Water Ingress at Rear Seat Belt Mountings

[Jocky]

Hi there, I've noticed my T2 was starting to ge the dreaded damp smell inside the cab :twisted:

So as the wind has died down a bit today I decided to have a look and see what was happening.

Well I found the carpet under the rear seats and boot floor wet. All the sound proofing was soaking wet :twisted:

I ripped the boot carpet out to find out where it was getting in.

What I found was: There is a plate spot welded on the rear wheel arch which is for the bottom mounting of the rear seat belts. One of the welds on both sides has corroded through to the inside. Everything around the plate and other spot welds is solid. From the wheel arch side the plate is solid and you can't see anything wrong. So I've filled the hole with silicone .

PLEASE CHECK around rear seatbelt bottom mountings for the same problem.

Cheers

:smile:

http://www.nissan4x4ownersclub.co.u...opic&t=3807&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15

 

[bigjim]

body interior / exterior

Hi Gego,
If it was my car i would cut back the rotten part of the car(Welds)and rusty metal around the affected area, to see the extent of the damage, and then get it welded to a high standard, I worked for a heavy Rail repair depot a few years ago, and carried out in depth bodywork repairs to rolling stock.
Believe me rust can serously compromise the safty of your car, and if it is attached to a seatbelt mount your passengers safty could be at risk. if you are in the North Bucks area i could take a look and advise you of your course of action.

Yours Bigjim :roll: :?

 

[Jocky]

Re: body interior / exterior

Hi Gego,
If it was my car i would cut back the rotten part of the car(Welds)and rusty metal around the affected area, to see the extent of the damage, and then get it welded to a high standard, I worked for a heavy Rail repair depot a few years ago, and carried out in depth bodywork repairs to rolling stock.
Believe me rust can serously compromise the safty of your car, and if it is attached to a seatbelt mount your passengers safty could be at risk. if you are in the North Bucks area i could take a look and advise you of your course of action.

Yours Bigjim :roll: :?

Cheers for the offer, but I'm in the North East. I'm going to leave the carpet out for the time being and if the water stops coming in, I will as you say get the area rewelded

:smile:

 

[mr-gadget]

I have a similar problem. The offside mounts for the rear seats has ripped the steel strengthening plate throught the floor. This is what happens if the rear seats are not strapped up when in the folded and raised position. They swing back and forth until the floor gives way. I siliconed the hole and took the rear seats out as i dont use them anyway. Maybe worth a look to see if anyone else has the problem.. But I really dont think the previous owner cared a jot about the vehicle anyway.

 

[(RIP) PLANK]

mr-gadget, are your talking about the very last forw of sets in a lwb the ones i dont have?

 

[mr-gadget]

mr-gadget, are your talking about the very last forw of sets in a lwb the ones i dont have?

Could well be as you have a swb, It is the extra bench seat at the back... Waste of space anyway unless the person using them is short of a pair of legs, as there is no footwell.

 

[rossco]

After doing a course in vehicle structural engineering don't muck around with rust in that area and get it done by a professional.

What you can't see can be amazing and the results of a home repair could be on your mind for a long time in particular if involved in a accident.

It's all in the way kinetic energy is dispersed through the vehicle in an accident and after seeing a vehicle split open on impact say no more

 

[Guest]

had the same problem with mine as it failed its MOT so I repaired it my self, well my brother helped Took it back failed again MOT man said it had to be done properly learnt my lesson there

 

[terranokid]

yes its not worth messing when its structural if its a spot weld drill it through and use a nut and bolt or get it welded its about 10 mins work if you have prepared it.
Be very carefull when using silicon you have to use proper body work sealer household silicon gives of ammonia that premotes rust i have seen a 2 yr old car that had a sunroof fitted just after it was new using houshold mastic and it completly rusted the metal away and the sunroof fell out.

 

[Jocky]

I don't think a nut&bolt will do the job. Where the weld is there's a void and you would distort the wheel arch.
If you push a screw driver in, it goes in about 1/2 inch before hitting the outer arch skin. From the outside all looks solid, but its rusted though on the inside.

Water must be getting in and collecting in that area. It reminds me of how the rear wheel arches rusted on Cavaliers 8O

cheers :smile:

 

[rossco]

Theres more to it than what you can see by poking a screw driver through a hole.

 

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

hi,

wonder if an issue i have noticed is related.

basically travelling in wet, bit more road noise/spray sound than would expect. always end up checking rear windows to see if slightly down as would expect similar sound.

maybe just an effect as flown test without even any warnings, so perhaps insulation is just thin in say wheel arch areas, and to be fair the ATs do make more noise.

 

[Jocky]

Theres more to it than what you can see by poking a screw driver through a hole.

:?:

I was only trying to explain the position of the problem.

The original post was for members to check their T2/Mavs/Mistrals for the same problem and if found get it repaired.

:smile:

I've altered the thread title to make it clearer :smile:

 

[terranokid]

I think this could be a serious issue as it effects the seat belt mount and if it is not repaired correctly could be very dangerous and could cause death or seroius injury
can somebody with the problem please take photos and write a short explanation and show the correct method of repair so we can all see what needs to be checked and what is involved to repair the mounting.

 

[bigjim]

Welding

Hi
I agree with Rosco, you need to ge the rust repaired properly, I have seen the result of Vehicles crashed with improper repairs on structral bodywork, it can be devistating, not only that if left it could cause much more damage with the spread of rust causing a much more exspensive repair. yours Bigjim :roll: :roll: :|

 

[Jocky]

I'm only going to say this once :!:

This thread is to bring to the attention of members to check their rear seatbelt lower mountings for corossion, as my vehicle has got water ingress/corrossion on the lower seatbelt mountings, on the spot welds of the strenthener plate on the inside of the wheel arch.

My vehicle is a 1998 registered vehicle.

This is in the area of the main rear seats, not the boot area of the LWD which has the extra seats, so it could also effect SWB models in the same area.

If the same problem is found, GET THE PROBLEM REPAIRED BY A COMPETENT VEHCILE REPAIRER.

Please do not post your thoughts on what this member or that members thoughts are on repair methods.
These posts will be DELETED as it will just fill the thread up with repeated comments.

(ANY REPAIR SHOULD BE CARRIED OUT BY A COMPETENT VEHICLE REPAIRER).

This is not directed to anyone member. This is to stop the thread being filled with repeated comments.


Thanks :smile:

I've also set this thread up as a Sticky as I think a few members will have a similar problem :!:

 

[mr-gadget]

Dont kid yourself that having the repair done in a garage is the end of the problem or the best thing to do.. Most garages dont remove the rusty thin steel. Just plate over it and charge a fortune for it.. Then there are the garages that use gas welding with brass rods, very weak but quick.. any repairs should be done using a mig at least with steel wire, the weld is then probably stronger than the metal surrounding it. I have seen the results of gas welding with brass, it just tears off. with a mig the weld does not normaly come away, it genraly tears the metal first. Most of my repairs are done with a stick welder... No probs yet.!!!

 

[rossco]

Thanks gego for making this clearer, and that this problem has been around for a while and not only on Terranos, it also effects Mistrals.

For those interested have a read of this information sheet.

http://www.landtransport.govt.nz/publications/infosheets/infosheet-1-35.html

Original problem with first highlighted in January 1997.

 

[drivewasher]

wasn't there a reference to mot testing stations getting a memo re the rear seat belt mounts corroding? The only acceptable fix was a new floor pan

PS it was on the old forum and I thik it was rosco & TK who found it on the vosa site, may be wrong!

 

[Jocky]

Thanks gego for making this clearer, and that this problem has been around for a while and not only on Terranos, it also effects Mistrals.

For those interested have a read of this information sheet.

http://www.landtransport.govt.nz/publications/infosheets/infosheet-1-35.html

Original problem with first highlighted in January 1997.

Rossco thats great info :smile:

Looks like its a major problem waiting to happen :!:

:smile: