Rear body mounts and cross member

My rear body mounts are totally rusted away. Got two new ones to weld on. Do you have to support the body or wil the other mounts hold it ok to replace one at a time? Also iv not had a proper look yet but i am assuming that the cross member could well be rotten too? Is it just a case of removingthe bumper to tell? if so i can investigate and get a cross member and weld it all up at the same time. Thanks for any help

this is on my list of jobs before the mot next year... one of the plates has rotten and the left body mount has gone through...

interested in knowing about this fixing too..

since1875 said:

My rear body mounts are totally rusted away. Got two new ones to weld on. Do you have to support the body or wil the other mounts hold it ok to replace one at a time? Also iv not had a proper look yet but i am assuming that the cross member could well be rotten too? Is it just a case of removingthe bumper to tell? if so i can investigate and get a cross member and weld it all up at the same time. Thanks for any help

Click to expand...

You'd be as well taking the rear bumper off to have a good look at the cross member, you might end up doing a bit more welding than you expected.
You get far better access with it off.

Just taken the rear bumper off. The cross member actually looks good. Happily surprised, although the bumber is rotton and the metal around the old body mounts are really bad but noticed the new ones come with extra long wings to weld on. Any ideas about access? even with the bumper off one side looks difficult to get into. One of the mounts is totally gone so i guess that answers my question to supporting the body when cutting rot away - no its ok!

cut the old mounts off clean up the area then put the new mounts in position with the bolt in place then weld it up or atleast tack weld it. once you have done this you can unbolt it again and lift the body to weld it propper. this way you know when you lower it down it will fit perfect and not be out of line

I have been told that to lift the body you have to undo other body mounts along the chassi?
is this true, or can I just lift the body at the back and it will go up to give room for welding?

also... how do you lift the body? high lift jack?

Yeah if i have to undo the other bolts i can see this job growing arms and legs. I fail to see how th bolt helps to get the right position. From what i saw it only bolts from the mount to the chassis? does it bolt to the rear crossmember aswell that i just cant see?

You can get a lot of travel on the body just by jacking it off the chassis. I had to do the front mounts on mine - used a normal jack and a long bit of fence post wood. Just kept gently lifting the body until it was far enough apart to get in. Then jammed some more wood in the gap between the body and the chassis to take the strain. I reckon you'd be surprised how much spaceyou can make by doing this. Make sure you remove the rear mounting bolts first though! I had some pics but can't find them for the lift of me. Will keep looking.

yeh..pics would be good..

been searching for some pics and how to on doing the rear cross member, but no luck..
there's loads about the inner arches and sills, but nothing on the rear cross member