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Sills

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Sills

Postby ianmayco68 » Fri Jun 10, 2022 7:28 pm

Hi all , I need to replace both my sills on a T230 LWB connect, can anyone recommend the best place to buy them from ? I have saw some on eBay but thought I’d ask on here first .
Cheers Ian
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Re: Sills

Postby Altransit » Fri Jun 10, 2022 8:47 pm

You might find this thread useful ....................

:arrow: viewtopic.php?f=54&t=209329
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Re: Sills

Postby metalworker0 » Fri Jun 10, 2022 8:52 pm

With the long wheel base you have less choice on prices

i bought the ones that are just bent bits of uncoated metal (ones shown pressed against and orange van on ebay - now at £40 a pair)..these have no shape to them- sort of wished i hadn't bought them as they don't have the ends -- and had to spend time making the ends because they were rotten on mine as well.

also with full form sills ..you have ones with the sliding door and ones without .

my van was quite rusty ...and the rust just about stops at just above the arrows that indicate were to jack

The folded simple sills did take care of that ...but not either end .

but the difference in price is quite a lot - not sure how the full form sills compare between different sellers - i did not take the chance to find out ..i may have been happy or may have been disappointed will never know.

Note also: Some of the fully formed sills have a row of holes along them, mimicking the originals ...not sure how these holes help ..they will let more water in than they let out ...but that's only my opinion .

one plus is: some are zinctec plated

inner sill repair panels are only available as bent bits of sheet to cover up and patch, they have no drains- so will accelerate any rusting.

all the best.mark
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Re: Sills

Postby ianmayco68 » Fri Jun 10, 2022 9:27 pm

Thank you both that post will be very helpful, luckily I have a pit at home which should make the job easier , also I’m a fabricator by trade so can get some of the panels bent up at work on the brake press . Looks like I’ve got a major fab job on my hands , think first job will be find the extent of the outer rot then decide whether I need full sills or repair panels , but I’m thinking at the minute it may be better to remove the lot which will reduce the need for repairs later .
Cheers Ian.
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Re: Sills

Postby ianmayco68 » Sat Jun 11, 2022 1:40 pm

Thought I’d put some pics up, passenger’s side is bad ,
3A04617A-319C-4A6D-83BA-E3C358B194B7.jpeg

5E38F133-A72A-4BFB-9376-224B1E796C0E.jpeg

8AE2C1AE-7AD4-474C-ADBF-50DA403E664B.jpeg

5BA166BA-A996-4F2F-8238-FE5D908DDD07.jpeg

981D58D0-E657-46C8-9406-7137EE5E176E.jpeg


The internal strengthening looks good, drivers side has been done it’s just the ends that are rusty, but I’m thinking of doing that as well as I don’t like not knowing what’s going on underneath. Inside sill feels pretty solid but all will be revealed when I clean it up properly.
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Re: Sills

Postby metalworker0 » Sat Jun 11, 2022 2:38 pm

Wait until you delve deeper ..you may or may not find ..is what you are seeing now, is the tip of the iceberg.

and when you say driver side done ..is there just a sill over the top of the old one ?

all the best.mark
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Re: Sills

Postby ianmayco68 » Sat Jun 11, 2022 2:46 pm

That’s what’s worrying me , done 2 defenders now and I’ve learned that what you see is never as bad as it gets . How easy was it too make the ends up Mark ? As I’m not confident in aftermarket body parts as they can end up a pain to fit , so I’m thinking buy or make the repair panels and fab the ends up myself. Have been toying with the idea of making some up out of 2mm .
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Re: Sills

Postby metalworker0 » Sat Jun 11, 2022 3:08 pm

well if i had my way - i would make the outer out of 20 gauge ..not the 22 gauge or 24 gauge which is what those on ebay are.

what was difficult about fabbing the ends is joining the repairs onto wafer thin original panels .
to get around that and have butt welds that did not blow through i installed backing strips like so - provides additional strength , stop distortion , stops blowing holes

note backing strips are sprayed with zinc weld thru paint

my inners are made from 16 gauge which is 1.6mm - that was a struggle to bend and manipulate ..that's as thick as i would go
On the outers ..which have to look pretty, it would be 20 gauge ...would not like to work with any thicker .,.would be a real struggle to stop it looking like a flintstone car with 2mm and welding 2mm to 0.7mm would be quite a task.

best if you can use a proper spot welder for the bottoms or anywhere that requires a spot welder ..these mig spot welds through holes are sort of marginal once you grind away the excess ..i ended up doing many twice .
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Re: Sills

Postby ianmayco68 » Sat Jun 11, 2022 5:59 pm

Have used backing strips before on Land Rover defender chassis’s and it makes the job a hell of a lot easier, and that’s a good point hadn’t thought about the original steel. Well I enjoy a challenge thanks for the help, I’ve no doubt I’ll be in need of plenty more, I’ll have a good read through your post later .
Cheers Ian
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