chassis is f**ked

hi guys, i was on my way back from work the other night and when i was turning corners the rear wheels felt like they weren't attached.

so to cut a long story short i looked underneath and found that the part where the A frame attaches to the chassis was not attached. the chassis had rusted and had snapped clean off.

anyway do any of you know if i can buy the crossmember on the chassis that holds the a frame mounts? or is it going to be a new chassis?
i would weld it with plates and what not but it is in such sh*te condition it wouldnt be worth it

any help much appreciated
thanks

think about a new chassis

haven't got the money mate, im only 18 and on an apprenticeship so a new chassis aint gonna happen

Thor1950 said:

think about a new chassis

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not neccessarily

let one of the grown ups answer the question properly

Trilly909 said:

haven't got the money mate, im only 18 and on an apprenticeship so a new chassis aint gonna happen

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The part that ripped off is a good indicator as to the condition of the rest of the chassis, paper thin

Freelaner said:

not neccessarily

let one of the grown ups answer the question properly

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so you think it was just a fluke then and just on spot is paper thin?

Thor1950 said:

so you think it was just a fluke then and just on spot is paper thin?

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depends on all kinds of different factors.

in short he needs the whole chassis checking, would you agree?

it may be in an area that has been subjected to mud sticking to it and keeping it damp, so localising the problem

Freelaner said:

depends on all kinds of different factors.

in short he needs the whole chassis checking, would you agree?

it may be in an area that has been subjected to mud sticking to it and keeping it damp, so localising the problem

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true maybe. but that spot sits fairly high up. And being a young fella might think it was not properly checked before purchase and might of got a lemon, sad to say

Trilly909 said:

hi guys, i was on my way back from work the other night and when i was turning corners the rear wheels felt like they weren't attached.

so to cut a long story short i looked underneath and found that the part where the A frame attaches to the chassis was not attached. the chassis had rusted and had snapped clean off.

anyway do any of you know if i can buy the crossmember on the chassis that holds the a frame mounts? or is it going to be a new chassis?
i would weld it with plates and what not but it is in such sh*te condition it wouldnt be worth it

any help much appreciated
thanks

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look for a guy called Pressbrake or even DrEvil they may be able make you a repair section.

Thor1950 said:

true maybe. but that spot sits fairly high up. And being a young fella might think it was not properly checked before purchase and might of got a lemon, sad to say

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he needs help, not worst case scenario.


you might as well tell him to scrap it if he can't afford a re-chassis.

The rest of the chassis is in good condition, it's had its fair share of welding but it is solid.
And I may be young but I do know what I'm looking for and what goes wrong when it comes to my defender I've owned it for like 2 and a half years and I work at land rover, jaguar as an apprentice. I asked the guys I work with but they just said new chassis, no help really

Hammer test, If it goes through at any point, cut it out and weld new bits it and re-enforce to the point where its the strongest area on the chassis

mine has also done the same recently and i thought the rest of the chassis was reasonable but decided to re chassis and am glad i did as the rest of it was pretty bad in places where you cant see.

Freelaner said:

he needs help, not worst case scenario.


you might as well tell him to scrap it if he can't afford a re-chassis.

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not at all, hope it works out for him. But be prepared for the worse though. My thought is if a major suspension anchor point has let go then others could follow soon. And if a chassis is has lots of plates welded to it could be cause for concern.

It's 22 years old, it ain't new :laugh: but yeah I see what you mean. Basically I need to keep it on the road to get me to and from work till end of December... Then I will buy a car and use the landy as a weekend thing and start to invest a bit of money into it

Trilly909 said:

The rest of the chassis is in good condition, it's had its fair share of welding but it is solid.
And I may be young but I do know what I'm looking for and what goes wrong when it comes to my defender I've owned it for like 2 and a half years and I work at land rover, jaguar as an apprentice. I asked the guys I work with but they just said new chassis, no help really

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a good welder can weld bean cans together, So welding a plate to a thin chassis rails is giving a false sense of security. I am always cautious when I see welded chassis or equipment.

The rest of the chassis is fine! I know the guy I bought it off and he rebuilds land rovers for a living. My one used to be his and he used it a lot and looked after it. It passed the mot in feb and I said to the inspector to give it a good beating underneath to make sure it's all solid. He said the Welding that has been done is excellent and extremely solid.
But btw it hasn't had so much welding that the chassis is made out of squares of metal, it's the usual places that they go where water sits....
I didn't come on here to ask about the rest of the chassis I need the part where the a frame attaches.

Trilly909 bit of advice for you....EVERYTHING is REPAIRABLE.

Don't listen to the loadsa money mob with their comments like new chassis time or youll end up like the zombies you work with if you go down that route.

Fix it....learn something

Once youve learned then thats what you tell other...bin it mate. Charge em up for a new whatever then keep and fix the old one for yourself.

Now what Id do is find a half decend disco chassis at a breaker....plenty scrapped discos around....hack/burn/sthilsaw the x member and enough of the chassis legs off it to affect a repair.

Nothing wrong with a welded chassis as long as it done right

if your not good at welding get a mobile welder out.

I needed one before i could weld and there are loads so are quite cheap. He was there about an hour and charged £40 so might be worth it as a quick worry free alternative

pics?