sill/arch repair welding questions.

Hi, Today ive started tackling my "little" rust problem on my outer sills and inner arches and found that they were slightly bigger than i had 1st thought:doh:

There are a few holes and some welding is going to have to be done. Im going to attempt this myself as my dad has an old welder and am torn between buying pre made replacement panels and making up my own patches, the panels arent in a state where they have to be replaced.

Can somebody please give the the checklist of all the necessary bits and bobs i will need to complete the job as ive never done this before, including type and thickness of metal needed.

I would post some pics only the mrs put my phone on a 2 hour wash cycle the other day.

Sorry if these seem simple questions but ive never even picked up a welder before so the more info the better please.Nice one

failed mot on both sills, took off plastic cover to find very little metal..

i used the easy on panels from froggats.. done a little welding b4...

took me a day a side and mot man sed they were best repairs he'd ever seen..

would get the post repair panels too as i ended up making some and they were very difficult to fabricate..

to be honest unless you do sheet metal fabrication every day you're better off buying premade panels and doing the whole job in one, there are loads of suppliers but yrm metal solutions parts are the best I've used.

he says he only has little rust, so I dont think he will need whole panels.... patch it with .8mm steel plate should be enough, that's what I did on my old disco..

cheers,

Im thinking of buying one if not two of these:

DISCOVERY / RANGER ROVER REAR OUTER WHEEL ARCH on eBay (end time 25-May-11 12:36:34 BST)

As it will be far easier than trying to fabricate pieces but will shop around 1st as I did see them a little cheeper online last night.

The rest of the repairs can be sorted by welding small patches over the holes, So what do I need for my checklist?

Welder
angle grinder
goggles
gloves
.8mm steel plate
red oxide paint
underseal
primer...........

mrnice if you are not use to welding practice on some scrap the same thickness as you want to weld you will be better of with mig and use a argon oxy mix.Cleanliness is the important bit you wont be able to weld over crap.
MIG Welding Tutorial, Techniques and Practical

I wouldn't use less than 1.2mm plate and I prefer to use 1.5mm plate as you're less likely to blow through it with the mig and it takes longer to rust through again

found a hole in my rear whel arch last week... only took me an hour to clean off all the filler someone had filled the last hole with, pop a small patch on with mig.. fill over again, sand and repaint..

access is the worst bit.. if its easy to get to and patch, fine.. its its major pain to get to (inboard side of sills|), its worth doin right so ya dont have to do it again...

mrnice said:

cheers,

Im thinking of buying one if not two of these:

DISCOVERY / RANGER ROVER REAR OUTER WHEEL ARCH on eBay (end time 25-May-11 12:36:34 BST)

Click to expand...

How Much!?!?

Try here MWC4841 Wheel Arch Repair Section LH

Ebay isnt cheap anymore, especially not for parts

nick2303 said:

if its easy to get to and patch, fine.. its its major pain to get to (inboard side of sills|), its worth doin right so ya dont have to do it again...

Click to expand...

me I hate doing the welding thing, lying there half underneath in the gutter, I try to get everything done at the same time so I dont have to return.

mrnice said:

So what do I need for my checklist?

Welder
angle grinder
goggles
gloves
.8mm steel plate
red oxide paint
underseal
primer...........

Click to expand...

Don't forget the most important thing.......a fire extinguisher,just in case

cheers for all your replys guys please keep em comin. I found this welder on ebay, any good for me or can anyone suggest a better/cheaper one?

SEALEY 100Amp No Gas / Gasless Mighty Mig Welder + Wire | eBay UK

Nice one.

Dont buy a no gas machine.....you can use a gas machine with fluxcore wire OR with gas and regular wire....but you are limited with a no gas one.Have a look at this site and forum,theres comparisons and advice that you should read before buying.

MIG Welding - The DIY Guide

Though my experience is that the small Clarke machines are the best of a poor bunch.I have a big sealey machine now but the problem with that is that the settings dont really go LOW enough for welding body panels - and certainly not with fluxcore no-gas wire which burns hotter than regular wire and gas.

That point is relevent to smaller machines too - you wont have to worry about it not having enough power to do body work but that you can set it low enough,and have a non live torch,plus the fluxcore no-wire gas still burns too hot for body work to be easy.Oh,Im not saying it cant be done,I use fluxcore myself in the right situations but why make it hard for yourself.

My advice is to go with quality over power with your first machine.A small welder with good reliable mechanisms that will weld at low setting will not see you wrong.And weldequip on that site can be trusted to advise you and sell you what you actually need and can afford.

And I second the recommendation of YRM for body panels....MUCH better than ****part.MUCH.

I cant find the wheel arch replacement panel by YRM only bripart and an unspecified one on ebay, can anyone help me out?

think you're stuck with ****part for that one - lots of stonechip for that

Try here- MWC4841 PANEL WHEELARCH | shop | www.lrseries.com | L. R. Series (search mwc4840 for the other side) You will also need a spot weld drill to drill out the spot welds holding the old panel on.

Coupla piccies from when I did mine.

YRM sadly dont do boot floors or wheel arch yet but there is hope for the future according to his last email!

GRATCH said:

Try here- MWC4841 PANEL WHEELARCH | shop | www.lrseries.com | L. R. Series (search mwc4840 for the other side) You will also need a spot weld drill to drill out the spot welds holding the old panel on.

Coupla piccies from when I did mine.

Click to expand...

bit drastic couldn't you of made your own repair panel and patched it,think i would of,nice job there mate all the same

Did consider it, but then thought about the different profiles where it had gone through. Notice the bottom of the arch near the sill has been cut off and the rust coming on the lip part way up inorl? Thought I'd do it properly and once only