17 replies to this topic

[Danuneek]

Right, i'm replacing my carpet and after some close inspection the inner sills are badly rusted. Basically, the guy before me put over sills and inner sills on trapping the old rusted sill between the two layers. The oversill is in great condition (no rust) but the replacement inner sill has started to rust through from the trapped rust. So basically, I need to remove the old rusted inner sill trapped between and then replace the inner sill. Is this possible to do without removing the over/outer sill? so working from within the car.

[Deathrow]

iansmini is right chap, good condition or not, those oversills are not your friend. Get them off, repair the damage they've done and get some genuine sills on it!

This was the state of mine when I cut the oversill off:









That should inspire you to get rid of them, hehe.

[chappy]

how would i tell if i have oversills on my mini?

[Deathrow]

I'll try and show this as best I can, here goes:

Genuine sill:


If you look at this picture again, you can sort of see the remains of the genuine sill that was underneath:


Oversill:


This is an oversill, it's effectively twice the width of a proper sill and has no ventilation holes in it to allow moisture to escape:


I hope this shows the difference.

Thanks go to Mini Spares for the 2 product images.

[chappy]

seems to me that i might have over sills, i'll jack it up and have a good look on sunday, but from what i remember, and what you've just said i think i do.


by the way you talk i guess its bad?

how much am i looking at to get these taken off and the correct stuff put on and tidied up...

i guess that this could be causing the problem of a damp floor in my mini at the mo?


cheers

sam

Edited by chappy, 05 December 2008 - 09:11 PM.

[Danuneek]

I sort of new I should replace both inner and outer sills, just in denial. I think its going to be a big job, at least the rest of my car is pretty perfect just the sills. Thanks for the feedback.

Edited by Danuneek, 08 December 2008 - 11:47 PM.

[Deathrow]

seems to me that i might have over sills, i'll jack it up and have a good look on sunday, but from what i remember, and what you've just said i think i do.


by the way you talk i guess its bad?

how much am i looking at to get these taken off and the correct stuff put on and tidied up...

i guess that this could be causing the problem of a damp floor in my mini at the mo?


cheers

sam

Yeah it's bad, if there are rusty sills in there then you're nice looking outer sill will become an MOT failure quite rapidly. The best action is definitly to take them off and sort out what lurks beneath. Then you can treat your Mini to some snazzy genuine sills .

Take a look at deathrow's thread just to see how bad oversills can get rotten floors, arches, rear bulkhead etc. It can be quite costly if not rectified sooner rather than later.

It's fun fun fun!

I've still not fixed that floor, keep putting it off , tomorrow I think.

[Neon91]

Hi I was going to post a new topic about sills but if you don't mind I'll add to this one! My son's '91 Neon has had sills patched with fibreglass and ali as per attached, at some time in the past. Can you tell from these pics whether I have oversills, and what repair panels I need? Saw some plus helpful diagrams at http://www.somerford...d-cabriolet.pdf

and of course that new chap Neil who's just joined at SC parts Group may be very useful too!

I don't "do welding" and stuff although I have done rust repairs, but have a friend with a MIG welder who has offered to help, so any thoughts or guidance, or links to previous threads ( there must be some!) would be much appreciated!

[Bungle]

even if you don't have a welder you can cut the old ones off your self, treat any rust inside the inner sills and prep and fit the new sills with a few self tappers

leaving your mate to just do the welding

(don't drive the car with the sills fitted this way)

[chappy]

is drilling out the drain holes a good idea? or not?

[zodiac123]

On the subject of sills, what I did with one of my other cars and what I intend doing with my current project is to drill five or six holes equally spaced along the length of the outer sill, (say 10mm diameter) and buy some rubber grommets to plug them with. I can regularly spray in some thinned cavity wax and in theory, (at least), the inside out corrosion will be kept at bay.

[skiz]

sorry to hijack, mines been restored with oversills but the old sills were removed and the oversills have vents drilled in them, is this ok?

Simon