Repair panel, base unit engine bay (right of heater unit)?

[Cooper99]

I have unfortunately found rust under the insulation in the engine bay. Is there any repair panel for this part of the base unit?
Is there anything in particular to consider (since it is the base unit) before I start cutting off the bad metal?

 

[Vern Klukas]

Yikes! I have never seen such advanced corrosion there before. I'd start looking for a donor car you could cut that chunk out of, if only to have a good example to work from.

Yours
Vern

 

[colnerov]

Hi, the bulkhead on a P6 is complicated and has a lot of strength. I have seen worse than that
and repaired. However you need to clean the area up and open the hole up a bit more and see
how far the corrosion goes. As Vern says if it's too bad then you might want to think about
letting another section in, but they all go like that to varying degrees. There are lots of chambers
and internal bracings so getting in to weld may be difficult. Treat it like an onion and peel the
layers away.

Colin

 

[Cooper99]

Thanks for your replies. I will open it up carefully this weekend, and hope I don't find a mess down there =)

 

[Cooper99]

Okay, so I have cut away the worst parts of the metal. The remaining corrosion will be removed by blastering and scotchbrite.


The chamber behind the wheel looks like this:


Down the square hole, inside the bulkhead it looks like this (the "floor" seem worse than it is):


Nice to see that there is no heavy corrosion inside =)

 

[mikecoombs]

be aware that the suspension AND steering loads are on that panel section, so you do want to be sure of the metals integrity. you also need to ensure you don't move either the steering box mounts or the top link tubes when your welding. I'd be inclined to brace both before I started welding to ensure the heat doesn't move them. Have a look around and see if there is a source for moisture getting into that area. rover usually sealed up the cracks with body putty, but it can come out.