Cliff4WD
Active Member
- Posts
- 177
- Location
- E Sussex, UK
So, after the depression and anguish wondering what I was going to do having failed the MOT for rear end chassis rail rot close to the tow bar mounts, I decided to repair it. The sharp intake of breath at the garage and subsequent condemnation of my Disco made things desperate as I was clearly in that territory where it was not economical to consider paying for repairs. The amount of welding required was not obvious and could have been an open ended contract had I just said fix it please. A Richards galvanised chassis looked nice but at £1850 + VAT plus the labour to fit it was daft. My Disco is a 2000 yr model so 13 years old and so 13 years of all the other mechanical issues that would add to the chassis fix. I bit the bullet and rather than scrap it and buy another package of problems, decided to repair it myself.
I got myself a copy of RAVE and a Haynes and watched a LOT of welding videos on YouTube. Borrowed a MIG welder, ordered wire, grinding disc and cutting discs, a sheet of 3mm steel and dug out my socket set and trolly jack. Oh, and bought a pair of 3 ton axle stands.
The first challenge was finding a flat piece of ground to work on; my garage would have been perfect but it was full of 'stuff'! I had to clear a path into my garden (which involved digging out a flower bed and moving a few shrubs - more marital agro).
Finally, Disco in garden, SORNed and toolkit ready - so it began:
[photos to come when I work out how]
I got myself a copy of RAVE and a Haynes and watched a LOT of welding videos on YouTube. Borrowed a MIG welder, ordered wire, grinding disc and cutting discs, a sheet of 3mm steel and dug out my socket set and trolly jack. Oh, and bought a pair of 3 ton axle stands.
The first challenge was finding a flat piece of ground to work on; my garage would have been perfect but it was full of 'stuff'! I had to clear a path into my garden (which involved digging out a flower bed and moving a few shrubs - more marital agro).
Finally, Disco in garden, SORNed and toolkit ready - so it began:
[photos to come when I work out how]
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