Have you put a Galvanised Bulkhead on?

Al2O3 · Jul 23, 2015

Started fitting the wiring loom today. There are a lot of threaded holes missing from my new bulkhead. A green box of electrcary bolted behind dash just to right of steering column - no holes for it. In the engine bay a unit which seems to control air/vacuum to air pipe and EGR valve bolted via two rubber bushes to the bulkhead - no holes for it. Other holes are missing, including on the door pillars for the door switches for the lights. Is this usual? Could I have the wrong bulkhead? I bought it from Ashtree and I have been calling them, but no answer. I'm waiting for them to answer a message I left.

greyhair · Jul 23, 2015

Dont say that mate
I have ordered one from them

Al2O3 · Jul 23, 2015

At least you can be prepared for when yours arrives. Take good quality pictures of yours both sides. Draw a rough pictures of both sides and draw on the holes and what's bolted to them. Then you can have a good look over it when it arrives. To be fair I think, because they are in short supply, these places must cobble a bulkhead from many parts. Some of mine might be a 200TDi, some of 300TDi? Who knows until Ashtree call me back? I hope they are not away! I've checked the door hinge holes and they are the same distance apart. I'm about to take out the grearbox tunnel flange to see if the fixing holes line up on that, then I'll unpack the windscreen frame and see if the holes line up on that. If they all look as though they fit, I'll hopefully be ok.

I'll also check the steering column hole lines up with the steering box.

Al2O3 · Jul 23, 2015

Well, the gearbox tunnel flange fits and the windscreen fits. The hole in the bulkhead for the steering column is offset from the power steering box, but I suspect it should be.
I've put a red handled screwdriver in the universal joint on the steering box which is actually in line with the chassis rail. The steering column hole (tear drop shaped hole) is about 3 inches to the left.

Can some one have a quick look under the bonnet and confirm this is right. It'll help me sleep tonight if it's right

tacr2man · Jul 23, 2015

I put one on but it was one i got galved myself, and the galv filled a few of the smaller holes , so had to drill and run a tap thru soem , also the front airflap hinges filled up a bit . HTSH

Litch · Jul 23, 2015

If you do a search on galvanised bulkhead (blimey, I sound like one of the moaners!!!) you should come up with a thread I posted 2-years ago about this very thing.
I had my own (perfect) bulkhead galvanised and before I sent it off I made sure that I photographed it from every angle and that I had a made drawings showing the location of every hole, that way when it came back I knew what location to be looking for holes (as already stated, the smaller ones can be almost impossible to identify afterwards).
Did Ashtree not drill & re-tap holes or protect studs? What about the vent-flap brackets, I had more fun cleaning them out than anything else on my own one? Did they remove the vent-flap mesh or just let it become blocked with zinc (I removed mine and bonded it back in afterwards)?

Al2O3 · Jul 23, 2015

tacr2man said:
I put one on but it was one i got galved myself, and the galv filled a few of the smaller holes , so had to drill and run a tap thru soem , also the front airflap hinges filled up a bit . HTSH

I can see where some of the small holes have filled in, but there's an indentation where they are. I've already drilled some out to fit the top of the dash. I've ran a tap through others, but some are definitely missing.

Litch said:
If you do a search on galvanised bulkhead (blimey, I sound like one of the moaners!!!) you should come up with a thread I posted 2-years ago about this very thing.
I had my own (perfect) bulkhead galvanised and before I sent it off I made sure that I photographed it from every angle and that I had a made drawings showing the location of every hole, that way when it came back I knew what location to be looking for holes (as already stated, the smaller ones can be almost impossible to identify afterwards).
Did Ashtree not drill & re-tap holes or protect studs? What about the vent-flap brackets, I had more fun cleaning them out than anything else on my own one? Did they remove the vent-flap mesh or just let it become blocked with zinc (I removed mine and bonded it back in afterwards)?

No, Ashtree did not drill and tap the holes. They did remove the vent flap mesh, so I'll have to come up with something else to go in there. the holes that I've noticed are missing so far are either 5mm or 6mm diameter. I reckon I would be able to tell if they were there but filled in. I suspect I have a 200TDi bulkhead instead of a 300TDi. I think earlier 200's didn't have light switches on the door pillars. They probably didn't have EGR valves and mine should have two threaded holes where the control unit bolted too. I know I don't need an EGR valve, it's just a possible indicator that I don't have the right bulkhead.

Al2O3 · Jul 24, 2015

Brown, this is for you. I'd send you a PM, but don't know how to any more

I've just got through to Ashtree and they were very apologetic. Looks like I've got a 200Tdi bulkhead

Anyway, they offered to post me a riv gun + nuts, zinc rich paint, swap it out etc. It's too late to swap obviously! And I'm not going to drill holes in it, though he did say it would probably be ok, depending on where I drilled them. Assured me everything else would fit, so I'm content with that. I'll make aluminium plates up with nuts glued in to glue in places where nuts are missing. I think you will be ok, just check yours when it arrives.

Brown · Jul 24, 2015

Good that you've got some customer service. There's usually quite a bit of flex in the universal joints on the steering column as standard so I wouldn't worry about that. Personally, I'd be a bit apprehensive about glued on fixings. It might be OK, but in a few years with a bit of corrosion and dirt they could well separate when you try to undo them. I'd just drill holes as needed and install a Rivnut captive nut where one is needed. The bulkhead isn't going to rust away from the odd few 6mm drillings, especially with a dab of paint and a bit of grease on the screw as it goes in.

tacr2man · Jul 24, 2015

If your bulkhead has a good coating when you drill the zinc should migrate to cover the edges over time , told this by a firm that galvanised my gen lr chassis back in early seventies , the vehicle is still in action !

Al2O3 · Jul 24, 2015

tacr2man said:
If your bulkhead has a good coating when you drill the zinc should migrate to cover the edges over time , told this by a firm that galvanised my gen lr chassis back in early seventies , the vehicle is still in action !

That's exactly what Ashtree said this morning. I've invested so much time, effort and money that drilling it doesn't appeal to me. I'll ovoid drilling and improvise if I can. Thanks for the tip though.

Have you put a Galvanised Bulkhead on?

Al2O3

Well-Known Member

greyhair

Well-Known Member

Al2O3

Well-Known Member

Al2O3

Well-Known Member

tacr2man

Well-Known Member

Litch

Well-Known Member

Al2O3

Well-Known Member

Al2O3

Well-Known Member

Brown

Well-Known Member

tacr2man

Well-Known Member

Al2O3

Well-Known Member

Similar threads