At the weekend I did a fairly thorough examination of my GTi auto. There are some areas of rust - we all know where they are:
Inside front wings in front of the suspension (and largely hidden by the air cleaner/ABS block and to a lesser degree the LHM tank). There is perforation on the n/s but it has been well oiled and doesn't appear to have got worse since the middle of 2006, when I discovered it.
In front of the rear arches where the sill meets. But it has been treated and painted over for two years now and doesn't appear to be getting worse.
Now the bit that I found: The nearside boot floor is heavily rusted in the n/s rear corner, above where the back box is. If cleared the area (the carpet was damp so there must've been water getting in when it was parked outside/being jetwashed... After wire brushing and cleaning up the area, there are two holes - which together amount to about 6 square inches of missing metal...
I could get all of this welded I guess and it would cost a fair amount.
Now, I'll tell you what I was going to do, but I imagine many of you will take a sharp intake of breath and tell me not to bodge, just bite the bullet...
I was intending to use rust converter on the boot floor, top and bottom, anti-rust prime it, fill and fibre glass the area - allowing for the rubber stopper there, make good, hammerite the s**t out of it, underseal the underneath (and try and find the cause of the water egress). Is this a repair that, if done well (and I'm confident I can do it well) will give me a stay of execution so to speak for a year or two? I have most of what I need so won't cost me much...
As for the inner wings, same again, but it's not as serious there, and I'll tackle rear arches/sills if rust appears again...
Now, if anyone out there fancies a bit of welding practice, let me know
Rust to worry about?
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Rust to worry about?
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Mine had it in exactly the same place....the exhaust hanger had fallen off!
Cut it all out, welded a plate in and then welded a new hanger on. Then resealed etc, its fine now.
Cut it all out, welded a plate in and then welded a new hanger on. Then resealed etc, its fine now.
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Re: Rust to worry about?
I'd be happy to weld it for you, as that bit of the BX is fairly easy to get to.... except I'm rather a lot of miles away from you, and with the weather as it is, It's rather difficult to do anything that needs the car to be clean and dry, as my driveway is muddy and wet (and 'orrible)Philip chidlow wrote:Now, if anyone out there fancies a bit of welding practice, let me know
Good excuse to get my garage clear though.
this might be a signature
Ditto.
Mine needs doing too, although it's not as far gone as that. Local bodyshop has quoted me £50 on a Saturday, or £170 on a weekday. Reason being that he does cash jobs on Saturday, but during the week he has to put it through the books!
It may be worth buying a Mig welder and going on a course.
Is rust going to kill off all our BXes?
Mine needs doing too, although it's not as far gone as that. Local bodyshop has quoted me £50 on a Saturday, or £170 on a weekday. Reason being that he does cash jobs on Saturday, but during the week he has to put it through the books!
It may be worth buying a Mig welder and going on a course.
Is rust going to kill off all our BXes?
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Welding is easy, if boring.
MiG's are cheap enough these days, as is renting an Argon / Co2 bottle.
Get yourself a few scrap pieces pf steel of varying thickness and have a play, it's very easy to pick up.
Rust is becoming an issue on BX's, but less so than many other cars from lesser manufacturers of that era.
I'd personally rather rebuild engines all day than weld but both of my cars are going to need some surgery soon so I may have a welding sesh over summer....
Cheers
Chris G
MiG's are cheap enough these days, as is renting an Argon / Co2 bottle.
Get yourself a few scrap pieces pf steel of varying thickness and have a play, it's very easy to pick up.
Rust is becoming an issue on BX's, but less so than many other cars from lesser manufacturers of that era.
I'd personally rather rebuild engines all day than weld but both of my cars are going to need some surgery soon so I may have a welding sesh over summer....
Cheers
Chris G
Smokes lots, because enough's enough already!
Far too many BX's, a bus, an ambulance a few trucks, not enough time and never enough cash...
Far too many BX's, a bus, an ambulance a few trucks, not enough time and never enough cash...