when parking bus in garage last night noticed a slight problem with the drivers side(rhd)sill. the sill is welded along bottom edge but had filler along top edge and had a crack along it, could be moved slightly by hand. ? is does it need replacing and if so is it easy enough. was it done right in the first place because I thought it got welded to under the floor panel. has anyone done this recently and is it an easy place to start welding as I havn't done any for a long time.. on sill selection would you use standard or 1 with drain holes from schofields, costs same which is best. any help deciding which to do myself of get it done for me would be great
The outer sill should be spot welded along the bottom edge and then seam welded wherever the previous restorer decided to cut it back (anything from about 1 to 4 inches up)...seam sealer/filler would then be used to conceal the repair, once the welding had been ground back. You'll need to remove all the paint and filler along the 'crack' (about 1 1/2 inch above and below) to determine where the good metal starts...scribe where you plan to fix the new panel and cut the old panel out. Most repair panels will need a tickle with a grinder regardless of where you buy them....Drain holes will delay the inevitable. If your repair is above the recess between sill and side panel, fold a small return along the top edge of the sill repair panel (so they overlap flush) I can't weld for toffee, but I did do all the prep myself...
sound like the sill has been replaced previously and the joint between the old side panel and the new sill was spot welded badly and has broken of with natural flex in the van body? if it was my van i would bare metal the affected area to see whats happening below the paint, this will of cause mean the side panel will need painting
hi will get pics tomorrow and post them up, cheers. hopefully not big job and just noticed it moved but wanted to make sure it didn't get worse and it was going to get some wax injected over winter anyway.
it had new jacking points put on last year and was thinking that may of affected the sill somehow, inner sills were in very good condition but outer sill on sliding door side needed doing but that was done by someone else as i had not long had it and havn't welded for ages, didn't want to mess it up basically...
dont think swapping jacking points would affect outer sill in anyway as its attached to the inner sill
hi heres a couple of pics i said i would take it has been welded along bottom edge but cannot see any other welds, it doesn't move alot but don't want it to slowly get worse knackering other bits around it. would rather repair now over winter when it not used as much and be ready for the next season.
hi zed, would only do waxing afterwards. last year when other welding was done we had someone on fire watch. person who did welding was quite carefull with that and would stay late after welding just in case, i think he used it as an excuse not to go home to his missus. he actually phoned a couple of times gone 10 at night, unfortunately the guy is ill at moment so not doing any welding
looks like its had sill replaced at some time in the past and its splitting around weld? best thing to do is bare metal around crack and dig out sealer between panels to be sure. think you will need to get it re-welded at very best
If it's solid all around its a pretty easy panel to replace, no so easy to weld as per original vw , usual procedure is to weld it into the seam at the top and try to disguise will sealer or filler, it may just have been sealed at the top instead of welded
cheers davidoft i think i will strip off paint like 13 window was saying to see if sill has to come off and see if it can be re done better. do you weld right along top seam or just tac every so often and along bottom by drilling holes and clamp it to weld.. cheers
Do a tac every so often on the top, and along bottom by drilling holes and clamp it to weld. Yup that's the way I do it, a sill for that side is around £10
before you remove the sill [i don`t know if i would it looks solid ]have a look how solid the inner sill is...
As davidoft said, the outer sill is dirt cheap, you may as well cut it off and put a new one on. That way you can clean up the rust that has started through the cracked filler and check the condition of the inner and middle sills and the bottom of the b and c pillars at the same time. Although you may regret doing that I weld into the seam between the sill and middle panel, the carefully grind the weld back with a cutting disc. I guess originally vw must have assembled the sill and middle panel before fitting them to the van.
