How much should this welding cost

[JulesV8]

Ladies and Gents,

I wonder if anyone could tell me how much I can expect to pay for the following repairs.

- Welding a patch (3 inch by 2inch - flat) to a sill, at bottom of the B pillar, on the underside - ie facing road?

Not being a welder myself (but a skill I feel I should learn - being in land rover ownership) I would be using someones expertise

Also, I have got underslung 36L lpg tanks...what recommendations would people have. Given its such a small patch, should I remove the tank or simply place a guard of some sort in front of it?

thanks

Jules

[redhand]

Ladies and Gents,

I wonder if anyone could tell me how much I can expect to pay for the following repairs.

- Welding a patch (3 inch by 2inch - flat) to a sill, at bottom of the B pillar, on the underside - ie facing road?

Not being a welder myself (but a skill I feel I should learn - being in land rover ownership) I would be using someones expertise

Also, I have got underslung 36L lpg tanks...what recommendations would people have. Given its such a small patch, should I remove the tank or simply place a guard of some sort in front of it?

thanks

Jules

If all the prep work is done beforehand about £20. As long as your not welding the actual tanks and you can get access to the corroded area then you shouldn't need to move the gas tanks a quick check with some leak detector spray or soapy water on the fitting to make sure there's no leaks and a wet towel or similar draped over the tanks to protect fuel lines wiring etc. Will be fine.

[stevied645]

I bought my own welder for £100 and its paid for itsself with the welding ive had to do so far, ive never welded in my life but after practicing with some scrap metal im not to bad at it, its not to bad ive got 2 plates still to do for mot and then ill be away off roading everyday lol.

[skip2]

Stick a couple of photos of the area on the forum only ask cause I get asked a lot about these. Mob phone ones will do.

Its often the same its only a small hole until one starts hacking away, sometimes your luckly and its not spead but often the whole panel has to come out. Rehand is right get the prep done which is often the time and therefore money bit and its that plus the "plating" which costs.

For example did a small 6 x 1 patch on a still, took me 1 hour to clean back to bright metal, take bits off, then 30 mins to make patch, and 5 minutes to actual weld it. Took longer to disconect the electrics.

After a good 10 mins paint, wait for drying etc then couple of other coats, etc car off the road for whole day.

[Tom Mepham]

As you say skip2, its when you start hacking away at disco sills you can get into all sorts of trouble. As long as finger pressure won't make it anyworse then it'll be ok to blast a patch on over the hole.
This can be tricky if the steel around the hole has gone thin with rust.
Landrover ownership and Welder ownership go very much hand in hand, I bought myself a Sealey Professional Mig a few months ago and its been one of the best things i'v bought for a long time.
Its welded my disco up for MOT, as well as our van and my mates Defender is wearing a nice new rear cross member now.
Worth Every Penny!

[JulesV8]

Right gents, here are the pics...

Incidentally, when you press it, it does crunch but I cannot feel "spongyness"...my finger wont go through. would this mean I could buy myself more time as it would pass the MOT?

Thansk for the advise Re prepping for the work though by prepping do you mena cut out the bad stuff and make it all nice and shiny then take it to the welder? The chap is round the corner so I would have to clean it up on my drive and then drive it round to him...wont snap in 1/2 will it?

What do you think from the pics?
Thanks
J

[JulesV8]

hurrah, pics worked.

As you can see its not acutally the base of the B pillar but the double seam in front, heading towards the drivers door.

If I clean this up, will it acutally need welding?

thanks Gents

J

[Tom Mepham]

JulesV8
From your photos I can't actualy see a hole, a nice rusty scab but if there is no hole and you can apply finger pressure with out making a hole then it should get an MOT. I think you can get away with a 19mm diameter hole for mot anyway. Mine had rotted in the same place and i'v just welded a patch over it. It won't snap!!

[Beedoc]

JulesV8
From your photos I can't actualy see a hole, a nice rusty scab but if there is no hole and you can apply finger pressure with out making a hole then it should get an MOT. I think you can get away with a 19mm diameter hole for mot anyway. Mine had rotted in the same place and i'v just welded a patch over it. It won't snap!!


Any hole within 12" of a load bearing area, which it has to be said ends up being virtually the whole vehicle nowadays, will be a fail. Whether a sill on a chassis vehicle is considered load bearing will be down to the tester. I would say with a Discovery (body mounts), it is.
I would also say the sooner you sort the rot out the easier the job and the less it will spread and the longer you will have the vehicle and the less you will spend. Phew! run out of breath there....

[Tom Mepham]

Agreed Beedoc, is best to get it repaired and waxoyled inside the sill before the whole sill is rotten and needs replacing.
I cut holes with a 20mm hole saw in the sides of the sill box section (best done after welding!) blasted a load of waxoyl inside the sill.
Hopefully this treatment will slow the tin worm up a bit!

[JulesV8]

Thanks for your help Gents.

you are right there is no hole but as its "crunchy" I'm of the opinion that this should indeed be sorted out. I need to take the plastic triim off and have a closer look and see if there are any other areas requiring attention.

Regarding the Waxoil, I was plannig to do this once the welding is done but I have questions. Waxoil is for the inside of the chassis, the sills and any other cubby hole (doors and so on) but do you also apply it to the outside of the chassis? If not, would a couple of coats of hammerite do the trick? and is this referred to as "undersealing" (if not, what product would you recommend for undersealing?)

When painting the underside with Hammerrite, what should I NOT paint?

thanks for all your help,

Jules

[Beedoc]

Thanks for your help Gents.

you are right there is no hole but as its "crunchy" I'm of the opinion that this should indeed be sorted out. I need to take the plastic triim off and have a closer look and see if there are any other areas requiring attention.

Regarding the Waxoil, I was plannig to do this once the welding is done but I have questions. Waxoil is for the inside of the chassis, the sills and any other cubby hole (doors and so on) but do you also apply it to the outside of the chassis? If not, would a couple of coats of hammerite do the trick? and is this referred to as "undersealing" (if not, what product would you recommend for undersealing?)

When painting the underside with Hammerrite, what should I NOT paint?

thanks for all your help,

Jules


Waxoyl comes in two colours, clear and black. The black is thicker than the
clear and can be used for the underside of cars and chassis.
If you use clear on the outside most will end up on the floor. Black can be used on the inside with a probe but it is best to thin it first or it wont reach the seams and the further reaches. Always heat it up a bit, unless our glorious summer has done the job for you.
The Black is nice to brush on if it's alowd to thicken in a tub first. This is often cheaper than spraying, as spraying (with a shutz gun) tends to empty the cans quite quickly. Spraying is a lot quicker, but you will miss places that only a brush will catch.
I always use Waxoyl instead of paint. Firstly, if scratched it self heals, if applied correctly (not too thin). It also has rust converting properties, not as good as Jenolite and the like, but it seems to have an effect. Also, once it's applied to a prepared chassis, it wont eventually flake and peel like underseal and paint, if applied correctly (not too thick).
In short, if you aren't going down the route of a rivet counter, then I think Waxoyl can't be beat. Once it's set, but never goes hard, not even a power washer will fetch it off.
I keep an open tin with some in, covered in a rag (keeps it soft but not runny), so if I see a spot that needs attention whilst doing something else, I...well...the Wife is informed and it gets a quick splash. This wouldn't be necessary if the chassis was prepared properly, but there's always somewhere you miss some flaky underseal or rust.
If you treat the inside of sections you will find that it can stop a MIG welder in it's tracks as it burns out through the seams. It wont bother gas welding, but burn the stuff off first as it can become a towering inferno and/or drip down and give nasty burns. It can also go bang inside sections when welding, but this is only because it's igniting in a small space and although it will leave you a little deaf, it puts itself out.

[JulesV8]

Beedoc,

Thanks for the advice, I think I'll stick with the waxoyl as it sounds much easier and can be "slapped" on subject to it being "not too runny and not too thick".

Anyone have any thing to add about what to slap waxoyl on and what to avoid? what about axles? Waxoyl or hammerite?

Thanks for the good advice.

J

[Beedoc]

Beedoc,

Thanks for the advice, I think I'll stick with the waxoyl as it sounds much easier and can be "slapped" on subject to it being "not too runny and not too thick".

Anyone have any thing to add about what to slap waxoyl on and what to avoid? what about axles? Waxoyl or hammerite?

Thanks for the good advice.

J

You can apply to the suspension componants, axles etc. Avoid the swivel balls and getting on the brakes though.
Thin it down with a splash of old engine oil or thinners and pump into the springs to give a smoother? ride and longer life.
It's good practice to avoid rubber items, but the genuine Waxoyl is aok with such pieces.

[Tom Mepham]

I'v always used clear wax and blasted it on with a shutz gun, just applyed it everywhere, as said avoid breaks ect. Before I applyed any wax I oiled the chassis and body and well everything including myself with clean engine oil and parrafin mixed 50/50. Got a spray gun for doing this too, it seems a better way to treat rust as it soaks in better than wax, that often just lays on the surface and goes hard where the oil in the wax has been absorbed by rust.
I would never use paint or underseal because it looks ok but you find that rust is still eating away under the paint finish.
Think about it, if you have somthing thats gone rusty(maybe mower blades or somthing left out in the rain) - what would you normaly put on it?
Probably oil!
Tom

[JulesV8]

Thanks Beedoc and good point Tom.

Will avoid the hammerite and will be applying generous costs of thinned oil and waxoyl.

thanks for the great advice

Jules

[JulesV8]

Well after closer "poking, I now have a hole so I'm on the look out for a welder near Gatwick...

Bu**er...but was expected. Last year was the boot floor, this year will be the sills

I still love it though!!!!

J