Discovery of a rusty floor

[hpi_matrix]

Whilst replacing the door seals I discovered this:

 

 

The box section seems ok, so can I just put a patch where the floor has rotted away?

 

 

[Rusty_Rocket]

You can just patch it.  Finding something sufficient to weld to will be the issue.  Have you been brave enough to look behind the plastic 'sill' covers yet?!

[hpi_matrix]

You can just patch it.  Finding something sufficient to weld to will be the issue.  Have you been brave enough to look behind the plastic 'sill' covers yet?!

 

I gave them a prod from the inside and they seemed "ok", at the moment im more concerned about going in a deep puddle and being up to my nuts in brown water!

[eddyramrod]

I daren't look under Hyacinth's carpets for this very reason...

[Snipes]

lol I lifted my old E30's carpets to check on the leccy window wiring to find a pond, insects and lots of rust.

[Uncle Jimmy]

Are we allowed to know what car it is?

[sierraman]

Once it's gone like that it's time to say goodbye. There's some serious welding to be done there.

[andy18s]

Are we allowed to know what car it is?

Lol

[martc]

I daren't look under Hyacinth's carpets for this very reason...

 

What happened to the double entendres thread? (again)

[Guest Hooli]

I gave them a prod from the inside and they seemed "ok", at the moment im more concerned about going in a deep puddle and being up to my nuts in brown water!

 

That's an advantage! if the car doesn't leak you have to open a door to sink & get the wheels on the bottom to drive out anyway...

[John F]

Nibblet, on 14 Jun 2017 - 11:43 AM, said:

Are we allowed to know what car it is?

 

Is that a Disco 1? If so, the rot will have SPREAD.

 

There's no easy way to put this. If you intend to keep the car there's really only one long-term solution. Look up "Discovery 1 box section sill replacement", then get a box of Kleenex ready to mop up your floods of tears as you realise how much work you have coming up...

 

(If it's any consolation I suspect mine might need doing this year as well)

[Rusty_Rocket]

Once it's gone like that it's time to say goodbye. There's some serious welding to be done there.

 

In the case of any other car from the last 30 years, I'd agree with you.  But not so a Land Rover.  The floor is really only there to keep the weather out and the 'sills' and surrounding area are only MoT-able because of the seat belt mounting points.

 

It's single skinned metal here and mainly flat.  I'm sure there's certainly more grot behind the plastic sill covers, and the box section modification is a good one.  The nature of these brilliant vehicles means they are kept going with patch repairs until major things start happening (!) so I'd simply plate the visible areas and keep the thing working.

[sierraman]

Land Rover probably only car financially where it's worth doing repairs such as this. Usually once the body has gone you are done in most cars.

[andy18s]

There's no easy way to put this. If you intend to keep the car there's really only one long-term solution. Look up "Discovery 1 box section sill replacement"

There are plenty of Disco's out there which had perfectly good sills and floors replaced as an "upgrade",usually to facilitate rock sliders ect being fitted

[John F]

In the case of any other car from the last 30 years, I'd agree with you.  But not so a Land Rover.  The floor is really only there to keep the weather out and the 'sills' and surrounding area are only MoT-able because of the seat belt mounting points.

 

It's single skinned metal here and mainly flat.  I'm sure there's certainly more grot behind the plastic sill covers, and the box section modification is a good one.  The nature of these brilliant vehicles means they are kept going with patch repairs until major things start happening (!) so I'd simply plate the visible areas and keep the thing working.

 

The monocoque is also fixed to the chassis by two body mounts (one each at the front & back of the inner sill).

 

You could plate over the grot & keep it going for a while, but the problem is only going to go away if the job is done properly. This is why I mentioned the box section sill repair, which is the standard solution to this rot spot.

[John F]

There are plenty of Disco's out there which had perfectly good sills and floors replaced as an "upgrade",usually to facilitate rock sliders ect being fitted

 

Yeah, probably. Box section is much tougher than the original sill, but personally I wouldn't bother doing the work until absolutely necessary.

[Momentary Lapse Of Reason]

Done loads of these,That is a doodle to fix.

(As long as you can weld)

 

Yes you can just patch.

 

Give it a brush with the wire brush, prod with old screwdriver and see if you get holes across into where the green paint still is.

Also take off the plastic sill cover things, with a nail or parallel punch knock the central pin into the sill to allow you to pull the outer bit off with pliers.

The plastic rivet is part number 79086L and they are buttons each ( http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Landrover-Discovery-1-Sill-Trim-Rivet-Clip-79086L-x10-/142408295035?hash=item212832227b:m:m9_f3gp_f1rfFfdDMKJCV7A for example).

Give the vertical sill you can now see a good clean and have a look for any holes that aren't meant to be there.

Photograph and report back.

[hpi_matrix]

Yes sorry it is a discovery 1, the rest of the body is relatively clean (jap import).

 

Id like to get away with patching it as I didnt buy it for very much and im not sure how long i'll keep it. I'll take the plastic sills off at the weekend, hopefully there not anywhere near as bad.

 

I can't weld but I acquired a Clarke 160 welder from my father and now seems like the perfect time to learn.

[sierraman]

Rivet some old road signs over it then paste some underseal on to it.

[theshadow]

in the the day thats was what fibreglass matting was for

[dieselassist]

...chasing back to good/non rusty 'parent'; ie actually finding some nice clean metal to weld to, might be 'an issue' with learning to weld on one of these - they rot everywhere!!

Heres an old thread of me welding my disco1 daily's sill up...

 

http://autoshite.com/topic/19955-dieselassists-disco-lights-300tdi-commercial/

 

...I even had to bust out the welder again on it this evening - looking for cable adjustment for a 'slack as me kacks' handbrake - I found the bottom of the lever bracket busted in two along the middle - out that came, straightened with the big hammer, welded n fitted back in... moral of the tale is, if you intend to run one of these long term, your going to show it the sparkly wand, once every so often (er, sometimes very often)...