101 FC Door Bottoms

[stuee]

Trying to find things to do on the 101 and seeing as I am looking at the body work I thought I would turn my attention to the door bottoms which are looking pretty shabby. I know new ones can be purchased from the club but I thought I would have a crack at fixing the rust on these before I spend too much money. They are both structurally sound but the seal channel and part of the metal frame have rusted away. Currently the worst one looks like this:



The two options I see for repair this are as follows:
1. Do it properly, remove the aluminium skin, cut out and replace the rusted parts of the frame and weld new seal channel in, and replace aluminium panel. The issue with this is where would I find the channel that holds the seals in place and what would the state of the aluminium skin be after I've molested it.


2. Do it dodgy. Get the stiff wire brush wheel and remove all the rust. Clean it up with rust converter and paint it thoroughly - like flood it with my left over KBS rustseal (this will get in between the aluminium and steel as it creeps). Bog up the opening in the box section, then drop it off to the media blasters to have the whole lot blasted and primed in two pack. Seal up the seams between the steel and aluminium with normal body sealant to stop water and grit ingress. Get the whole lot painted, and replace seals in channel where possible or glue some new ones on, either that or glue some channel with on sikaflex for easy replacement (possibly do this before painting). And the final step would be to flood the steel box section with cavity wax or the like to stop any future rusting.

With my concerns over number 1 I'm leaning towards option 2 (which I just thought of tonight ). Later down the track I could potentially order new door bottoms if need be when funds are not so tight or get them professionally repaired if the dodgy fix doesn't last.

What have others done to address the door bottoms rusting out? I gather it is a common problem on the 101, that and the door tops, but thankfully, my door tops don't look too bad.

edit** rather than bog up the whole bottom there's no reason I cant weld a new plate over the bottom in situ to give the frame some added strength.

[The ho har's]

go with option 2 but try to fold sheet and mig over rust holes with skin in
place then if it all turns to **** buy new ones



HO HAR

[101 Ron]

Try and find some old series landrover doors.
The series rover doors are a different size and shape, but the steel channel and construction is the same and you may be able to weld in new bits from the series doors.
AJ could have some spare doors , but I expect it would be at a price.
option 2 is the best bang for your dollar.

[juddy]

You can still get the channel in the uk.

[stuee]

You can still get the channel in the uk.

Any idea on who from in particular?

Cheers

Sent from my HTC Desire S using Tapatalk

[101 Ron]

the 101 club has new alloy door tops advailable.
series land rover glass slide channel fits with some work.
Bannisters is a good place to get exarmy parts in UK......but the locals think its a rip off.

[stuee]

the 101 club has new alloy door tops advailable.
series land rover glass slide channel fits with some work.
Bannisters is a good place to get exarmy parts in UK......but the locals think its a rip off.

Sorry, not chasing the window channel, but the seal channel that retains the door seal (the bit that's all but gone along the bottom and is being eaten away up the sides in the pics above).

Haven't inspected my actual window channels in the door tops yet, but if need be I have a good friend with access to a machine shop so I can probably get some nylon ones made up.

Cheers,
Stuart

[isuzutoo-eh]

Any idea on who from in particular?

Cheers

There's a few on ebay, both Series and Defender. One of the Defender channels has built in drains.

LAND ROVER SERIES 2 & 3 DOOR FRAME REPAIR SECTION - DA4086 | eBay

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Land-Rove...item5644708ab6

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/280754982...84.m1423.l2649

[chazza]

Door skins are easy to get off without damaging them.

1. Lay the door skin side down on an old blanket.
2. Gently drive a sharpish wedge under the end of one of the folded over sides of the skin.
3. Once the aluminium starts to lift continue along the edge lifting the fold slowly and in stages. I made a hook shaped tool out of an old screwdriver blade to do this.
4. On a steel skin they are often brazed in a couple of points, but on an aluminium one they probably only rely on the folded edges to hold them to the door frame, but it will become obvious as you work where to free next.

Once the skin is off you can examine the frame and decide what to do next. Anyone with a decent sheet metal folder should be able to make some lengths of frame, which you can cut to length to suit the repairs.

If it was my door I would put the frame in molasses to get all the rust off, if it looks saveable.

Cheers Charlie

[stuee]

Copied from my post in my build thread - should have gone here to begin with.

In the mean time I have found this:
Guide to Defender Door Repair | Repair My Landrover

via this post on the forum:
Rust in doors

Also now found a source for the seal channel I was chasing:
051 Range Rover Classic Door Gasket Holder

Feeling much more confident in attacking the problem properly now after seeing some pictures too. Doesn't look hard at all to do.