2001 LC100 Corrosion - Can it be fixed with welding? (1 Viewer)

[LC100Green]

2001 LC100, in the UK.
- Drives brilliantly, great interior, no major issues beforehand
- Will not pass its MOT due to corrosion
- Service centre suggests the corrosion is bad enough that nothing can be done
- Looking for advice on whether someone has managed to overcome similar corrosion with welding or whether it really is dead?
- Love the vehicle and would be very upset to see it go

Video link showing corrosion
- (main corrosion shown from 1 minute 40 seconds)
- Many thanks to anyone who takes the time to view and comment

 

[hoser]

It looks repairable to me by cutting out the areas and welding in patch panels. He keeps saying "frame" but it's not really the frame, it's the rocker panels which are less "structural" on a body-on-frame vehicle. Actually, overall, it looks better than I'd expect from a 22 year UK vehicle.

 

[T4R2TLC]

Structurally, the vehicle is not dead at all. The rot shown in the video was the body, not the frame. The frame, axle, and other chassis components need clean-up no doubt, but they don't have rot holes that would justify welding, not to mention being removed from the roads.

The bigger question mark here is how the MOT system in the UK works. Can you simply bring it to another shop and see if they pass it/give options on restoring some of the rust? The body panels can totally be repaired via cutting and welding. I think you may just need to find the right shop to tackle this. The other vehicles at this shop were modern commuters, this truck may just be out of the realm of what they typically deal with. I expect you could find a shop more familiar with rust repair who would tackle this without hesitation.

 

[LC100Green]

Structurally, the vehicle is not dead at all. The rot shown in the video was the body, not the frame. The frame, axle, and other chassis components need clean-up no doubt, but they don't have rot holes that would justify welding, not to mention being removed from the roads.

The bigger question mark here is how the MOT system in the UK works. Can you simply bring it to another shop and see if they pass it/give options on restoring some of the rust? The body panels can totally be repaired via cutting and welding. I think you may just need to find the right shop to tackle this. The other vehicles at this shop were modern commuters, this truck may just be out of the realm of what they typically deal with. I expect you could find a shop more familiar with rust repair who would tackle this without hesitation.

Thank you so much for your reply, I can't express my gratitude enough.
R.e. UK MOT system - that is absolutely how it works, I can try another garage, I just need to have a pre-arranged appointment at the garage and can't drive it anywhere else but there in the meantime.
I can then find a place which can do the welding repairs for me too.
Just from the way this garage talked about it, I was genuinely under the impression that this was the end!

Once again, sincerely appreciate your help!!

It looks repairable to me by cutting out the areas and welding in patch panels. He keeps saying "frame" but it's not really the frame, it's the rocker panels which are less "structural" on a body-on-frame vehicle. Actually, overall, it looks better than I'd expect from a 22 year UK vehicle.

Thank you very much for your reply, I'm very grateful for you looking into this! That's amazing and a really helpful distinction between what this technician is saying is the frame vs rocker panels.

 

[Malleus]

Yes, it's definitely repairable. Take a look at LandRoverSophie's videos. She's taken care of far more rust than that, all body rust like yours, and passed her MOT. I'd highly recommend Jenolite and Corroless on the lower area to remove and prevent further rusting, respectively.

 

[excessive]

that rust can be fixed on the body, but its pretty extensive, especially behind the rear wheels. that is goign to be a very expensive fix, unless you are a DIY metal fabrictor and skilled welder

 

[LC100Green]

that rust can be fixed on the body, but its pretty extensive, especially behind the rear wheels. that is goign to be a very expensive fix, unless you are a DIY metal fabrictor and skilled welder

Thanks! I'm neither of those things, but as long as the vehicle doesn't need to be off the road I'm happy and will get the work done on it.

Yes, it's definitely repairable. Take a look at LandRoverSophie's videos. She's taken care of far more rust than that, all body rust like yours, and passed her MOT. I'd highly recommend Jenolite and Corroless on the lower area to remove and prevent further rusting, respectively.

I'll definitely take a look at her videos and those chemicals, thanks for the suggestions!

that rust can be fixed on the body, but its pretty extensive, especially behind the rear wheels. that is goign to be a very expensive fix, unless you are a DIY metal fabrictor and skilled welder

Out of curiosity, what would be the ballpark figure you would expect for that work? Always helpful to know when going into speak to these mechanics. They can often bump up the price

 

[Malleus]

Out of curiosity, what would be the ballpark figure you would expect for that work? Always helpful to know when going into speak to these mechanics. They can often bump up the price

The cost will vary greatly based on how much they want the work, how much work they have, how much work you do in preparation for them, etc. It would be especially hard for one of us on this side of the pond to give you that answer. It would vary significantly even for us, within a 50 mile radius of where we live.

You'll also get answers like "I would sell it" or " I would part it out and buy another" from us here, because we have replacements available. That's also part of the reason you got the answer you did; we generally don't fix damage like that, unless it's on a very old model. It wasn't too long ago people here would trash a FJ40 that had rust. Now it's become acceptable to do the work to save one.

Your best bet is to remove as much that is in the way (bumper, trim, interior parts, etc.) and, if you can, cut away the metal immediately adjacent to the rust perimeter. This is the grunt work that a welder will charge a lot of money to do, and none of it is skilled labor. To keep the cost to a minimum, you need to present the job to a shop so that they only have skilled work to perform, if that's possible.

 

[LC100Green]

The cost will vary greatly based on how much they want the work, how much work they have, how much work you do in preparation for them, etc. It would be especially hard for one of us on this side of the pond to give you that answer. It would vary significantly even for us, within a 50 mile radius of where we live.

You'll also get answers like "I would sell it" or " I would part it out and buy another" from us here, because we have replacements available. That's also part of the reason you got the answer you did; we generally don't fix damage like that, unless it's on a very old model. It wasn't too long ago people here would trash a FJ40 that had rust. Now it's become acceptable to do the work to save one.

Your best bet is to remove as much that is in the way (bumper, trim, interior parts, etc.) and, if you can, cut away the metal immediately adjacent to the rust perimeter. This is the grunt work that a welder will charge a lot of money to do, and none of it is skilled labor. To keep the cost to a minimum, you need to present the job to a shop so that they only have skilled work to perform, if that's possible.

Yeah it's interesting, just came back from California for work and I saw a few 100 series and the odd 200 series whilst out in the US, but I have only seen one other over here in the UK since owning mine. There is only a handful for sale here (20 or so) and a tiny proportion of those in any good condition whatsoever, so its not something I would be selling.
I have a diesel and plan on keeping this one until it truly dies.
Unfortunately I'm living in London at the moment and don't have the space/capacity to do even the unskilled labour right now. I've found a good garage that will do the welding work and I'll see how it goes.
I hope to be able to get into doing more of the work myself in the near future.
Thanks for all your info!

 

[LC100Green]

UPDATE POST:

I took it to a different garage outside of London which is more used to these trucks and they passed its MOT without any work needed at all!! They had the same to say as everyone here.
I'm now choosing to get them to do some rust prevention and some welding where needed out of choice rather than necessity.

The beast lives on! 160,000 miles and counting! Thanks to everyone for your input!

 

[T4R2TLC]

So glad to hear it, especially on a truck that is relatively rare in your region. Hopefully this also proves to be a good relationship with a garage that is comfortable working on this truck. At this age and rust condition, it would be good peace of mind to have a contact who is familiar with the truck and willing to touch older and rustier vehicles (which it sounds like the first garage perhaps was not).

Enjoy the Cruiser!

 

[hickuptruck]

Glad to see a LC Amazon lives on in the UK while probably another 10 P38 Range Rovers have been scrapped in the same time.

The original garage thought it was a unibody/Body on frame like the Range Rovers/Discovery 3. That rust hole is entirely body and is not structural.

 

[Mike NXP]

UPDATE POST:

I took it to a different garage outside of London which is more used to these trucks and they passed its MOT without any work needed at all!! They had the same to say as everyone here.
I'm now choosing to get them to do some rust prevention and some welding where needed out of choice rather than necessity.

The beast lives on! 160,000 miles and counting! Thanks to everyone for your input!

Nice work, glad to hear someone with sense just passed it and moved on. It's criminal that the government can mandate what condition your vehicle needs to be in and relies on half cocked mechanics to deem what's OK and what's not OK