MOT Fail (Sill corrosion)

[rsaddo]

Just wondering been outa the garage game now for a few years,trucks failed its test today on sill corrosion surely there not structual on these vehicles anyone know different.
thx in advance

[Terranosaurus]

The cills are with 30cm of the chassis/body mounts and the seat belt mounts so are counted as structural.

[wanaron]

seems to be quite commonplace this sill corrosion, see my WAXOYL question post. Any other members failed MOT because of this?
Wayne

[mav]

Hello Wanaron,
Do you know i dont think rust is a big problem for most owners, The only place we hear of it normaly is on the front wing under the trim or around the rear seat belt mountings.

Do you think that she may have been badly grounded at some stage, Maybe before you got it?.

Mav.

[jims-terrano]

The ends of my sills are bubbling, the section at the bottom of the rear wheel arches. I can also see rust bubbling around the rear seat belt mounts but it doesn't look bad yet. Having said that it's MOT time so I will have to wait and see.

Jim T

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

ive noticed that i have rot in the brackets for the front bumper visible in front of the wheels, is this normal? other than that a spot on the back of the wings visible when front doors are open between hinges.

[Terranosaurus]

Do you know i dont think rust is a big problem for most owners, The only place we hear of it normaly is on the front wing under the trim or around the rear seat belt mountings.

I'd have to disagree with that Mav. The older trucks, especially the Mavericks it seems, are definitely starting to rust, I regularly see ones with bubbling round the arches, back end of cills, etc. I think the Mav's tended to be bought by farmers (they were cheaper than T2s) etc and so have seen a harder life or perhaps they skimped on the underseal on the ford badges ones. Even my petrol filler flap is starting to bubble.

[mav]

Think yours has had a little more work than the supermarket trip and picking up the kids from school, Most have never seen any water apart from when there being washed.

Also the older ones are 15 years old, Better than most cars of that age.

[elty001]

mine has got a few rust bubbles on the rear of the sill.its caused by the lower part of the rear inner wheel arch filling up with crud which holds all the moisture then they rot from the inside out.going to spray the bottom half of mine soon as it had a few knocks and scrapes.toying with the idea of doing it with silver hammerite(the smooth one).done about every other 4x4 ive owned in the stuff.out lasts any conventional paint.i dug all the crud out of the arch with a small srewdriver then blasted it with the air line to dry it out and sprayed it with under body shultz to try and slow down the dreaded tin worms.

[rossco]

Try this.

http://www.nissan4x4ownersclub.co.uk/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=6380&highlight=corrosion

[priorperformance]

alot of the rust problems depend on where the vehicle has spent its life,worse cars are the scottish ones,ive seen them rotted out in 5 years.waxoyl the sills inside and should have no probs :wink:

[wanaron]

Dont think my T2 has been grounded, no sign of anything underneath. However will agree with the posting saying condition is dependant on where the motor has spent its life. Mine has come from the North east by the sea. underneath is very dry and as ive said going to Waxoyl it before the dreaded takes hold. already had to change the clutch and fuel pipes as they were bad.
Wayne

[Terranosaurus]

Aye, mine came from the western isles and its suffering fairly badly.

[Deleted Member S]

Mine's from the north east & has been all it's life :lol: but TBH I don't think the area of the UK is the prob :roll: mine has start to rust behind the rear bumper, front valance X member & the sills :twisted: luckly the arches are ok from what I can see apart from a tiny bit of serface on the lower rear wheel arch where all the muck collects :roll:

[rsaddo]

the sills biggest prob is its got a seam nearly level with the back edge of the door and is double skinned which acts as a water trap,
nearly no protection as in zinc paint or wax inside am fitting 2 new skins this weekend then its waxoil time

[wanaron]

know what you mean Rsaddo about a water trap been under and had a good look. You say you re skining and then waxoyling- have you done it yet? just interested to know what method you used or intend to use to get the Waxoyl into the sill cavity. Want to do the same on mine.
Thanks Wayne

[rsaddo]

know what you mean Rsaddo about a water trap been under and had a good look. You say you re skining and then waxoyling- have you done it yet? just interested to know what method you used or intend to use to get the Waxoyl into the sill cavity. Want to do the same on mine.
Thanks Wayne

Now sporting mk3 fiesta 5dr sills and as for waxoiling if you go to the sill at the back wheel follow from the body down the sill to the lip then keep going under the vehicle what id call the inner sill theres 2 rubber grommets perfect for inserting a pipe the length of the sill,
i use a compressor and shultz gun with the extention pipe heat the waxoil adding bout 25% semi sinthetic oil new oil dont use old stuff once its seaping outa ya sill lips gaffer tape the lip to hold the wax,then after about half hour i reversed it onto my car ramps then filled both cavitys with expanding foam this pushes the wax into every cavity then sets curing the need to bugger about ever again its a messy job and takes a while to do but its the best way of stopping this prob.
Also before any welding or waxoiling takes place i coat every piece of tin work with zinc rich primmer inside and out hope this helps :wink:

[wanaron]

Hi Rsaddo, sorry for delay. that sounds a very interesting way of making sure the waxoyl gets where you want it. also intrigued by your use of fiesta sills? are t2 ones not available then?
unfortunately upon further inspection going to have to get my inner sills welded before i waxoyl :( actually holed now. do you or anyone else know the welding specification for inner sills regarding patching the affected area, weld bead length and spacing between welds?
thanks in advance

[Terranosaurus]

If patching anywhere structural must be a conitinuus bead of weld.

I couldn't find cills available anywhere and I'm trade and really looked. Made up the bits i needed and fitted just the rotten part not the whole cill.

[wanaron]

thanks Hummingbird,
well if you looked and you in the trade, then i dont stand much chance of finding any do I. So patching it will have to be! im alritr for now, still got a fair bit of MOT;- but at least i know what needs to be done,
Wayne

[Terranosaurus]

IIRC the front section is available (or was) from Nissan but as its the back bit that rusts thats not a lot of use, you can buy the rear quarter panel (for the SWB) and that comes with the bit of rear cill but it was a bit pricey to say the least.

[wanaron]

mines a lwb, and as you have said its the back of the sill that rots first. Makes you wonder why you can still buy panels for classic cars, yet dont make em for a T2. cos as sure as eggs is eggs they would sell!

[rsaddo]

Like whats been said pattern sills are not avalible nissan wanted nearly 200 quid a side so i used fiesta sills 13 quid for two bargain :wink:

[Deleted Member S]

i used fiesta sills 13 quid for two bargain :wink:

Interesting :smile: did you use the whole sill & which one mk1 -mk5 :?:

[rsaddo]

i used fiesta sills 13 quid for two bargain :wink:

Interesting :smile: did you use the whole sill & which one mk1 -mk5 :?:

The whole sill from a mk3 5dr