Rear Rot

hvanman · Post by **hvanman** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 5:42 pm

The deeper I dig, sadly the more I find to worry about on the 19RD... From what I can see, it has been driven through mud most of it's life and never been cleaned off underneath, resulting in mud caked on everywhere and anything under the mud rusting badly.

All the rear pipes need changing, even the ones to the rear brakes and suspension, along with the all the long ones from front to rear to splice in and a few at the front!

I have also now found that in addition to the rear sections of both sills being totally rotten, (and both front inner wings), there is also a large'ish area of the box section that the rear suspension bump stops are fixed to rotted out, up near the front of the rear sub frame.

This looks pretty hard to get to. Does anyone know if it is possible to get access to here? Is dropping the sub frame an option and if so, what is involved, as I don't have a ramp or welding gear and if I have to pay someone to drop the sub frame as well as do the welding, I am getting the feeling that I should just give up on this car.

It was suposed to be an economic car for me after redundancy, but has already needed a fair bit spent on all service items, discs, pads, track rods, hand brake cables, glow plugs, belts, exhaust (and the clutch is on the way out) and with several hundred to spend on the welding, plus a set of wheels and a replacement interior needed, the numbers just keep on adding up!

I don't like giving up on cars, especially since it drives so well and has plenty of life in the engine, but there are a couple of nice estates on eBay, at not unreasonable prices....

Post by **Defender110** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 6:01 pm

I hate to add to your woe's but so you have a clearer picture of what might be required spend 5 minutes taking your rear bumper off and you will probably have to add rear cross member / boot floor to your list of welding. Sorry!

Philip Chidlow · Post by **Philip Chidlow** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 6:06 pm

You're right there are some nice BXs around for sale at the moment. OK - it sounds like sacrilege to say it and I'm not in full possession of the facts in detail of course - but my advice would be to seriously consider cutting your losses and buy wisely using the RD as a donor.

hvanman · Post by **hvanman** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 7:31 pm

It is a hard call, as I have already done a fair bit to the car and there is a nevousness of going from one set of challenges to another, plus I really need a 1991 or earlier car for the classic insurance..... I think I will see what the guy who does my welding says and make a decission then, as I don't like giving up on car that could give several years good service if the main problems are ironed out.... but it does look a damn tricky place to access for welding.... !

sdelasal · Post by **sdelasal** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:20 pm

From the problems that you list I can imagine the repair bill getting very expensive - 200-300+ perhaps. A set of front to rear pipes cost me ~100 I think by time VAT & postage was added - I fitted them myself.
If you have the room, then I would say look around for a better car. You know where exactly to look now for the rot points. Then run yours till the mot expires, pick it clean for parts, turn the shell in for scrap and re-coup some of your losses. That way, you'll end up with a more sound car and a pile of useful spares to keep it on the road at minimal cost. If you love welding and life on the garage floor in winter then patch up what you have of course. Steve

citsncycles · Post by **citsncycles** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 10:21 pm

If you were doing the work yourself I'd say go for it, but unless your welder is really cheap you're going to spend more than the car's worth in repairs, which doesn't make sense if money's tight.

If you do go ahead, drop the subframe and get all the pipes changed at the same time as the welding. If you are going this far and can afford it, I'd change all the pipes, not just the ones that need doing now.

hvanman · Post by **hvanman** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 9:53 pm

Thanks Steve and Mike, the welding is going to be around 200, but that was before I found this awkward to get at hole! The guy is pretty reasonable, as he is a small concern and I am going to strip the wings off, any bits in the way and trim etc...

By the way, does anyone know the best way to remove the sort of triangular shaped plastic trim section low down on the rear wing near the rear doors/end of the sill?

Today the battery let me down (either a drain or weak battery), so had to abandon the car and walk home, which could now be the final straw, so seriously considering buying the very nice looking red estate in Cornwall and then just doing the very basics to try and get this one through the MOT (having invested a fair bit on it already, none of which needed on the estate) and then selling it on maybe via eBay for someone who wants a cheap car with a years ticket... must get me a bit more than scrap value and means it might live on, as it drives lovely and the engine is excellent?

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 11:06 pm

Shame you've found so many problems. Are some of them just areas that you could attend to at a later date when the weather is nicer & when funds allow. You could always buy the estate you've mentioned & just take this one off the road & re-commission it over time. Anything can be fixed & it would be a shame to give up?

hvanman · Post by **hvanman** » Thu Dec 15, 2011 10:49 pm

Yes, I'm not giving up on the old girl, but just have to try and do it on a tiny budget. She's got new disks, pads, handbrake cables, filters, belts, oil, track rod arms, exhaust, radio, glow plugs etc and only 110k on the clock and very happy in the fast lane, so if I can get the rust sorted so it's structualy OK, but maybe not pretty, then she stands a chance.

I also have the chance to make my own pipes up from a length of pipe, fittings, joiners and flare tool from Rob at Chevronics who is a good friend and near me, so maybe early next year I can then sort out the rear pipes at low cost, which will then leave her sound and I will just have to put up with the heavy clutch pedal and hope it holds out!!