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Thread: advice for rust at drivers footwell

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    Spanner Monkey

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    advice for rust at drivers footwell

    Hi guys, I have had water coming into the drivers footwell for ages so I decided to find where it was coming from. I found a very poorly fitted patch which has been there a long time with tack welds and some sealant which has let go. Under the plate I found some rust and eventually the source of the water ingress. I have previously paid panel beaters to do this for me but I am sick of paying them lots, and them saying they have sorted all my problems when they havent. I have a mig welder and have access to most tools but I am looking for advice and tricks for this area on where to cut and where to be careful. Also, due to previous panel beating, I really really do not want to touch the exterior body work









    Last edited by retep130; 23-03-2015 at 10:41.
    http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/7983/pete4as.jpg

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    Pole Position Decade Plus User freddy686868's Avatar

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    Re: advice for rust at drivers footwell

    cut the hole out as big as you can is my first piece of advice and find the most solid steel you can.
    It will pay off in the long run.
    Secondly just use some paper or cardboard to get the right shape for the patch and then transfer it to steel.
    Start welding in the patch in a corner and tack it in when you get to the dip in the floor tack one side of it and tap the shape into the new steel to match the old floor profile and tack as you go.
    Then when it is all tacked up and formed, seam weld it up and grind it back. fill pin holes grind back and then prep for paint.

    i have done a small patch of repair work on my thread.

    http://www.turbosport.co.uk/showthre...276802&page=18

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    Re: advice for rust at drivers footwell

    where the seam is with the scribe going through it in the pics, do you think that was fully welded from factory or was a sealant used. Seems like a lot of work to get a 100% seal where there are multiple layers involved
    http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/7983/pete4as.jpg

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    Pole Position Decade Plus User freddy686868's Avatar

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    Re: advice for rust at drivers footwell

    Quote Originally Posted by retep130 View Post
    where the seam is with the scribe going through it in the pics, do you think that was fully welded from factory or was a sealant used. Seems like a lot of work to get a 100% seal where there are multiple layers involved
    i bet it was spot welded back in the day and seam sealer ed, but if i was to put a new patch in i would seam weld it all. At the end of the day you do what you want as it is your car.

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    Re: advice for rust at drivers footwell

    Do you know if there is a picture or drawing somewhere that shows where the panels overlap?

    along the black dashed line there has been a cut made at a previous rust repair, do you know where that normall finishes?

    If I was to buy some repair panels, what parts would you suggest? motorsport tools is the best place to get them from? I may still make up the panels myself if they are small

    http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/7983/pete4as.jpg

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    Pole Position Decade Plus User freddy686868's Avatar

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    Re: advice for rust at drivers footwell

    Quote Originally Posted by retep130 View Post
    Do you know if there is a picture or drawing somewhere that shows where the panels overlap?

    along the black dashed line there has been a cut made at a previous rust repair, do you know where that normall finishes?



    If I was to buy some repair panels, what parts would you suggest? motorsport tools is the best place to get them from? I may still make up the panels myself if they are small

    Buy an inner sill panel and that should take out all of that rot if you don't want to fab up a panel. Tjm on here are the cheapest for panels as they give a 10% turbosport members discount.
    Last edited by freddy686868; 31-03-2015 at 17:27.

  7. #7

    Re: advice for rust at drivers footwell

    Quote Originally Posted by freddy686868 View Post
    i bet it was spot welded back in the day and seam sealer ed, but if i was to put a new patch in i would seam weld it all. At the end of the day you do what you want as it is your car.
    These panels will of been spot welded together. Not many joints were seam welded or brazed as it was too slow and skilled a process for a mass production line.
    If you fit a repair patch just remember that for an MOT you must either fully seam weld the panel in unless it replaces and replicates and original factory joint, then you can replicate the original joint (usually spot weld).

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    Re: advice for rust at drivers footwell

    do you know how the gaurd skin is attached at the rear? it is folded over the inner plate but I'm not sure if its been welded or just 'crimped'. I need to cut off a lower section of the guard to get to the rust
    http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/7983/pete4as.jpg

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    Re: advice for rust at drivers footwell

    Welded I would have thought. Most likely a few 'spots'.

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    Re: advice for rust at drivers footwell

    There's a couple of links here, both similar to yours.

    http://www.turbosport.co.uk/showthre...135784&page=17

    http://www.turbosport.co.uk/showthre...121857&page=11


    I've still to do mine a but it's going to need the same.

    That's what mine looks like at the moment..
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails 20131014_115623 (Small).jpg‎  

    Last edited by rallyrob; 08-06-2015 at 14:05.

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    Re: advice for rust at drivers footwell

    just reading through some old posts, I ended up replacing the whole drivers footwell after this continued to get bigger and bigger, its mostly sorted now except for a few pinhole leaks that seep a bit when the road is wet, will give them a tickle and put some undersealer on it
    http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/7983/pete4as.jpg

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    Re: advice for rust at drivers footwell

    A lot of escort footwell leaks actually come down from up under dash.

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