Merits of a newer rear tub vs repairing the old one

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Johnny Dee

Member
Posts
18
Location
Castle Douglas
As part of the rebuild and conversion of my 95' CSW 90 300 tdi to v8, my thoughts are turning to the rear tub. The existing tub has good outer panels, but the inners (rear seatbox/wheelarch), front seatbelt mounts and sill mounts are all in a bad way with the good old usual electrolytic corrosion (the rear is bad for this as well because it had Land Rover rear seatbelt mounting bars fitted). In short, it's looking like a fairly significant amount of rebuilding.

The alternative, is replacement newer tub, however the obvious issue is fuel tank location for those is rear, mine is midmount/underseat. How big a deal is swopping to a rear mount tank? Anyone done it, how much hassle and cost?

Be good to get some views/experiences, as I'll need to call it one way or the other soon ....

Cheers

John
 
Sounds in a similar state to what mine was. I rebuilt mine. The front corrosion, adjacent to seat box looked terrible. However, YRM do superb, galvanised steel, repair panels. They also do repair panels for B pillars/door slam panel. I could post pictures this afternoon if it would help. Not sure how yrjcky it is to reroute fuel filler pipe, though I'm sure it's been discussed before.
 
Sounds in a similar state to what mine was. I rebuilt mine. The front corrosion, adjacent to seat box looked terrible. However, YRM do superb, galvanised steel, repair panels. They also do repair panels for B pillars/door slam panel. I could post pictures this afternoon if it would help. Not sure how yrjcky it is to reroute fuel filler pipe, though I'm sure it's been discussed before.
I was thinking of re routing fuel pipe instead of moving tank.
 
I think repairing is certainly an option, the issue is that I have all the usual damage at the front, but some of the corrosion damage I have is associated with the rear seat box/inner wheelarches, this doesn't seem to be that common, mine has come about because it had a steel rail fitted to hold the rear seating lapbelts (a land rover fitting as well!) and it's done a good job of damaging the aluminium. Pics attached
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I think repairing is certainly an option, the issue is that I have all the usual damage at the front, but some of the corrosion damage I have is associated with the rear seat box/inner wheelarches, this doesn't seem to be that common, mine has come about because it had a steel rail fitted to hold the rear seating lapbelts (a land rover fitting as well!) and it's done a good job of damaging the aluminium. Pics attached
View attachment 176544 View attachment 176545
Yeah, mine was the same as mine has seats in the back. I cleaned mine back to shiny metal, painted it then bonded new plates over the top. Then I bolted the seat belt bar back in, so all is held securely in place. Just on phone at the mo, but will be home later and could post pictures from laptop if you're interested
 
@Johnny Dee
Does this look familiar
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Aluminium patches bonded on.
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YRM galvanised repair panel bolted in on the underside of the tub front. It's very strong.
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YRM do an aluminium channel to go on the upper surface and it all bolts through together to create a very strong sandwich.
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Al203

Thanks, the repair with the YRM panels looks really solid. Could you perhaps give a bit more explanation around how you went about the patches in the rear section. Did you make these yourself? How did you bond them and what do they look like from the inside?

Also, what sort of repair did you do for the bit where the "stay" goes back against the rear bulkhead (the bit above the seatbelt mountings). Sorry for all the questions, but ideal get info from someone who's actually done these repairs first hand :)

Cheers

John
 
Al203

Thanks, the repair with the YRM panels looks really solid. Could you perhaps give a bit more explanation around how you went about the patches in the rear section. Did you make these yourself? How did you bond them and what do they look like from the inside?

Also, what sort of repair did you do for the bit where the "stay" goes back against the rear bulkhead (the bit above the seatbelt mountings). Sorry for all the questions, but ideal get info from someone who's actually done these repairs first hand :)

Cheers

John
Hi John,
Just about to take dog for a walk, then have shower as we're going out at 7pm, so bit pushed for time tonight. I took a lot of pics of my rebuild, so will be able to post more with explanations/descriptions of what I did. It'll have to be tomorrow though mate as I'm pushed for time just now.
 
I’ve just repaired the tub on my rebuild made the panels myself and moved the tank to the rear there’s pictures in my rebuild thread In the members vehicles section, Ian’s 90 300tdi rebuild , if you have a look and have any questions I’d be happy to help if I can .
cheers Ian
 
Ian,

Thanks for the post, had a look at your rebuild thread, very impressive indeed. It's clear you got some very well developed fab and metalworking skills and you've done a really nice job on it.

Whilst I can weld (I say weld, what I mean really is stick too bits of steel together in a way that means they don't come apart, not a proper welder by any means), I'm realistic enough to know that I can't in all likelyhood do the things you've done to the same level. That's hardly surprising, you're clearly a skilled individual with lots of experience. I've never worked with Aluminium/Alloy before and am conscious it's a trickier beast to work with than steel.

At best, I think I might be able to "unpick" the various panels and try to swop them out for suitable replacements. It's also a question of having the right tools (as always). Definitely inclined to try to repair the existing tub, need to think about how I can source and install the repair panels I need, and what tools I'll need to make sure I have in order to do the work. I think if I do repair the tub, I'll stick with the existing tank location, it seems easier than relocating if I'm retaining the existing tub.

I'd much rather remove and replace the corroded spots, than just cover them up.

Lot's to think about ....

John
 
Hi John , thank you yes it is very involved , the YRM panels are very good I made my own just to see if it was possible and because I like making work for myself :D . I looked at buying a new tub and to be honest all the ones I saw had corrosion in the same places as mine or were a lot of money , and as you say aluminium is trickier to work with . I did that with basic tools , I bent the Ali by clamping it to a bench and persuading it to move to the desired angle , if you need any help when you start just ask I’m sure I’ll have some photos somewhere that might help .
cheers Ian
 
Al203

Thanks, the repair with the YRM panels looks really solid. Could you perhaps give a bit more explanation around how you went about the patches in the rear section. Did you make these yourself? How did you bond them and what do they look like from the inside?

Also, what sort of repair did you do for the bit where the "stay" goes back against the rear bulkhead (the bit above the seatbelt mountings). Sorry for all the questions, but ideal get info from someone who's actually done these repairs first hand :)

Cheers

John
Hi John,
The patches I just made myself out of aluminium sheet. When I was looking for sheet ali I discovered it was fairly expensive. The cheapest way to buy it I found was to buy a rear door skin for a series landy. I bonded them on using tiger seal as it was recommended by quite a few member on LZ.
I cleaned the worst of the corrosion off myself and then got is soda blasted.
As for the door slam panel 'stay', I just put patches on the back. That's one in the bottom right of this picture
IMG_5372.JPG

The YRM galvanised steel section replaces the structural integrity of the front of the tub as the chassis upstands bolt directly on to it. The panels are very easy to fit.
 
Al203,

Thanks, That's fairly clear, the patching/reinforcing approach certainly looks like it's done the job for you. Between what you and Ian have told me, it looks doable to repair it with basic tools and a bit of effort. You both been really helpful. I'll start planning things at my end now ....

John
 
Al203,

Thanks, That's fairly clear, the patching/reinforcing approach certainly looks like it's done the job for you. Between what you and Ian have told me, it looks doable to repair it with basic tools and a bit of effort. You both been really helpful. I'll start planning things at my end now ....

John
Yes, it is very doable. Back yourself, you'll be fine :)
 
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