IS a structural part, just not a prescribed area. Looking at the RaRo/Disco body shell, the only parts you could really say are non structural are the outer panels.

Bear in mind that the body mounts transmit their load to the inner wing, so although it might pass an MOT with severe corrosion to the inner wing away from the body mounts, that does not mean it's structurally sound.

Always keep at the back of your mind that an MOT pass does not mean that it's roadworthy or safe, just that it met the conditions of the test on the day. One of those stupidities of the MOT system. That said if you do a good enough job of the patching there's no reason for it not a; pass b; be perfectly strong and safe.

I've both replaced complete inner wings and patched them, if it's that bad I'd be replacing it, you'll only be patching it again in a couple of years. It's an easy enough job, just take your time and check, check and re-check the alignment before welding. They love to distort with the heat.

 

[whycanismellburning]

finally i've worked out how to get the photos of my phone and on to the computer. Here they are. It shows the extent of the hole in the inner wing and also how big a hole i had to make in order to patch to solid metal

Enjoy!

 

[whycanismellburning]

I must appologise for the photos. For some reason i cant keep a steady hand!

 

[Highway_Star]

Looks pretty standard to me! Was that OEM tin worm or aftermarket?

 

[whycanismellburning]

looks Pretty Standard To Me! Was That Oem Tin Worm Or Aftermarket? :d

Oem?

 

[English Steve]

Original Equipment Manufacturer

 

[whycanismellburning]

AHHHH! DoH!
No its me, my angle grinder and a sheet of 6'X3' 18guage steel! A lot of carefull preperation (with a large hammer and several sections of H beam) and then much time spent sorting out the 'little issues'!

The worst bit was where the wireling loom comes through the bulkhead:full theres nothing to weld to because the steel at the bottom of the oval hole is all rotten.
I dream of the day when i get round to doing some work with solid Heavy duty steel! i hate welding to nothing more that s**t and thin air.....!

Oh good question where/what is seam sealer? where do i get it? is it worth it or can i get away with smoothrite?

 

[Highway_Star]

What is seam sealer? Land Rover/BL/Austin Rover etc couldn't answer that question! THey must have used one small tin per hundred cars.

You should be able to get in Halfords or any decent motor factors.

It's a brush applied mastic compound, that you, well, seal seams with.

I whizz over the welds with a flap wheel to take the oxides, spatter etc off. There's two schools of thought, one is to put the seam sealer on the metal to seal out moisture and air, the other is to prime first so the anti rust properties of the primer are right on the metal, then seam seal on top of the primer. Whatever method you use, don't scrimp on it. The factory applied a sneeze worth on every seam, which as you've seen first hand is useless.

Smoothrite is way not good enough to protect metalwork in a wheel arch, you could use it on top of the primer, provided you then put waxoyle or Schutz etc on top of that smoothrite. You can get Schutz with waxoyle ready mixed into it.