rusting corrosion

by alan B Tue Feb 11, 2020 5:35 pm

Our 1994 Trophy has very bad corrosion hole beneath the off side centre panel big window, above the gas heater unit. Has anyone had similar experience? Is it possible to still find replacement panel? Would the whole of the inside coachwork/panelling/insulation have to be removed? It looks like a very big job. Everything else is in very good order, so don't want to give in. Any suggestions/advice welcomed. Thanks in advance. Alan

by Roopert Tue Feb 11, 2020 7:09 pm

Unfortunately A/S typically did not make a good job of rustproofing around the hole that they cut for the water heater, and it's not confined to VW-based conversions! My Transit-based Flair suffered badly in that area too.

Availability of aftermarket repair panels for that location is not great either, because in most of the markets that the T4 is sold there's a sliding door on that side, and the fixed panel is on the other side (and is fairly easy to obtain - e.g. here: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

However, it's not a complex shape, so any decent body shop should not have too much trouble fabricating a repair panel to use, if it's only the centre that has rusted. Alternatively you might find that the panel is still available from VW - though I would expect it to be several hundred quid as opposed to a few tens for a pattern part.

The bad news is that your body shop will probably want the bench seat removed while they do the work. I did this myself on the Flair and it was quite awkward to do, but it was significantly cheaper than paying the body repairer to do it, and I probably ended up with a better result inside because I could take my time and find all of the hidden fixings!

Good luck...

by Dave 418 Tue Feb 11, 2020 8:34 pm

This sounds the same problem we had with our Duetto. The area around the heater and the floor and sill on ours was corroded. A combination of condensation and a leaking pipe on the water heater. The side bench and heater was taken out to be sure the floor was not rotten. It didn’t help the carpet being put in before the bench seat. Whilst the heater was leaking the carpet acted as a sponge.
Sorry to cast gloom and doom. The people that repaired the Duetto said it was the worst Transit they had seen for years not helped by lack of rust prevention during the convention, it was a bad week when our Duetto was built.

by Bulletguy Thu Feb 13, 2020 6:09 pm

alan B wrote:Our 1994 Trophy has very bad corrosion hole beneath the off side centre panel big window, above the gas heater unit. Has anyone had similar experience? Is it possible to still find replacement panel? Would the whole of the inside coachwork/panelling/insulation have to be removed? It looks like a very big job. Everything else is in very good order, so don't want to give in. Any suggestions/advice welcomed. Thanks in advance. Alan

If it is exactly where you say it is then possibly it's not as bad as it sounds. The boiler/heater may well have to be removed but before doing anything, source a local skilled welder and let them have a look at the corrosion with boiler "in situ".

If any consolation i once bought a '93 Leisuredrive conversion on Transit chassis. I took a punt on it as it had no MOT but the seller was prepared to transport it to my home address which clinched the deal. I booked it for MOT and after much prodding and poking they wrote it off as a basket case. But one of the mechanics came to me before i left and suggested i took it to an independent welder who gave it a thorough look over and agreed to take the job on. He did the work with everything in the van. Seventeen years later that van is still on the road.

by Bulletguy Thu Feb 13, 2020 6:16 pm

Dave 418 wrote:This sounds the same problem we had with our Duetto. The area around the heater and the floor and sill on ours was corroded. A combination of condensation and a leaking pipe on the water heater. The side bench and heater was taken out to be sure the floor was not rotten. It didn’t help the carpet being put in before the bench seat. Whilst the heater was leaking the carpet acted as a sponge.
Sorry to cast gloom and doom. The people that repaired the Duetto said it was the worst Transit they had seen for years not helped by lack of rust prevention during the convention, it was a bad week when our Duetto was built.

Transits were always noted for their rust spots Dave though i must admit when i owned mine i didn't have any issue around the heater. Even all four arches were original on mine though it helped that it was an LE version which was rustproofed with Dinitrol from new. The mechanics at the garage i used for mot's were also well impressed with the underside which had zero rust or welding work. As one commented, "the best Transit we've seen in years".

by Dave 418 Thu Feb 13, 2020 9:51 pm

All this talk of rustproofing reminded me a product that’s seems to have vanished “Ziebart. . My wife lived in Oldham before we were married . The garage in the same street were agents for Ziebart. If you parked any way near in the summer you’re care was usually cover in spots of Ziebart. They left the doors open when they were spraying.
A lot of people used to paint old engine oil underneath there cars as a rust proof . Not sure how well that worked considering how much salt they put on the roads in the North West area.
My father used to swear by Supertrol now replaced by Dinatrol I think.

by rgermain Fri Feb 14, 2020 8:46 am

Dave 418 wrote:All this talk of rustproofing reminded me a product that’s seems to have vanished “Ziebart. . My wife lived in Oldham before we were married . The garage in the same street were agents for Ziebart. If you parked any way near in the summer you’re care was usually cover in spots of Ziebart. They left the doors open when they were spraying.
A lot of people used to paint old engine oil underneath there cars as a rust proof . Not sure how well that worked considering how much salt they put on the roads in the North West area.
My father used to swear by Supertrol now replaced by Dinatrol I think.

That's why mini, the real ones!, never had front sub frames rust due to good old British oil leaking motors, the rear frames where always going smile!

I also recall using Ziebart and squirting Dinatrol around all external fixings in the 60/70's

My Dad used to paint every outside wooden structure with his old engine oil!
-----------
Richard

by rgermain Fri Feb 14, 2020 8:46 am

Dave 418 wrote:All this talk of rustproofing reminded me a product that’s seems to have vanished “Ziebart. . My wife lived in Oldham before we were married . The garage in the same street were agents for Ziebart. If you parked any way near in the summer you’re care was usually cover in spots of Ziebart. They left the doors open when they were spraying.
A lot of people used to paint old engine oil underneath there cars as a rust proof . Not sure how well that worked considering how much salt they put on the roads in the North West area.
My father used to swear by Supertrol now replaced by Dinatrol I think.

by Bulletguy Fri Feb 14, 2020 5:38 pm

Dave 418 wrote:All this talk of rustproofing reminded me a product that’s seems to have vanished “Ziebart. . My wife lived in Oldham before we were married . The garage in the same street were agents for Ziebart. If you parked any way near in the summer you’re care was usually cover in spots of Ziebart. They left the doors open when they were spraying.
A lot of people used to paint old engine oil underneath there cars as a rust proof . Not sure how well that worked considering how much salt they put on the roads in the North West area.
My father used to swear by Supertrol now replaced by Dinatrol I think.

I remember my Dad having a new car he'd bought rustproofed with Zeibart! Regards oil sprays, many garages used to do it though few seem to now. It was cheap and kept the underseal pliable but a bit messy.

Worst case of "rustproofing" i heard of was a car my brother-in-law bought brand new, an Austin Princess. It wasn't long before it broke down and when he took it for repair he got a big shock as the mechanics discovered it had never been undersealed! He got it done under warranty then sold the thing damn quick!

by kaspian Fri Feb 14, 2020 6:48 pm

I remember when my works van was a small Bedford with what seemed to be around 5 hp. To a 22 year old 'Senna' dropping a gear just produced more noise and no increase in speed! My boss announced that I was getting a new Morris Ital and please be careful as it is a LOT faster than the old Bedford! My colleague turned and said to the boss ' you do realise he drives a TVR 3 litre V6?
I picked up the brand new Ital that our workshop had just fully rustproofed with Dinitrol and drove the 100 yards from our workshop to the main road end . On applying the brakes I found there were none and sailed straight across the busy road and smacked the kerb opposite! I limped back to our garage with number plate hanging off to torrents of abuse from the mechanics until they realised that they had rustproofed the DISC BRAKES too. Required new pads and a thorough clean of the discs and an explanation to our boss.... hugegrins

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