main rust spots look for

[henryandlesley]

hi I am busy welding my rangie up i have done the rear seat belt mount doing the front floor pan need the sill doing and the same on the other side.
Any more spots i need to check before i put my welder away and take it for mot

[jjsaul]

rear xmembers rot but i dont think its an mot point

[Rainbird]

Corrosion in the rear cross member will almost certainly fail an MOT due to the proximity to structural points.  It's also a very common rust point

[Skibum346]

Check the inner wings on the front... also an MOT fail... especially if like an old one of mine what looks like weld turns out to be... I dunno... play doh or summit!  :(mad):

[Dr Strangeglove]

I bought a 1991 3.9 a while back.  I really bought it for the body as I am going to put it on a tax exempt chassis.  When I looked around it the points I found were minor:-
Rear seat belt mount.
Small hole in the rear wheel arch where it meets the sill.
Small hole on the rear wheel arch at the bottom of the C(?) pillar (where the water drains from the sunroof I think)

When I started giving it a serious looking at I found the following:-
Front wheel arches – on the outermost edge – mine have the black plastic liners that bridge between the wheel arch and the wing.  When I removed them the rust was setting in.  It was not at the stage where I needed to weld it so I made some strips, folded them to the shape of the wheel arch, treated the rust with rust killer, painted the strips (which were zintec anyway) and the treated inner wing with red oxide, then self tapped the strips to the wheel arch with lashings of waxoil between.  That way I can remove the strips from time to time and give it another dose of waxoil.  A local mechanic assured me that this was OK as the rot was not yet bad enough to make it into an MOT fail (but its in shortly so I will keep you informed).

Foot wells:- remove the carpets and sound proofing and have a look at the floor their.  If you have any leeks at all the on the bulk head (from the windscreen, heater etc) the water runs down into the footwell and into the space between the spotwelded joints.  The damp carpets keep the joints nice and moist to ensure the rusting process keep going.  Only the driver’s side of mine had a small hole so again it’s a screw on patch at the moment (treated like the wheel arches).  The joints that are OK were treated with rust kill if required, a coat of red oxide and brush on sealant.

In the boot remove the carpets and look for rust spots.  Look in the corners where the boot floor meets the side wall.

Basically you need to look for rust where you have any spotwelds.  Water gets between the joints where the paint hasn’t reached sufficiently.

Also check at the bottom of your door posts especially if you have a sun roof.  Make sure the drain hole there is sufficient and then treat inside with waxoil.

From what I have found, if you haven’t found rust you just need to look closer.

To help reduce future problems, bladder all the areas around the body mounting points with waxoil (after any required welding of coarse) as they are the MOT fail areas.  10 places in total.  Make sure you remove any crud from them first mind as you need to keep any moisture holding stuff away from them if at all possible.

[dave362]

Battery tray and drivers side headlight frame. Shock turrets

[Range Rover Blues]

The bit between the bumpers :lol:

[hobbit]

The bit between the bumpers :lol:

I was just thinking the same, start at the front bumper with a screwdriver and end up at the back, usually in tears

Good luck!

[edy]

The bit between the bumpers :lol:

the bumpers aswell :lol:

[dod51e]

I found both sills, bottom of A & B posts,
rears arches inc seat belt mounting pionts,
rear cross member (when the petrol tank is out cut an instection hole for the fuel pump if you do not already have one),
body mounting points,
front shock turrets (cheaper to replace)
front foot wells (particularly outer edges)
chassis close to exhaut manufolds
Anything between the front and rear bumper seems tocover it all.
After welding I ground down the welds (mine were no work of art) and then filled over all new seams with body filler prior to painting to help ensure that no gaps or nooks or crannies were left to trap moisture.
Good luck and make sure you have pleantly of welding supplies before you start.