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Strut top rust/welding

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Strut top rust/welding

Postby derv23 » Tue Aug 29, 2017 1:12 pm

The more I poke the more rot I find :cry:

Previous owners have kindly bodged it in the past with fibre glass matting & silver paint :evil:

Can the strut top turrets be picked apart from the inner arch ?
If so , can anyone advise or better yet find a thread showing piccies.
I've tried looking but struggling for pics , tutorials.

My MOT has just run out and what I thought would be a few small patches is now turning into a much bigger job. Coupled with the fact I don't have much welding experience I feel my van will be off road longer than I'd hoped for.
Bloody ford :wink: , bloody previous owners :twisted:
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Re: Strut top rust/welding

Postby derv23 » Tue Aug 29, 2017 1:23 pm

It's rusted out round the edge of turret where it meets the inner wing, floor , covered in glass resin and paint , I can't see how it's originally secured. Spot welds , seem welds ?
I've taken this wk off work to bring it up to scratch , with what still needs done and the new found rot I'm unsure if I'll get it done.
I do have a parts van but surprise surprise both shock tops are also rusted out. Along with a lot of the under carriage.
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Re: Strut top rust/welding

Postby Keef » Tue Aug 29, 2017 1:25 pm

Never done the job but I've seen you can buy the repair panel on ebay. This was just the first one I found.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Smiley-Transi ... SwjDZYkM6t
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Re: Strut top rust/welding

Postby derv23 » Tue Aug 29, 2017 2:11 pm

Thanks for that Keef.
In all fairness it's just the bottom edge of the strut top that's rusted, it is repairable so I think I'll give it a bash.
It's underneath where the strut top attaches to that's the main culprit.
It's not massively corroded but enough to warrant fixing it and doing it right.
I'm just unsure wether to take the top off or try to scrape cut out the rust and patch it from underneath so to speak , then spot ,seam weld the edge of strut top back to the inner arch ?!
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Re: Strut top rust/welding

Postby vanfox » Tue Aug 29, 2017 7:16 pm

Take some pics as you progress. Mine is approaching MOT time, I'd like a look at what happens when you dig the crap out of it.
Just an idea....Get a repair panel, drop the strut down and see if you can fit the repair panel on the strut then bolt up the repair panel and strut to the body and see how it fits. You may be able to tack it in position then drop/remove the strut to weld the repair panel to the body. As long as there's some good metal to weld to..........
As I said, just an idea, I guess the welding will be easier with the strut out of the way.
Pics please!
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Re: Strut top rust/welding

Postby derv23 » Tue Aug 29, 2017 9:43 pm

That's the thing Vanfox , it's the passenger side in the footwell area of where the bottom of strut cap turret meets . Turret itself isn't too bad, being thicker material, it's just the bottom edge needing a bit work. it's the metal (or lack of) underneath bottom of cap.
Your right , I'll take the strut off and see if it can be done from the outside. I'll just persevere.
It's just a bit disheartening when a wee patch turns into full on fabrication.
I should really be looking at it as lots of small patches rather than a mahoosive job.

I'm a bit of a dinosaur when it comes to computers. I'll take a load of pics and get the missus to show me how to upload. Bit sad really as I'm only in my mid 30's ha. Us 'youngsters' are supposed to know all this. Thing is I've ay' been an outdoorsy type. Didn't even know what internet was till my early 20's.
I get some funny looks from people when I mention that.
I'll update when I do a bit more
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Re: Strut top rust/welding

Postby Mr RVM » Tue Aug 29, 2017 11:16 pm

These are probably (in my experience at least) one of the most awkward repairs to do on a transit due to lack of accessibility to the front and outer edges......I've ended up cutting bits from the bulkhead to gain access to the front edge in the past.....if you weld strips on from the underside (once you found some decent metal to weld to)......it can sometimes be a lot of effort for nothing because patching up the inner wing doesn't always mean that the strut top reinforcement panel will be any more secure than before you started.....most of the inner wing behind this panel will be well rotted....any metal added should be welded from both sides for the repair to be 100% effective......I think that if I had to do this ever again I would pay the money (around £150) for a complete inner wing and seam weld the 'turret' first before I fitted it
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Re: Strut top rust/welding

Postby bambi mk 1 » Tue Aug 29, 2017 11:30 pm

Mr RVM wrote:These are probably (in my experience at least) one of the most awkward repairs to do on a transit due to lack of accessibility to the front and outer edges......I've ended up cutting bits from the bulkhead to gain access to the front edge in the past.....if you weld strips on from the underside (once you found some decent metal to weld to)......it can sometimes be a lot of effort for nothing because patching up the inner wing doesn't always mean that the strut top reinforcement panel will be any more secure than before you started.....most of the inner wing behind this panel will be well rotted....any metal added should be welded from both sides for the repair to be 100% effective......I think that if I had to do this ever again I would pay the money (around £150) for a complete inner wing and seam weld the 'turret' first before I fitted it

X2 Gaz :) Its a quicker and stronger to replace the lot .Sometimes you get away with it under the bulkhead :wink:
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Re: Strut top rust/welding

Postby transitjack » Wed Aug 30, 2017 9:41 pm

x3 i had to take the wing off and cut out a lot of bulkhead to make this area strong again on my recovery,it was a 3 day solid job,its still working good 3 years later though.
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Re: Strut top rust/welding

Postby derv23 » Thu Aug 31, 2017 6:22 pm

Ok thanks for the info guys.
You reckon it's easier replacing the whole inner wing strut area. You may be right going by the corrosion. Upon digging a bit more , underneath the strut cap is worse than I thought.

How easy / hard is it to get the inner wing off ?
It looks a decent sized panel .
Does it all become revealed when the outer wing is off ?
Any nasties I should be aware of ?
Are there any how-to threads kicking about on here does anyone know?

Sorry for all the questions, I'd like to be pretty certain this is the best course of action.
Safety first obviously, but time isn't really on my side.

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Re: Strut top rust/welding

Postby bambi mk 1 » Thu Aug 31, 2017 7:55 pm

If inner wing is not rotten under the bonnet just cut and shut it under the firewall or bulkhead :) Best waiting till you have the replacement if you have time before chopping it out as you will be able to figure it out better :idea:
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Re: Strut top rust/welding

Postby derv23 » Sat Sep 23, 2017 6:43 pm

Right I finally got some time on the van today. What with work and weather getting in the way.
Managed to drill out the spot welds holding the strut cap on.
There weren't many to drill through as a few were rusted out, to my surprise the rot isn't as bad as first feared.
Gave the area a quick whizz over with the flap wheel .
I now have decentish access with the cap off so will crack on cutting/shaping to weld New metal in.
I'll make sure it's done properly with extra seam seal paint n stone chip, more than Mr Ford would have used.
I'll update as I do more.
It'll no doubt take me a while as I'm not the fastest at this type of work.
Then onto the other areas...
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Re: Strut top rust/welding

Postby sportscott » Sat Sep 23, 2017 7:03 pm

I'm doing some rust repairs on mine luckily no problem with the strut tops :D
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Re: Strut top rust/welding

Postby derv23 » Sat Sep 23, 2017 9:16 pm

Good stuff sportscott. I'd be checking to the left of the strut area in your pic. Can see the start of some crud. That part is near when inner arch meets the inside of the outer arch, and up into the firewall.

Just a heads up as a wee bit crud can soon turn nasty. Your strut tops do look good from your pic.
I see in your other post you have a new toy , been thinking of getting one for a while. How are they to use ? Does yours run off a compressor ?
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Re: Strut top rust/welding

Postby sportscott » Sun Sep 24, 2017 9:19 am

derv23 wrote:Good stuff sportscott. I'd be checking to the left of the strut area in your pic. Can see the start of some crud. That part is near when inner arch meets the inside of the outer arch, and up into the firewall.

Just a heads up as a wee bit crud can soon turn nasty. Your strut tops do look good from your pic.
I see in your other post you have a new toy , been thinking of getting one for a while. How are they to use ? Does yours run off a compressor ?

I know I've seen it thanks, keeping my eye on that for awhile now. Going to just sand blast it and paint it as don't have time to start ripping it out.
I have a Cut 50 plasma cutter, cheap chinese, paid about 250 quid for it a couple of years ago but never used it, runs off a compressor. My Compressor is only 50 litres but is more than enough. For cutting thin plate I have it on the lowest setting and about 2.5 bar. I set a guide up about 1cm from the cut line and run along. It's like cutting cardboard with a box cutter. Absolutely fantastic for the money there's nothing like it, and I hate grinding, now just cut with the plasma then trim up with the shears. Used it this morning because my roof on my house was leaking from a skylight, opened the skylight and the glass fell out and smashed, made a template from cardboard, which I transferred onto the back of an old central heating boiller then whipped around it with the cutter, glued it in and a bit of PU foam around the Roof tiles and Job done. The Plasma cutter is well worth the money and you will never regret buying it.
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