Battery box/ tray repair

Hello,

I have found a small hole in the seat box where the battery goes (defender). I have a mig welder which currently has a flux core wire in it. So i am wondering if this will weld aluminium? and if not could i just cut out the rot and bolt/ rivet a repair piece in?

Thanks

Mig welding aluminium is nigh on impossible even with the correct wire and gas. It's so difficult I'm convinced the sale of aluminium mig wire is just a con - the manufacturers having a good laugh at our expense. It is a complete nightmare to even feed through the welder to the torch. The problem is mig welding is fairly low temperature which is why it's great for steel car bodywork, but aluminium is great at dissipating heat. No doubt somebody will come on and say I'm talking rubbish but trust me, don't waste your time. If you want to weld aluminium, time to get saving for a tig welder. Besides, the actual box that holds your battery is steel.

Is it steel? Problem solved then.

I just saw replacement boxes that were aluminium - http://www.yrm-metal-solutions.co.uk/Land-Rover-Defender-90/110/130-Battery-Box-n/s

The standard ones are all steel to my knowledge.

Yeah it is. I'm being a proper idiot!

Aluminium doesn't rust. I'll just weld it up this weekend.

Hi Guys,

My battery box is having a hole in the battery-box - nothing major - is it possible to fix it in a simple way in your opinion or need to change it with one of the YRM pieces?

Thanks!

Simone

vasimone said:

Hi Guys,

My battery box is having a hole in the battery-box - nothing major - is it possible to fix it in a simple way in your opinion or need to change it with one of the YRM pieces?

Thanks!

Simone

Click to expand...

Cut out rot, cut new sheet steel to fit gap, weld.
Those YRM boxes look good and aren’t too expensive. Personally, I’d go for this option.

ok easy enough, so i can just get a welder hereto cut and weld

I guess the hole forms because of the acid of the battery? any material that should be put in the battery box to avoid the acid from messing around?

thanks a lot

It's more likely that it's just plain old fashioned rot. Modern batteries almost never leak acid these days. But if you are worried, a good coat of stone-chip spray paint and then when the paint is dry, place a piece of heavy duty rubber floor mat under the battery.

Great! thanks a lot!

HI, had the same on my 90,
was able to cut out the rot and found a bit of steel with a similar profile.
will try to post pics,
any hints on posting photos would be welcome.
cheers