Tdi 200 footwell advice needed.

Hello, I'm new here and new to owning a Defender. I need to replace the passenger footwell which is straight forward enough, my issue is that the right hand side lip that the footwell rests on has rotted away. Can anyone advise me if it's ok to weld an L shape bracket on for the new footwell to rest on or am I barking up the wrong tree? Any advice gratefully received. Apologies that the photo is the wrong way up..

Yes, L bracket will be fine or bend end of replacement footwell sheet and save one weld run.
If your floor is double layer it's fine to repair with single.

tottot said:

Yes, L bracket will be fine or bend end of replacement footwell sheet and save one weld run.
If your floor is double layer it's fine to repair with single.

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Thank you so much. I've not welded before so that's really good news!

Learning to weld, good thing with old Landy. Have a look at "Mig welding form" lots of tips and good info and practice on off cuts of the same sheet before starting job.

Yes, looking at it again I think that I will need to weld an L shape as I can't work out how I'd bend the base plate (I'm going to buy a footwell from YRM I think).

Yeaars ago I repaired my rotten footwells with 2mm alloy plate, silicone sealant and lots of pop rivets, decade later I decided to do it properly, surprisingly the alloy/silicone/rivets were all still good.
Not suggesting you do the same, but if you cannot get on with the welding it might be an option.

Lephreek said:

Yes, looking at it again I think that I will need to weld an L shape as I can't work out how I'd bend the base plate (I'm going to buy a footwell from YRM I think).

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You'll be very happy with YRM footwells. I have them in my Ninety, they're very good.

Small note, use Tigerseal and YRM seal strips between the floors, gearbox tunnel and footwells for 100% sealing.

v8250 said:

You'll be very happy with YRM footwells. I have them in my Ninety, they're very good.

Small note, use Tigerseal and YRM seal strips between the floors, gearbox tunnel and footwells for 100% sealing.

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Or no sealer between floor panel and footwell if you want water to get out.

lynall said:

Yeaars ago I repaired my rotten footwells with 2mm alloy plate, silicone sealant and lots of pop rivets, decade later I decided to do it properly, surprisingly the alloy/silicone/rivets were all still good.
Not suggesting you do the same, but if you cannot get on with the welding it might be an option.

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Yes, I repaired the other side with rivets but the footwell on this side has nothing to sit on, on the right hand side. Do you think that I could rivet an L shaped bracket on rather than welding it on?

Anaconda said:

Or no sealer between floor panel and footwell if you want water to get out.

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Heh heh, yes good point.

Surely it needs welding to pass an MOT?

Anaconda said:

Surely it needs welding to pass an MOT?

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They rivet aircraft together don't they?

Is it structurally sound?

But I would guess that when OP starts work then more rot will be reviled, It could be a temp fix while welding skills are gained.

J

marjon said:

They rivet aircraft together don't they?

Is it structurally sound?

But I would guess that when OP starts work then more rot will be reviled, It could be a temp fix while welding skills are gained.

J

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Of course they do, also the repair process of many modern cars invlove glue and rivets.
Not sure that applies to Defender footwells but I guess if it's a tidy job then it may well go unnoticed.

Anaconda said:

Or no sealer between floor panel and footwell if you want water to get out.

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Or make the floors 100% waterproof so no water ingress. I've done this together with modified door seals, it's bone dry. And no, it does not float...the 200kg of Wolf wheels and tyres act as excellent anti-flotation devices

v8250 said:

the 200kg of Wolf wheels and tyres act as excellent anti-flotation devices

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Shirly that's a = = sum, have you worked out how much flotation the air gives I actually bet they would float if you chucked the whole wheel in water.

Making the bottom sealed is fine but you need to stop it coming in the top too.

J

marjon said:

Making the bottom sealed is fine but you need to stop it coming in the top too.

J

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It's not a ferkin' submarine

Decasde w

Anaconda said:

Surely it needs welding to pass an MOT?

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Decades worth of mots passes suggests thta they cannot see the footwells that well.
The 2mm alloy sheet had a return edge on it and was quite strong.