Rear body crossmember

[johnpirate]

Has anyone changed the rear body crossmember .I had a look at repairing it,but its past it.Is it easier to remove the tank,or can it be done with it in place ?.What is the best way to support the body to chop the old one out ?.The rear bumper doesnt want to come off I,ve tried WD 40 but its only released one side.The exhaust side is as stuck as ever.I,m undecided whether to cut the damn thing off and get a replacement from a breakers.

[No ditch too deep]

Is it just the cross member thats shot or have the chassis rails gone as well - just doing the cross member is fairly straight forward

[denviks]

i have done the rear cross member on my disco. i removed the tank to make it easier to get to the back side of it. what i did with mine was to cut the oldd one out leaving a few good solid mounting points. i then cut the new one so it matched and then welded it in. took me about a day to be honest as im not that fast with the welder.

[Budgie]

Just to confirm it is the body crossmember we're talking about and not the chassis crossmember here?

My rear body crossmember mountings onto the chassis have gone but the rest of it is OK. I managed to get just the mounts off a guy on Ebay for £25 the pair. Just need to get them welded on now.  

I think if I were replacing the whole thing then I'd do the rear floor at the same time. The floor is patched for now and all rust treated but you may as well have max fun with the grinder!!  :D

[hobbit]

I repaired one of my rear mounts, as an after thought when I'de repaired the rear body cross member

I  managed to raise the body corner back to its original height with a block of wood and jack, then fabricate round it with weld and plate to rebuild the thing  back, luckily the rear plate was still intact so no need to drop tank to access the rear, just watch the sparks though

Fiddley but not too difficult

[BrumLee]

Made my own cross member mountings out of 1.6mm steel plate so it should take 34 years for them to rot away  

[Budgie]

These are the mounts I got:



Details on this thread if anyone needs them in the future.  

[johnpirate]

Its the rear bodycrossmember thats rotten. The chassis looks solid .A previous owner sprayed the inside of the chassis with old engine oil.I had a look at just replacing the mounts but it looks easier to replace the lot.Its MOT is due so if I replace it before the test without a failure.There shouldnt be as much checking on the welds as it will be undersealed properly.I replaced the centre section of the boot floor just after I bought it and the rest looked reasonable.We will see how it looks now.I thought of spot welding it right along which is what Landrover would have done from new.

[johnpirate]

Well I ve cut most of the rear crossmember off got a bit more tidying to do.The rear edge is a bit tatty but hopefully I can sort it.I,m going to try and get away with out taking the tank off, just taking care.I On another point .The nearside outer sill  is tatty but after cutting the rot away the inner sill is okay. The theory is if I get the welding sorted before the test I can cover my welding with underseal.I,ve checked the steering had to adjust the front wheel bearings . I ,ve replaced the handbrake cable,shoes and expander ,and finally the handbrake is working.I,ve replaced  the rear shocks .One of the front propshaft u,js is shot .Its only been on a year.There is a bumpstop  hanging down ,but I,ve got a new one.All I,m waiting for is a headlamp off e,bay.I think thats it should be ready for the MOT.All this because I didnt check properly when it was due.Its cost me two days off work though.

[hobbit]

If you are working near the tank, stick to spot welds, less chance of the plastic tank getting splashed

[denviks]

If you are working near the tank, stick to spot welds, less chance of the plastic tank getting splashed

hense why its best to remove the tank. i thought i would get away with it but alas i didnt. ended up with a small hole in the top of the tank  :oops: .easily fixed though.  

always safer to remove it and it only takes 10 mins

[johnpirate]

Sat here now .Miserable look on my face. The weather has let me down .I dont fancy getting an electric shock trying to weld in the rain.Hopefully it will dry off later and I can start again.

[johnpirate]

Nearly finished. I replaced the rear body crossmember.and 2in of the floor as well because there was nothing left to weld it to.Nearside outer sill was rotten so that was next on the list.The inner sill looked solid.I found a small hole in the floor.Got the grinder out two min later 15 in hole in the floor.Out with the welder again.Then I found another hole in a wheel arch.If I had known how rotten it was I think it would be on e,bay spares or repairs.But at least now I should get another couple of years out of it.I,ve got a propshaft uj left to change ,but my vice isn't big enough.So I will see if I can use one at the coach company I used to work at.I think it will finally be ready for its MOT test.

[Andy the Landy]

.So I will see if I can use one at the coach company I used to work at.I think it will finally be ready for its MOT test.

Failing that, bring it to our coach company in Glossop