Rusted Panel replacement

hkpierce

'02 140 Hi BlueBlk Pass
While it seemed that the blue-black paint protected the panels longer than the white painted vans, it got to the point that the paint was the only thing left holding the bottom of my panels together. So never having done body work before, or welding, or metal fabricating, or auto painting, I tried it.

To cut down on fabricating, I got Kolkerholm panels from Mill Supply.

As I did not know what I was doing, I started with the least damaged panel first, the left rear:


While cutting out the panel, it turned out that the wiring harness to the rear AC was up against the panel. It got nicked requiring patching. The rusted body panel support brackets on both sides had to be rebuilt. Also, the interior flat panels all around had to be replaced. I had 15g metal to rebuild the brackets - then welded in. The interior panels I essentially glued with auto body seam seal and screwed in.


The left rear front panel was loaded with wet dust



The otherside didn't have the dust


I don't have a shop, and my 9+ clearance garage is not tall enough for the van plus vent.


With no confidence to be able to cut cleanly and close enough for butt welding, I did lap welds:



The trim holes resulted in rust. The right patch is the only butt weld - turned out OK - but I did it on my table.


The sliding door was rust all the way through. I had to rebuild the interior flange.



Then the body filler. Note that I used screws to secure the bottom of the interior and exterior panels. I couldn't figure out how to keep the primer and extra anti-rust from cooking out if I welded.



Primer


Painted. While the paint on the new panels and primer turned out well, the overlap didn't. The overlap is visible in the picture. I have no idea what I did wrong. But it is not enough to worry about, as once it goes back to its normal dirty, it will not be visible.. [Update: I went back with a thinner coat of the same paint - that seemed to do the trick.]


In summary -
5 partial panels replaced
1 partial rocker panel under the sliding door replaced
Sliding door rust replaced
5 square feet of 22g interior panels replaced

And I got to play with a lot of new toys.
 
Last edited:

lindenengineering

Well-known member
This topic came up only yesterday in the shop banter .
What would it cost to de a complete re-work to as showroom condition for a T1N Sprinter ?
As we know this van far outlasts its later MB renditions, akin now almost to a Land Rover Defender status of expensive yet exclusive rides .
It would have to start at about $90,000 up, for a basic van with NO RUST.
Dennis
 

Carminooch615

Active member
Thanks for the writeup.

This is also a warning for any t1n owner that has not flushed out their body skirt/ rocker panels in the last 10 years. I take a hose and make sure all the drains are clear, then flush with water through the body plug openings.
Do you recommend a specific spot to gain entry to these rocker voids?
Also, any experience in oiling the inside of the rocker voids?
 

Midwestdrifter

Engineer In Residence
Do you recommend a specific spot to gain entry to these rocker voids?
Also, any experience in oiling the inside of the rocker voids?
On the rear just remove the light harness plug. Mid body there are square and round plastic caps which are easy to remove.

You can also backflush through the drain gaps at the bottom seam.


Applying a corrosion inhibitor can be done through the same access. I suggest cleaning it well, and using a body cavity wax for long term protection.
 

redtail85

New member
what welder are you using and where did you get the body tools like the vise grip clamps and those little studs?

looks good, need to do a couple rockers on mine as well
 

hkpierce

'02 140 Hi BlueBlk Pass
And what are the alternatives in the US?

Finish? clean metal with some type of light and clear antirust coating.

Fit: Hard to judge as I used the lap technique, and in the US there are only limited sizes available - as I showed here. So it is rare that you have to fit both ends with an unmodified panel - you will need to cut and fabricate at least one end for most jobs. I purposely replaced either above or below a crease line such that there would be less of a chance of a visual discontinuity. Also - look at your own van - fit of the panels is not perfection. This is a commercial vehicle after all. Most people I show the results to can't see what I did, but I can because I know where and how to look to find the imperfections from my lack of skill and experience.
 

Garandman

Active member
Any tips on a MIG welder?

The major body panels were professionally replaced as necessary three years ago. But the bottom of the driver's door has rusted out, and there are a few other spots that could use a touch-up.

Mill Valley makes a replacement lower door panel for $54. I'm signed up for a MIG welding course mid-month at a Maker Space. Then my plan was to cut out the rusty panel and replace it, after some practicing and touching up the small and less-obvious spots.

Going to see about adding 220V to the garage, but a 120V welder will do automotive sheet metal easily. Leaning towards one of the smaller 120/220V MIG units. They range in price from $500 to $1,500, depending on brand, duty cycle, accessories, etc. Big decision will be whether or not to remove the door, since the van won't fit in our garage.
 

Midwestdrifter

Engineer In Residence
The harbor freight 120/220V mig welders are a decent value. Don't forget the cost of buying or leasing a gas bottle. A used Miller unit isn't a bad option either.

You can opt to use flux core, but the cleanup takes more time, and the weld quality on thin metal isn't as good as mig.

MIG welding steel is pretty straightforward. Just go slow to avoid warping the thin stuff. Buy a quality wire! Also buy an auto dimming helmet with adjustable visor darkness.
 

99sport

Well-known member
Any tips on a MIG welder?

The major body panels were professionally replaced as necessary three years ago. But the bottom of the driver's door has rusted out, and there are a few other spots that could use a touch-up.

Mill Valley makes a replacement lower door panel for $54. I'm signed up for a MIG welding course mid-month at a Maker Space. Then my plan was to cut out the rusty panel and replace it, after some practicing and touching up the small and less-obvious spots.

Going to see about adding 220V to the garage, but a 120V welder will do automotive sheet metal easily. Leaning towards one of the smaller 120/220V MIG units. They range in price from $500 to $1,500, depending on brand, duty cycle, accessories, etc. Big decision will be whether or not to remove the door, since the van won't fit in our garage.
If you have to remove the door anyway, can you take it to the welding class? I took a couple semesters of TIG welding from the local community college for under $50 a few years ago. The instructor was a professional welder and he would have gladly welded up a door for me if I had brought it in.

I have since found a local welder that does incredible work for peanuts - he welded up some holes where the spot welds pulled through in the van sheet metal. Both of those options don't require you to buy a welder for a single project (and as MWD pointed out, bottles are expensive).

If you are new to welding and do end up doing it yourself, remove the door - its a 5 minute job and as a learner you want to work horizontally on a good table at waist height - not vertically on your knees a few inches off the ground. If you find a professional welder to do the work, he'll easily be able to weld it on the van - if he is allowed to weld in the parking lot or can fit the van in the shop.
 

Nautamaran

2004 140” HRC 2500 (Crewed)
Any tips on a MIG welder?
A descent 120v MIG unit will do sheet metal. Budget for a gas bottle and the other consumables. As MWD stated, Flux-core will also work, but you will have a LOT more surface cleanup after welding as each weld will have a cap of slag.

I don't try to run a bead when welding sheet metal. Instead I do quick, small tack welds spread out along the length of the seam, cooling each tack before welding the next. Pay careful attention to seam alignment with each tack, applying a bit of pressure with your free hand to depress any high spots before tacking. Use a relatively high current and wire feed speed to minimise the time it takes to create each tack weld, which will minimise heat input. You should be in and out in under a second, leaving a fairly flat 1/8" to 3/16" diameter tack. Start with your tacks spaced several inches apart to hold the patch in place, then tack half-way between those, then half-way between those... until the welds finally merge into a continuous seam. Then grind the crowns of the tacks down to match the finished surface. Use light pressure with a coarse feathering disk, making shallow cuts and pausing often to avoid heating up the metal. Take your time. Then go back and re-tack any gaps or thin spots. All this will minimise warping of the sheet metal during the welding and grinding steps. I keep a compressed air hose with a blow nozzle in my free hand and quickly quench-cool each tack of weld as soon as I release the welding trigger. This keeps the sheet metal at a stable temperature throughout the process.

Good luck!

-dave
 

Garandman

Active member
@Nautamaran awesome!

Took an introductory course last week. Bought a 120/240V inverter MIG unit on sale at HF. Recommendation is to use better wire and get gas, so "ll stop by a welding supply shop next week. There is a second four hour class I'm planning to take as well. Gotta get some grinders, and order the panel.
 

Garandman

Active member
//If you are new to welding and do end up doing it yourself, remove the door - its a 5 minute job and as a learner you want to work horizontally on a good table at waist height - not vertically on your knees a few inches off the ground. If you find a professional welder to do the work, he'll easily be able to weld it on the van - if he is allowed to weld in the parking lot or can fit the van in the shop.
Only reason I'm pursuing this (along with welding being on my bucket list) is that so many shops are so short-handed they've abandoned rust repair in favor of insurance-covered bodywork.

We also have a 2001 4Runner which is the opposite of the Sprinter: bodywork doesn't rust much but the frames do. We had a hole repaired to the tune of $2,000, but there are some smaller areas that should be relatively easy to fix.
 

Midwestdrifter

Engineer In Residence
FYI frame repairs sometimes require a bit more than just scabbing on a patch, at least to be safe long term. Z shaped cuts, weld depth, overlap, etc. Its not rocket science by any stretch, but do a bit of reading before you tackle any major repair.
 

hkpierce

'02 140 Hi BlueBlk Pass
Another panel replacement write-up:
 

hkpierce

'02 140 Hi BlueBlk Pass
More rust, this time the underside of the passenger door.
I didn't realize the picture was unfocused - but there is rust all the way through the bottom:
20230418_152202.jpg
I cut out about 15.5 inches front and back


I had to fabricate an S-shaped piece for the back.

Once that was tacked in, I was able to fabricate a new panel piece. by attaching the fold of the panel piece to the S-side, it permitted getting a straight line easy. As before, I did lap welding, having no confidence to try butt welding


The the body filler


For such a small panel, I did not want to go through the effort of mixxing up a couple of small batches of color correct paint and the associated clean-up of the paint gun. So I used black gloss paint instead. Pretty close
 

Top Bottom