Opinions on Rusty Sill

[Tango91]

TL;DR: help, what do?

This was a nice surprise I had waiting for me when I came back to the passenger side of my car today. This certainly crept up on me, I was under the impression my bingo was largely rust-free. I don't know what caused it to just... burst all of a sudden, but it seems it has. I haven't been offroading, hopping kerbs etc..

I did hit a rather large roadside puddle the other day, is it possible that that could have somehow blown this out?

If you could all make comforting, non-expensive noises about how easy this is to fix, that'd be appreciated, Financially speaking I don't need this right now.

That said, what are my options here? Replacement sill? Weld in a patch? Have the car crushed and set my wallet on fire?

Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Tom

[Image: VnOAg1f.jpg]

[geoff]

Cut out a strip 1" wide x whatever long and weld in new metal, preferably pre galvanised steel. It will come back so budget on more work in another year.

[polar]

If you are going to keep it get the sill replaced if not as geoff says just weld it up for another year.

Just out of curiosity what year is your berlingo?

[Rustscrat]

Looks like it's rotted from the inside. If you have the side doors the the water comes in from the lower runner. Check that there are not any drain holes blocked along the bottom seam. Also check under your carpets and see if  they are wet.

[geoff]

The trouble with welding is that the rust always come back ( been there before ) so in a sense it is better to cut out the rust until you get back to clean metal and set new metal back in ( butt weld rather than overlapping as the rust comes back quicker ) so that you can still cut back further for the next years MOT and weld more new metal back in. This way you can squeeze a few more years out of the vehicle. Once you cut back for complete sills you are going deeper into the structural side of things and the next repair is even harder and more expensive.

You have more life left in the vehicle in all likelihood but better to get the wallet set for the next wagon in due course.

If you can weld then all is much cheaper if not get a price from a back street garage - don't go to a shiny place !

edit : If you can squirt waxoyl into the sills after welding it will last longer .... if cash is tight then squirt waste engine oil into the sills, rusty cars never rust where there is an oil leak.

[ffrenchie]

Are you near the sea ? I've done a few like that on Fiestas, Micras, and Polos but not a Berlingo. It's not a big job and can be done to look invisible and reasonably permanent with a patch cut out and butt welded in and sealed from the back as Geoff says or bodged with a plate over the top just for a quick MOT pass. A complete sill to reveal and fix all the horrors behind it would be the expensive option. If you start tapping round it and prodding with a screwdriver you will see how far the damage really goes but I would knock the sharp edge back in and put something over it if you are still using the car (gaffer tape and a bit of filler is the quickest) just to save any personal damage.

[Landmark]

http://www.autocrashparts.co.uk/citroen-...rYmglmYPao
Have a look at this.
Griff

[ffrenchie]

http://www.autocrashparts.co.uk/citroen-...rYmglmYPao
Have a look at this.
Griff

£30.34 to buy a sill, £200 to fit it another £200 to paint it. Cutting a sill off and tidying up then fitting the new one is a long job if it's done properly and there is quite a lot of work involved, even more so with a sliding rear door gear to contend with so it could end up costing even more on an hourly basis at a garage.

[Gadgetman]

I had this done on my 1999 model two years ago, and it ended up costing me 12000NOK, about £960 with todays exchange rate.(Part was about 1300NOK, or about £100, but it was a genuine Citroën part.)
That panels is a real pain to replace, so yeah, the hours fly past. That also included a pro paintjob where they matched colours to the old paint, not just matching the paint code.
Of course, things are more expensive here in Norway, but still... expect it to cost.

Also, note that I didn't have a choice. It had failed the MOT on rust, and wouldn't be accepted without papers showing that it had been done properly.