Welding and MOT hell

Took our girl for her pre MOT checks today and discovered that the sills had been badly patched in the past, the wheel arches were held together from behind with muck and the outrigger sections need replacing, she is needing a lot of welding and rust prevention from underneath and inside. To try and keep the cost down I have decided to try and strip out the interior myself, I think the wardrobe/gas bottle cupboard, washroom, kitchen unit and both box seats have to come out to allow the guys to remove the insulation and boards etc for safety (fire from torch etc) has anyone on here tried to remove the interior and if so where on earth would I start? Part of me thinks just go for a patch job and try and use her to trade in for something else but my heart doesn't want to give up on what is otherwise a perfectly sound van. The plan is to get all the sections that are bad cut out and replaced and hopefully Prevent any further issues. Any help or advice is desperately needed and greatly appreciated

 Regards

Neil 

So sorry to here that Neil. Difficult decision whether to bodge and sell or do a decent job and keep.

Hi Neil, where exactly does it need welding? I had to have the rear outriggers done a couple of years ago, they looked fine until you squeezed them! I didn't need to strip anything out to have this done. I cannot see why you would need to strip out the interior to have welding done the other outriggers/chassis either?

EDIT: When I had my outriggers welded, the guy apologised for the cost but said that under H&S rules, whenever any welding was done on a vehicle, there had to be another "operative" with a fire extinguisher with the welder at all times, and the extra labour cost pushed the price up.

My MOT guy assures me that the sills on the Boxer are non-structural so if you want to patch them up with fibreglass/filler you can do, they don't need to be welded. Having said that, I have had welded repairs done on both sills without stripping anything out.
Much the same with the wheel arches, they must not have sharp edges which could cause injuries, but they are not structural.

The MOT rules say that there must not be any serious corrosion within a 12" (would need to verify this distance) radius of a suspension mounting point so if the sills are rotten within this radius they would need to have the corrosion removed.

If you trade it in for another, how do you know you wont be buying one in worse condition?

Just my two-pennorth 

Frank

boxerman wrote:
The MOT rules say that there must not be any serious corrosion within a 12" (would need to verify this distance) 
Frank

 30 cm 

Wake up Frank, it's 2013  

PB

Will go along with Frank over a strip out - depends where you need the work doing.

Most body shops use the MIG process for welding nowadays where there is minimal heat displacement though the body around the weld and the Volts and Amps are set correctly with Argoshield or other similar Ar/Co2 mixed gas or better.  
There will be a bit more mess if they still use Co2 only but I doubt if any decent body shop would still be using Co2 (if so it would be cos its cheaper)

peugeotboxer wrote:

boxerman wrote:
The MOT rules say that there must not be any serious corrosion within a 12" (would need to verify this distance) 
Frank

 30 cm 

Wake up Frank, it's 2013  

PB

30cm = 11.81102"  
I was hedging my bets on the safe side  
It's 1806 here!
Frank

Hi guys thanks for the advice, 
having given it some though and checking out some other newer vehicles (19k 2004 94k on the clock) which are clearly heading the same way rust wise I have decided to have a proper job done and have all the corroded areas cut out and new panels/sills welded. It's from the front wheel arch down, along the sills up and under near side and off side, the rear skirt up and under, The outriggers, rear area where step was bolted on underneath has all rotted away. Needs a lot of box section replacing underneath too. It's going to be about 2k including checking the issue with the gears a wheel bearing and break binding on the near side.
 
I think the garage wanted to get the units out to try and check inside some of the panels and spray a preventative coating on the lower internal areas, they have now said they will take out anything that needs removing but I'm still taking off all the cupboard doors etc so I know they will be kept safe and scratch free.

The initial comment from the MOT garage was "give up on her" having since talked to garages and checked others she is FAR from ready to be given up on and the thought of loosing her breaks my heart, internally she is perfect for us and still doesn't look 14 years old. I have been told that once this is done she should be rust free for 5-6 years so hopefully she will be having many more adventures with us.

Also just to add I have checked with the garage today and they are mig welding so fingers crossed there's minimal risk for fire and furniture so that's a relief, now just a tense 2 week wait to see how she looks afterwards  

Neil

2 weeks are up Mr Harper 22.
Hope all is well.
To late to mention that disconnecting batteries when welding, I seem to remember! 
regards
Mike

I've bought a small MIG welder (well I've paid for it - not picked it up yet) as I've spotted a couple of crusty patches under our van. I've also been studying the postings on a welding forum and apparently, modern practice is to leave the battery etc. connected and attach a surge connector, like this one [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] across the terminals.

Frank

Good advice Frank.  As usual.
Mike
ps Hope you do not get too sensitive and leave the site.

yes and its been the 2 longest weeks in history  , I disconnected the leisure battery myself to be on the safe side and the garage will of done the starter battery. Hoping to hear any day now that she is ready for me to collect, Then its just a case of tackling the small rust bobbles round the black window frames and getting the lower half re sprayed (couldn't afford that done at the same time so its coming back with a white primer base and hope I can get it sprayed before the worst of the weather)

Don't leave it too long before the spraying. Primer is hygroscopic, if it's going to be a while before you can afford to get it done properly, cover it using aerosols as a temporary measure to seal it from moisture.

Frank

will just a bog standard Halfords car spray do the job frank? I knew it would need doing quite quickly afterwards but if I can give it a bit of a seal to give me a bit more time to get the funds together that would be helpful

Yes, a can or two of Halfords touch-up spay will be fine. Whoever resprays it should flat it off anyway before spraying.

Frank

cheers frank, would hate to of spent 2k and then have it happen all over again because i couldn't afford the re spray lol 

 The welding on my door step was done by a guy at Boston. Very profesional and reasonable price.Baz mobile welding. I wached a guy welding the floor of a motorhome many years ago. He made the aprentice sit inside with a pile of wet towels on the carpet and a garden spray of water in hand to keep things damp whilst he welded underneath. It seemed to work and when the carpets dryed out you wouldnt know it had been welded from above.

Dave 418 wrote: I wached a guy welding the floor of a motorhome many years ago. He made the aprentice sit inside with a pile of wet towels on the carpet and a garden spray of water in hand to keep things damp whilst he welded underneath. It seemed to work and when the carpets dryed out you wouldnt know it had been welded from above.

That may have had something to do with stopping distortion of the floor while welding. I've read quite a few renovation blogs etc. where they use this trick to stop the floor twisting due to the heat of welding even though the bodywork is stripped bare at the time.

Frank