Belt mounts

Despite being well protected against corrosion, following two professionally applied treatment & annual inspections, my '87 RRC seems to have developed a rust problem around the rear seatbelt wheel arch mountings because pressure applied by hand against the carpet in this area has produced a slight 'crunching' sound The underside of the arches appear perfectly sound with a reinforcing plate that looks to be factory applied. Obviously this problem needs rectification, but with no sign of a nut/bolt UNDER the arch can anyone explain how the belt mounting bolt is secured, ie by a captive nut?
Thanks in advance guys.

AFAIK, there's a captive threaded bush friction welded into the reinforcing plate ..... However, this should be visible from inside the arch ..... so I'm guessing the plate you can see is a later addition.....

Thanks for the reply.
So what am I looking at?
See if the bolt will unscrew, if so rear seat out.
Do you know if the wheel-arch carpet is likely to be glued down?
I'm puzzled though as to how the arch came to be rusted when the underside, which gets all the road spray, is sound (& Dinatrol'd) & the carpet around the seat-belt fixing bolt has never felt damp
Your advice is much appreciated.

norseman said:

I'm puzzled though as to how the arch came to be rusted

Click to expand...

Probably water leaking in via the rear quarter lights - be grateful it's not a 3 door D1...... you can guess how I know this

Or ... the roof joint - it's screwed on, and the seal is pretty notorious for failing - there was a thread on here a bit ago about Captain Tolley's sealer - marine grade stuff which is supposedly very good in this area....

The "re-inforcing" plate can either be above of below the arch - I guess if it's above it'll rust intself - and if below it'll rust the arch out

The bolt should come out - try tightening it slightly first with a breaker bar ( to get more feel, not for the lever advantage ), then try loosening it - once it moves, then some GT-85 or Ambersil D40 should help things along..... and to state the blindingly obvious, copper grease on it, when it goes back in .... Sure you buy the bolt new - and pretty sure the arch is available with bush and plate welded to it, too.

IIRC, the arch carpets are glued down, but it's not super strong glue - and with care they just "come away" from the arch - and can just rest back in place when you've fixed it all

the bolt for the seatbelt attach point is welded to the wheel arch with a reinforcing backing plate. the standard panel thickness wouldn't support restraint in a crash.

you can purchase replacement anchor points with the 'nut' ready welded to cut and weld ez-on panels do them I think. I would also check the around where the wheel arch meets the boot floor. little point in purchasing and doing the work for the seatbelt anchor points if the rest of the wheel arch is on the way out ! the carpet is not glued onto wheel arches it will lift up, but you need to remove the seat retaining catches.

Many thanks to you all for the advice, gives me a clearer picture of what's needed.
Now seeing as I wouldn't know a welding kit from a shovel all I need is a competent professional to do the work. I shall make some local enquires, but if anyone has any recommendations I'd be grateful.

Very common issue on the Classic.
The reinforcing plate with captive nut is spot welded to the inside of the arch (the wheel side) & water can penetrate between it & the arch itself & that part of the arch then rots out.
I've done both of mine. You can buy the reinforcing plate but they're simple to make.
As adamwest says, check the rest of the arch while you're at it. Apart from the corroded area mine were fine.
https://www.froggatts.co.uk/page32.html See 'Inner arch' section & you'll see the plate welded to a repair section for the arch & the nut that the belt bolt goes into. Once the rot is cut out of the arch the repair section must be fully seam welded.

Thanks very much Ratae, yes I looked on the Froggatts site & sussed the ready-made component(s) just on the hunt for a local welder, pref. one who knows LR's.
Bit of a shock to discover this on such a well protected vehicle, but of course it is a LR

nb: watching a video on Utube yesterday about a guy in Ireland who was restoring a 'nineties Classic, the standard of factory welding on the body frame was shocking

find a mobile welder.. every area has them,, if you were closer i'd bring my gas welder over and do it with you.

if you strip out the area in wheel arch get it prepped for when the welder comes over so he has clear access then its a not a lengthy job at all. get underseal so when he's done you protect it.