- Thread starter al1959
- Start date
thanks for your advise guys, i have no experience on cars but have owned a welder for the last 10 to 12 years, fiest one was an arc welder and i now have a mig welder, i have made a few shelving units for my sheds and for mates as well, i have done odd little jobs over the years so i do have a little experience and a lot of tools that would be needed to weld on a car,
because i had to ask does not mean i have never used a welder before, im asking because i have never worked on a car before now.
qwakers. thanks for marking off how i should start, 1.2 or 2mm sheet metal?. so starting at that point for cutting out and welding do i then continue all the way around?
because i had to ask does not mean i have never used a welder before, im asking because i have never worked on a car before now.
qwakers. thanks for marking off how i should start, 1.2 or 2mm sheet metal?. so starting at that point for cutting out and welding do i then continue all the way around?
Smallfry
HE's Spartacus.
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I agree. I have been cutting out and redoing "professional" repairs on my Renault. The work was appalling, and I am glad I did not pay for it.
remember that to be '' professional '' you only have to get paid for doing it , no one ever said you have to be good at it.
basically to repair anything on a car you need an edge ,,, its the start / finish point , so you have to clean paint and rust off until theres a silver solid ring right round the area , once you have that you can plan your repair , you cant just start and not know where it will end or you end up with big holes and no reference points ,, and never ever ever ever ever do both sides at once , then if it does go wrong there is nothing to measure and copy . hth.
I do a lot of this sort of work , lol ,, usually too much , a Cappuccino tomorrow , two sills and lower wheel arch inners to make , also as a last thought , dont clean back to good metal with a flap disc ,, or you will have nothing to weld to , either a 3m surface prep pad , or a 1mm cutting disc , the disc takes practice to get the technique right.
I do a lot of this sort of work , lol ,, usually too much , a Cappuccino tomorrow , two sills and lower wheel arch inners to make , also as a last thought , dont clean back to good metal with a flap disc ,, or you will have nothing to weld to , either a 3m surface prep pad , or a 1mm cutting disc , the disc takes practice to get the technique right.
mike 109444
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That looks to be two plates (blue line) and the rust runs under the top plate. The seam sealer has allowed moisture to sit under it and rust.
Use and old but sharp wood chistle to remove the sealer and paint it will then show up the extent of the rust.
Try and find a body parts image for your version to see if it shows the two (or more) plates that make up the top mount.
Use and old but sharp wood chistle to remove the sealer and paint it will then show up the extent of the rust.
Try and find a body parts image for your version to see if it shows the two (or more) plates that make up the top mount.
mike 109444
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A power file would help to clean up back to good metal
Is it a mk6?
Get in there with a screwy and scrape away any sealer etc, underneath too, to see the true extent of the tinworm.
Don't recall doing the turrets being much more of a hassle, everything rots on them, just remember to use thicker steel as mentioned above
If you are after function over form, job won't be as difficult.
Edit: It's a smiley isn't it.......shocking, as an owner, i didn't initially recognise.
Pull damper off and get digging, easypeasy
Get in there with a screwy and scrape away any sealer etc, underneath too, to see the true extent of the tinworm.
Don't recall doing the turrets being much more of a hassle, everything rots on them, just remember to use thicker steel as mentioned above
If you are after function over form, job won't be as difficult.
Edit: It's a smiley isn't it.......shocking, as an owner, i didn't initially recognise.
Pull damper off and get digging, easypeasy
Last edited:
mr haynes w reg 2000 mk4 camper.
well yes i am edging towards do this myself but i will need you guys behind me to guide me along, don`t assume that i would know what you mean straight off as i have never workd on a car in my life so at 64 i think this is going to be an eye opener, it will be a fortnight or so before i can start though so please keep an eye open for me coming back. after having heart surgery a few years ago i have lots of free time to sort this out.
mike 109444, yes it is two plates together.
what might seem obvious to you guys is all new to me so help me through this with detailed directions, like tonight i just learnt off you that the part in question is called a turret..... see i am half way there already lol
well yes i am edging towards do this myself but i will need you guys behind me to guide me along, don`t assume that i would know what you mean straight off as i have never workd on a car in my life so at 64 i think this is going to be an eye opener, it will be a fortnight or so before i can start though so please keep an eye open for me coming back. after having heart surgery a few years ago i have lots of free time to sort this out.
mike 109444, yes it is two plates together.
what might seem obvious to you guys is all new to me so help me through this with detailed directions, like tonight i just learnt off you that the part in question is called a turret..... see i am half way there already lol
does anyone have photos or a link to turrets being repaired? i have looked all over and nothing comes up as a turret being repaired and welded.
is the term turret the correct word to look for or can it be also known as something else.
i will take a few extra photos today which hopefully you could use as qwaker did to draw on with paint to show where you think cuts should go.
fleabay has sheets of mild steel 1000 x 600 x 1.2mm for £30, would one be enough or could you tell me exactly what i should order in as i will also need to repair the arch and i gather i will have cuts to the side panel between the arch and door to allow me to get all around the turret?
so its just ordering in the metal and a power file (finger file as suggested above) everything else i have..
the fllow will need doing as well but i will come to that later, i am not so worried with that whereas the turret is a bit daunting without a doubt.
thanks
is the term turret the correct word to look for or can it be also known as something else.
i will take a few extra photos today which hopefully you could use as qwaker did to draw on with paint to show where you think cuts should go.
fleabay has sheets of mild steel 1000 x 600 x 1.2mm for £30, would one be enough or could you tell me exactly what i should order in as i will also need to repair the arch and i gather i will have cuts to the side panel between the arch and door to allow me to get all around the turret?
so its just ordering in the metal and a power file (finger file as suggested above) everything else i have..
the fllow will need doing as well but i will come to that later, i am not so worried with that whereas the turret is a bit daunting without a doubt.
thanks
I'm far from an expert on these things, but if the floor needs doing too, I'd probably be tempted to tackle that first if you can, as a bit of a training exercise before you start on the structural stuff.
Starting with something easy will give you a chance to get used to working on the vehicle and using the materials and techniques that you'll be using for your strut tower repair in an easier setting.
Starting with something easy will give you a chance to get used to working on the vehicle and using the materials and techniques that you'll be using for your strut tower repair in an easier setting.
Dcal
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- Antrim Northern Ireland
Not a Transit but I did something similar on an Iveco camper recently.
Not that complicated but it will be slow if you haven't done any welding on cars before.
Don't be afraid to give yourself room to see what you are doing but not so much that you lose critical dimensions.
I would give it a go, as has been said before, if you are particular, take your time and ask for advice on here you will almost certainly do a better job than most of the "professionally" welded repairs I've seen.
With any luck it won't be as bad as this one was.
Stuff you have made today
Today i have spent the full day cutting the chassis rails from under this shooting range to make it sit 7 inches lower on the truck for my mate...SAF plasma never missed a beat all day and only went through 2 tips on the cutter. Took my 2 lads with me as it needed 2 fork trucks in tandem to lift...
www.mig-welding.co.uk
