Alright, maybe this is a dumbass question to ask, but I've asked it other places and received answers from people who haven't actually welded on a tub.

The tub of my 109 is off. It has a cancer hole in the bed floor near a seatbelt mount point. The hole was hidden by Bondo, but that's another story....

I am planning on plating the whole floor for among other reasons, to provide a bit more strength for the rear seatbelt floor anchors (I'm also going to plate at the anchor points underneath).

I know I can just rivet a patch in from underneath and herculiner the tub floor and hide it pretty well (plus the aluminum plate will hide it), but I want to consider welding in a repair, because that seems like the best way to repair this properly.

So how hard is it to weld on a rover tub? Is it worth the hassle? (I'll have to hire it out) I'm not as concerned with looks as I am with strength and having the job done right the first time around while I've got the tub off. OTOH I don't want my tub fawked up. I ask you, gentlemen, because I know that there are people on this board that have (wait for it) actually welded on a tub (as opposed to just spewed hot air about it). Now go ahead and flame my sorry ass for asking a dumb question.:flipoff2:

I thought twice about posting this but figured I would even though I'm risking getting flamed by Adam. (I really do own a rover (ask Slade) I'm 36/out of High School, and I consider Mike Slade a friend....and Adam probably knows quite a bit more about Range Rovers than I ever will!):flipoff2:

TTFN, Simon

ok, never done it on a rover tub. Lot's of others though. My brother used to combine wrecked vehicles and resell them (legally I might add).

Anyway, I believe the worst problem is finding where the cancer ISN'T. We mostly did overlay patching on floor pans and the such. we would cut the affected area out (blade, not torch) oversize patch/plate with welds on all four sides. If it was in a load bearing or stressed area, we would plate/patch for twice the area, above and below. For hairline fissures, we would heliarc/braze on both sides, and grind smooth.

For the seatbelt area, the thickness of the plate will not be so important as the force dispersion, i.e. width/breadth of the repair.

j

ok, ok, i can take a little punishment, afterall i deserve it.

but i do have some helpful info to add to this :flipoff2:

welding in a patch is clearly (as you are aware) the best long term solution. however there are several caveats that keep this option from being best, IMO.

you said you would have to farm it out, which adds cost and the complications related to transportation. the welder also must be quite a good one, as he is not just welding on aluminum, it is Birmabright, which has a good portion of magnesium in it. magnesium will catch fire and burn very, very hot for a decent amount of time. it is imperative that the welder take precautions for this. then you have the issue of the thickness of the sheetmetal, and the ease of burning holes in it and warping it.

in short, you will pay for a good job on this, and if you planned on rhino-lining over it anyways, i think that the best solution would be to rivet a plate in there.

i hate galvanic corrosion! :D

im sorry i do not have any first hand experience welding LR bodies, but this is all i can offer and i feel better than if i had just ignored you :D

Simon!

Dammit, this is twice in one day I'm finding myself agreeing with 9V.

Considering-

You're going to rhinoline the tub anyway

and....

you're going to plate the floor anyway

and...

no one's goin to crawl under your truck to look at your 'hack' patch job

I'd just rivit in a patch and call it good. Since it's near a seatbelt mounting point, you might be able to use a massive backing plate for the seatbelt bolts, the backing plate could actually cover the hole, and you could trim a new piece to lay in the hole after trimming it clean and rivit it in there.

FWIW, if you go to Landeen they will be able to refer you to a good aluminum welder. Landeen's right across from Kruger office supply and The Line-Up Shop. That is if you decide to get it welded (sexier looking, that's for sure).

Here's Simon's Rover!

I've done it (personally) on my bed skins (thinner than your tub floor). I used a miller alumin. spool gun, straight argon, medium heat and medium wire speed. Worked okay, but, IMO, tig is the only way to go if you don't like filling and grinding...The spool works well, it's just not very neat on thin guage material...The bed floors are much thicker however, and I think it would lend itself much better to the use of a spool gun...

But if you are going to farm it out, find someone who does a LOT of alumin. tig'ing.

--Doug (37/1.5 kids', edjumicated in CA)

Originally posted by RockRover
The spool works well, it's just not very neat on thin guage material...
But if you are going to farm it out, find someone who does a LOT of alumin. tig'ing.



A-frickin-men!

John
36
Indiana University, University of Hawaii, US army War College/Intelligence School
1 kid
1 German Shepherd
6 bicycles

:flipoff2:

Thanks for the info. TIG it is if I have it welded. There are other "issues" with the tub so might be worth it to have them all dealt with rather than ignoring some of them.... Still cain't decide. Moving the tub will be a slight PITA, so I may sniff around for a mobile welder....

Thanks for the pic of my 109 Mike! See, I told you guys I have a rover, and not just the one I push around on the floor with my four year old making pllllgggghhttt noises.

Adam and Mike - knowing my self to be only partially reconstructed poor white trash, I probably will pop rivet on a plate from underneath after sorting out the plating needed to reinforce the seatbelts. Then slather on the Herculiner. Then a sheet of diamond plate or blank 1/8th inch aluminum over the works. Couldn't resist pimping you Adam.

Simon (And I've got four kids. AND a vasectomy! Oh, and a pushy wife. So there. Beat that!)

good to see another in touch with their white trash roots. :D

adam
Davis Thayer Elementary, Franklin MA
Margaret A. Neary Elementray, Southborough MA
P. Brent Trottier Middle School, Southborough MA
St. John's High School, Shrewsbury MA, a Xaverian Brothers education
3 aunts (Debbie, Patty, and Theresa)
5 uncles (JD, Frank, James, Tony, Gary)
1 bike (Trek 6000)
1 Australian Cattle Dog (Cowboy)
1 Wheaten Terrier (K.C.)
1 tortoise shell cat (Thelonious)
1 mom (Cindy)
1 dad (Greg)
1 brother (Brendan)
5 series rovers (yes they are mine)
too much ambition :D

beat THAT! :beer:

I have a 13" shlong...

Now I know why they call you Rock God! Haw Haw. Adam, I can out WT you any day of the week dude. Your from freaking Massachussetts (is that how its spelled?) for crying out loud. I grew up in a woodheated farm house, one of seven kids in the boonies outside Estacada, Oregon on the edge of the national forest. Spent many a day splitting wood and fixing frozen water pipes. And feeding cattle and sheep cuz my dad bailed early on. We had a few dogs and a barn full of cats. I worked on farms and in lumber mills and gas stations (uhh and a toy store!) to earn my way through college. But I still like BBQ chips!

Simon

lol simon that has to be the most rambling old man style post i have seen in a long time...

"i still like BBQ chips" :laughing:

in all seriousness, i hate my upbringing. i wish it WAS in a woodheated farmhouse next to the national forest because i love that kind of stuff. splitting wood is one of my favorite outdoor activities :D

Originally posted by 9V
good to see another in touch with their white trash roots. :D

adam
St. John's High School, Shrewsbury MA, a Xaverian Brothers education

beat THAT! :beer:

Ok Old Scout, Now you know where he goes to school, time to send the foil underwear pics to the year book.

Oh and RockRover im not sure to give you this :eek: or this :rolleyes: , so you have to settle for this :flipoff2:

-Jeff

PS Simon, have you thought about replacing the entire floor with a thick sheet of aluminum?

If you are going extreme, might as well mount the seats on a custom roll cage and have the seat mounts attach to that. I also agree with replacing the entire floor. If some sections are bad, chances are that the other sections are not far behind.

Way

Simon,

Jeff and Way are right. Maybe you should just measure up the floor, go to Schmeer or Metals USA and have them cut up a whole new piece out of beefy aluminum.

Cooper ended up doing that on the S1 because things had 'changed' so much and he wanted a thicker floor anyway.

The trick will be keeping the cool fuel tank access flaps.

Betcha' Schmeer could weld 'em in if you cut them out of the old floor, gave them some measurements and had them bend you a new one. Those are the guys who made my flat floor for the crew cab, the rear tailgate for the S1, the 'water' tanks for the crewcab, etc.....

Schmeer's good ol' fashioned craftsmen they are. They even have a wood stove in the shop (to make you feel at home).

Hmmmm, a white trash contest. I think I probably wouldn't win, but I wouldn't come in last place either. Grew up with between 30-60 horses, fed them all, bucked bales, hauled water, scooped shit, etc....

Originally posted by RockRover
I have a 1.3" shlong...

Dude...I wouldn't tell people about that...

Simon ,just try to make the underside plate bigger than the top one ,as this helps reduce the odds of the anchor point cutting/shearing through the floor when a load is applied (probably when you want it the most ) .Can't help on the welding side of things .








Originally posted by RockRover
I have a 13" shlong...

So ,Rockrover ,just what is a "shlong" ?
Is that something you "shling in the shlower "?

Guys, thanks for all the input. Adam, on splitting wood, etc, be careful what you wish for! I like doing it now, because I don't have to do it to heat my house. Forced air gas is so much easier.

Mike, Jeff, Way: I had considered replacing the whole floor, but there's only one other spot on the loadbed floor that's bad - and its just some corrosion - not holed through. The other holes are on the flange that supports the middle floor, and are not really structural, and some enlarging of one or two of the bolt holes for the leading tub to frame mount points.

I am going to go to Metals USA and get a plate, and had considered just tacking it down with rivets and having those and the seatbelt mount bolts hold it down for easy removal if I need to get at the fuel tank access holes.... But having holes cut in the plate sounds like a better idea.

The idea of fabbing a whole new floor scares the piss out of me money - wise (not to mention the fact that its completely beyond my abilities in four or five different ways). Maybe next time.:D

Thanks for all the input. You all owe me for finding out where 9V goes to school!!!!!!!

This thread's taken more than enough space for what its worth. Let's kill it now. If anyone has any other suggestions (constructive ones!), PM me.

Simon