Range Rover Classic rear cross member info needed

Looks like the rear cross member on my Range Rover Classic
has succumbed to rust. I'll take off the towing hitch and
bumper to have a proper look, but the outriggers that hold
up the rear body are completely rotten.

It doesn't seem to make much sense to spend 4 or 500 quid
having it done by a garage.

Assuming I have to replace the whole lot, what kind of a
job is it? Looks like the bumper, tailgate and rear floor
need to come out, probably the fuel tank? What about the
rear body? Anything else?

If nothing else, it's an excuse to finally get to grips
with the MIG welder!

-- Pete

Pete Young wrote:
> Looks like the rear cross member on my Range Rover Classic
> has succumbed to rust. I'll take off the towing hitch and
> bumper to have a proper look, but the outriggers that hold
> up the rear body are completely rotten.
>
> It doesn't seem to make much sense to spend 4 or 500 quid
> having it done by a garage.
>
> Assuming I have to replace the whole lot, what kind of a
> job is it? Looks like the bumper, tailgate and rear floor
> need to come out, probably the fuel tank? What about the
> rear body? Anything else?
>
> If nothing else, it's an excuse to finally get to grips
> with the MIG welder!
>
> -- Pete

Before we come up with suggestions can you clarify if it is the
crossmember above the two rubber mounts (i.e. the bit that is actually
part of the body) or the crossmember that is below the two rubber mounts
(and which is part of the chassis) that you are describing?

Dougal

Dougal wrote:

>
>
> Before we come up with suggestions can you clarify if it is the
> crossmember above the two rubber mounts (i.e. the bit that is actually
> part of the body) or the crossmember that is below the two rubber mounts
> (and which is part of the chassis) that you are describing?
>
> Dougal
>

Very good question! On my 'Y' reg RRC the bottom half of the rear
frame, i.e. the bit above the rubber mounts, rotted. Boy, was it a
game patching that. I /very/ briefly toyed with the idea of replacing
the frame and then found a /very/ good welder.

BOL

Richard
--
Real email address is RJSavage at BIGFOOT dot COM

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may not be published in, or used by

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On 2005-03-23, Dougal <DougalAThiskennel.free-online.co.uk> wrote:

> Before we come up with suggestions can you clarify if it is the
> crossmember above the two rubber mounts (i.e. the bit that is actually
> part of the body) or the crossmember that is below the two rubber mounts
> (and which is part of the chassis) that you are describing?

My apologies. It is the rear body crossmember, the part that sits
above the two rubber mounts. The chassis and the mounting brackets
themselves are solid.

-- Pete

"Pete Young" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On 2005-03-23, Dougal <DougalAThiskennel.free-online.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> Before we come up with suggestions can you clarify if it is the
>> crossmember above the two rubber mounts (i.e. the bit that is
>> actually
>> part of the body) or the crossmember that is below the two rubber
>> mounts
>> (and which is part of the chassis) that you are describing?
>
> My apologies. It is the rear body crossmember, the part that sits
> above the two rubber mounts. The chassis and the mounting brackets
> themselves are solid.
>
It is a pig of a job. You either do it the official way, and remove the
entire squarish frame, which means removing little things like the roof,
or you can use one of the repair sections that Paddock and the rest
sell. There are then several problems: if you remove enough of the old
one to fit all the new piece, there's still a hell of a lot of
dismantling to get access to weld it, or you can chop the new one around
so that it splices into the old one at the ends - if there's enough left
to weld to. In both cases, you have to prop the rear of the body to make
sure the tailgate aperture stays the same shape and size. You'll need to
remove the rear floor and petrol tank, and those jobs can reveal more
problems. Don't forget to buy new bolts, washers, and mounting rubbers.

My present one is crumbling somewhat, and I'm contemplating an
alternative approach. Would it be feasible to weld the body solidly to
the chassis in this area, bypassing the rubber mounts completely? I'm
never going to want to remove the body, and I'll put up with a bit more
vibration transmission if it enables me to avoid this miserable job.
Yet another possibility: choose your garage right, and it's not an MoT
failure, so perhaps it can be left to rust in peace - after all, the
body is held on in at least 8 more places.


--
Kevin Poole
**Use current month and year to reply (e.g. [email protected])***
Car Transport by Tiltbed Trailer - based near Derby

Autolycus wrote:

>
> "
>>
> It is a pig of a job.


Yep.

But my welder made up dozens of little plates and welded them into place
without any dismantling at all. You couldn't see them without carefull
peering. He really is a really good welder!

Richard

--
Real email address is RJSavage at BIGFOOT dot COM

The information contained in this post
may not be published in, or used by

http://www.diyprojects.info

On 2005-03-24, Autolycus <[email protected]> wrote:

> It is a pig of a job.
>

Thanks for the information. I think it's probably more than I
can take on at the moment.

> Yet another possibility: choose your garage right, and it's not an MoT
> failure, so perhaps it can be left to rust in peace - after all, the
> body is held on in at least 8 more places.

Hm. This brings back happy memories of the tester who failed it
a couple of years ago because the rust on the inner wing was
supposedly within a foot of the top shock absorber mount.

-- Pete