Peugeot Boxer (1998) Corrosion

We have acquired a 1998 Autosleeper Symphony for which the base vehicle is the Peugeot Boxer (1.9 TDi). It looks very presentable on the surface and underneath the bonnet but most certainly not under the front wings. Both sides have suffered extensive corrosion directly above the wheel, behind the plastic splashguards fitted in front of the wheels and on the outside wall of the box section surrounding the front suspension struts. This is all being repaired by patching welded sections but I would like to understand how this has occurred in the first place.

I am not convinced that the corrosion has all been from the outside in. I think it has also come from the inside out and may well be due to the way any rainwater drains from the roof and screen. This is channelled mainly into a "hopper" under the base of the screen via the plastic surround at the base of the screen but it can also go down the inside of the outer wing where the wing contacts the corners of the windscreen. The inner wing has also corroded here and I suspect has been letting rainwater into the wing section below where it has difficulty exiting.

I have taken steps to make sure the hopper is working as it should (including directing its drain well away from the gearbox!). I have also inserted seals at the corners below the windscreen in an effort to minimise water ingress down the inside of the outer wing but I would be very interested in any comments you can offer that might help including telling me if I am doing anything wrong!!

If anyone has had any previous experience of similar corrosion and has any (constructive!) advice to offer, I am a willing listener.

Thank you
David

There is extensive info on the web re this, and some on this forum where the poor design of the scuttle drains onto engine, battery tray and cross members and anywhere the dreaded steel worm can reach. It really is a simple cure to stop this if it is caught early enough you need to do a bit of searching, start on these forums

DavidandIsobel wrote:We have acquired a 1998 Autosleeper Symphony for which the base vehicle is the Peugeot Boxer (1.9 TDi). It looks very presentable on the surface and underneath the bonnet but most certainly not under the front wings. Both sides have suffered extensive corrosion directly above the wheel, behind the plastic splashguards fitted in front of the wheels and on the outside wall of the box section surrounding the front suspension struts. This is all being repaired by patching welded sections but I would like to understand how this has occurred in the first place.

Both sides or just one side? if one side, which side?

Frank