Location of Spot Welds on Sills

[ally406]

Does anyone have a diagram of the above? I plan to remove some healthy sills from a scrapper and transplant onto mine. It would be neater if I could just drill out the spot welds rather than taking an angle grinder to it.

[steve_earwig]

I did see a diagram of where the spot welds are on the sills of a coupé (maybe on the coupe club's forums) but I can't find anything like that on my Service Box back up.

Btw spot welds are really hard, you won't be able to drill them out (not without a large supply of drills handy) they make special tools for them that cut around the weld.

[ally406]

Thanks Steve, I actually have a couple of spot weld drill bits I've used previously. I've just purchased a Thatcham Body Repair manual on ebay. The one I have for the 405 details sill removal and refitting, so this one should have the same.

[ally406]

Got the Thatcham, it appears that the outer sill is not a seperate section, but the whole side section of the car is one continous piece top to bottom. I did wonder as I couldn't see any seems or edges looking at it. I'll have to angle grind off the lower part and attempt to transplant it that way.

[steve_earwig]

Peugeot actually do a repair panel, it includes the bases of the pillars and only costs 300 quid. A side

Good luck with the repair, any chance of some pictures? Did you find the thread where one guy on here replaced just a part of the sill?

[ally406]

Yeah, I saw them on Servicebox. I think even if you wanted them, they have long since been discontinued. I think I did see that thread. As a previous repair has been done on these sills, I like the idea of just swapping them out lock, stock and barrell. The irritating thing is they would be fine had the previous person bothered to paint the patches with some zinc primer or something. They just left it as bare metal which is why it's only lasted 2 years I'll stick up a thread when I get round to doing it, as long as you promise to not slag my welding too much

[steve_earwig]

Don't worry about that, I am The Lord of Pigeonshit Welding

[ally406]

Work has begun! As always, the rust is a lot worse than it looked. There's a welding place around the corner from the lockup I'm renting, I might admit defeat and seek professional help. I don't know, I'll sleep on it.

I would strongly urge anyone who wants their sills to stay solid to take some preventative measures. There is a body plug behind the arch liners at each end of the sill. If I could wind the clock back I would pump some rust converter in there, followed by wax oyle or used engine oil. Plus of course make sure the drain holes are clear and the rubber sill trim is secure and not letting water in it's fixing holes. All very easy maintenance tasks and it will save you a major headache in the long run.

It's too late for me unfortunatley

[steve_earwig]

Oh crap

As always, the rust is a lot worse than it looked.

It's never better It's always better to know about it than bury your head in the sand (like wot I dun ) but you might find you need to cut a lot of rust off before you find something good enough to weld to. It's a real ballache but it's better to get it sorted than drive a car that might fold up in an accident...

I would strongly urge anyone who wants their sills to stay solid to take some preventative measures. There is a body plug behind the arch liners at each end of the sill. If I could wind the clock back I would pump some rust converter in there, followed by wax oyle or used engine oil. Plus of course make sure the drain holes are clear and the rubber sill trim is secure and not letting water in it's fixing holes. All very easy maintenance tasks and it will save you a major headache in the long run.

I reckon it's the worst rust trap on these cars, it really needs the rubber strip clips put on with a dob of caulk/silicon & always replace them if someone kicks them off. Unblock all 4 drain holes & spray loads of waxoyl inside the sills (via the seal clip holes and bungs in the ends) - make sure the waxoyl doesn't block the drains...

Here comes another one: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=13792
Mine: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=6864
Where those pesky drains are: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=8130

[ally406]

Thanks for the links Steve

Progress today:

Full extent of the rot:



Rot cut out:




There's a welding centre next door to the lockup. I got the guy round to look at the sill and to see how much it would be to professionally repair it, as this is taking WAY more time that I had wanted. He basically said I was mad, and this sort of effort was only worth while on an old classic. £200 to finish the sill I've started.

I had grand plans to clean everything up and prime it, but I'm not going to bother. I'll treat it all with rust converter and them pump the sill full of used engine oil, most likely in the supermarket car park

[steve_earwig]

Dear god!! Actually 200 quid doesn't sound so bad. Ok, it's no classic but if you scrapped it what could you buy with that sort of money that wouldn't have the possibility of something similar lurking?

Those are some very interesting pics - keep 'em coming!

[Welly]

Holy tin-worm!

I'm starting to think that pretty much every 406 in this country will have a bit of this in various stages but I don't suppose it would be picked up in an MOT unless the rust was externally visible?

The advise to seal those pesky door sill trims and the cavity beneath is well worth considering.

[steve_earwig]

I don't think testers are allowed to go about your car with a screwdriver any more so no, the first thing you'd notice would be a hole. The rust comes from the inside out, tip of the iceberg etc.

[Welly]

Won't be good for structural strength either

[ally406]

Home for lunch, progress is slow. I've got a whole 35cm of the inner sill patched. My welding is very poor, I'm really not enjoying it much. I don't think I need to fuss excessively about the inner sill, it's only spot welded in a few places from the factory anyway. I think I'll finish the inner portion and get the welding dude to do the outer sill. Then I've got the other side