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Replacing sills


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#1 Telejmp

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Posted 12 April 2004 - 01:06 PM

I decided I would jack my car up today and clean out the wheel arches, and renew the underseal etc. Well, after a couple of seconds rubbing down with a wire brush, 2 large holes appeared in the rear wheel arches, damn.

With everything Jacked up I had a poke about with the sills (just gently) I now basically have no sills left at all, And holes on the door hinge side of the door sills, on both sides.
So, my question is.. could I replace the sills with a MIG welder? or do they need to be spot welded or somthing?
Im pretty confident about getting them off, im just unsure about putting the new ones in place,
thanks a lot,
pEaCE
Dom

#2 adam c

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Posted 12 April 2004 - 05:33 PM

Am sure you can replace them with a mig - thats what i'm hoping to do anyway. I think from past experience that underseal should be avoided as the rust will just spread underneath the underseal and then you don't notice till youv'e got a nice 2 inch hole and the panels are knackered. Underseals OK if you are the nice sort of person who wants to sell your car with knackered sills - you just coat the stuff on and it'll hold them together till you get a couple of miles down the road!! p.s. If you are that sort of person bathroom silicone is great for covering rust - i keep finding loads on my project mini and am still findin it now! grrrrrrr........

#3 adam c

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Posted 12 April 2004 - 05:41 PM

Sorry mate just read that back an it sounds like i'm accusing you of doin that - soz am just amazed evry day about how much can be bodged on one car. Also here is a rather poor pic of my mini before i stripped it. (it looks at lot worse now)

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#4 Telejmp

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Posted 23 April 2004 - 04:32 PM

Hey
hey, dont worry about it, lol.
Thanks for the Advice,I think im ging to tery get the new sills on soon,
pEaCE
DOm

#5 philster

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Posted 23 April 2004 - 09:02 PM

I'm doing my drivers side sill tomorrow (for the second time) its got a small hole in it but i can't be bothered welding or filling the hole so i'm going to put a new sill on. All you have to do is cut off the old sill (or at least the rusty parts) then weld the new one in place with the mig. I use a gasless mig bought from machine mart about 6 year ago (the last time i did the sill) for £120 and it welds them fine. The hardest bit i find is welding underneath.

#6 Telejmp

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Posted 24 April 2004 - 08:23 PM

Hey Philster, thats the same welder we have, hehe.
Do you just weld along the edge of the sill, or do you have to drill hols and fill them with weld?
thanks a lot
pEaCe
DOm

#7 Purple Tom

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Posted 24 April 2004 - 09:38 PM

we drilled holes along the seam of the sill on my clubby, lots of little ones, then filled each one with weld, the only thing you have to watch out for is distortion of panels, so try not to get the welds too hot, as I have slightly distorted the l/h rear side panel on mine (if your going to Himley Hall you can all point and laugh at it!).

Please please please please please when doing your sills make sure you do not weld the new sill on over ANY and i mean even the slightest amount of rusty metal underneath. All this will do is make sure that your new sill will last about 3 years, then fall apart again, as the rust just grows underneath, affecting the inner sill, floor pan, door step, even the seat mounts and seat belt mounts, not to mention your rear subframe mounts and heelboard. Make sure you completely remove all trace of rust from the areas your welding, using wire brushes, grinders, kurust, sand paper, anything to get rid of the red devil. Paint as much as you can under where the sill will fit, it will help protect a lot of the metal under there. Obviously some will get burnt of in the welding process though.

It sounds daft too, but a lot of replacement sills don't come with the drainage holes built in, you will need to drill these before you fit the sills, as they are essential for two reasons, one is obviously to drain, the other is below.

Then once you've welded the new sill on, liberally paint it with good thick primer, splodging it all in amongst the welds and really putting it on thick, then finish with some good quality chassis black or gloss overcoat. The last thing to do then is get your Waxoyl gun with a compressor or an aerosol of waxoyl (no Mini owner should be without Waxoyl) and squirt loads of the stuff up through the holes you drilled in the sills, it makes your car smell a bit afterwards, but it doesn't half protect all the bare metal surfaces that are in there. You can do all the other bits in your car too, like inside the doors (my windows opened a lot easier after i'd waxolyed the doors) and any other bits you can think of.

Sorry, i've gone on a bit there, but if you do the job as good as you can first time round it will save a lot of grief in the future.

Tom

#8 Woody

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Posted 25 April 2004 - 08:52 AM

There is a special paint you can get to paint inside the sill and the car that is to have the sill welded to , it is a Zink weld through primer , it does what it says on the tin and is very heat resistant so doesent burn off when you weld , this can be bought from any welding shop or even halfords if you are loaded !

#9 Telejmp

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Posted 25 April 2004 - 11:00 AM

thanks a lot guys, this has given me a bit more confidence to go ahead with this now,
pEaCE
Dom

#10 siggy

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Posted 25 April 2004 - 11:15 PM

I would replace the sills with new sills not a MIG welder :)))))

Siggy 'pedantic git'

#11 Woody

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Posted 26 April 2004 - 05:57 AM

:) :) :)

#12 Telejmp

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Posted 26 April 2004 - 09:01 PM

lol siggy, that makes sense,
pEaCE
DOm




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