Replacing rusted footwell

[east high]

I need to replace a rusted out footwell. I found this jobber which appears to be a bolt in affair. Am I right in thinking this, or will this require some welding (knowing it's galvanized).

http://www.roversnorth.com/store/images/Product/large/RNF0003.JPG

http://www.roversnorth.com/store/p-5430-replacement-floor-panel-rh-series-ii-iia-iii.aspx

[JackIIA]

It should be welded.

I guess if you were very careful with removal of spot welds, you could bolt it in to the 'tabs' which extend from the remaining footwell, but you'd be asking for trouble in my opinion. I'd consider seam sealing it too, after you're done.

Also, if you are careful with removal of spot welds, you should end up with a pretty good template as to the correct sizing of the replacement piece. I've read about some complaints over replacement pieces being too large and requiring some trimming before installation.

This is said from the benefit of hindsight. I highly recommend a read of Ike Goss' write-up on bulkhead repair. It's pretty interesting and covers some of the key things. It's at Pangolin4x4.

[109 Pretender]

The footbox end caps and the top edge of the box are spot welded originally. You can drill out the spotwelds to remove old piece. Some folks re-weld as close to original as poss. or rivet the new footbox in place by drilling holes along the edges of the footbox end caps and along the top side. Both methods work well so it really depends on your resources and desire for originality or not. (If you choose to weld, it's best to have very good ventilation because of the galv. on the new part).

Hope this helps

Cheers!

[east high]

Okay. Sounds a bit more involved. I would like to repair it with a factory appearance, so looks like I'll be doing some welding. What is the stiffening panel you're referring to, Ike?

On a separate but related note, what's the best way to weld this in? I'm thinking drilling out the factory spot welds, and using the mig to create plug welds. Is an angle grinder with a sanding disc sufficient to remove the galvanization, or should I leave the coating alone and get a different kind of wire? I'm still a novice when it comes to welding.

[JackIIA]

The stiffening panel is shown on the pangolin site (http://www.pangolin4x4.com/pangolin4x4/reference/howto/bulkheadrepair/pages/DSCN6318.htm).

It gives increased rigidity to the entire toe box area and should run from where the brake pedal & clutch housings are, and down to the footwell area (the RN part you posted). The aftermarket offerings that I'm familiar with won't give you the full sized panel. Ike mentions that on the how-to section. I'm assuming he made this one.

I think the RN footwell panel is pretty good since it has the elongated ribbing on the footwell sheet metal. That gives it some more rigidity and it makes it look right.

Yes on the Mig and plug welding. I'd think you'd need light grinding with a grinding disk on the galvanization area (keeping it as localized as possible). From a newbie perspective, I'm not aware of any special wire changes. I used (I think) .025" wire and an CO2/Argon sheilding gas as opposed to CO2 alone. I can't remember the power settings, but using a metal gauge should give you your answer on that.

[east high]

Thanks Jack. That stiffening plate looks to be for the driver side. My problem in on the passenger side of the rig, so I guess that simplifies things a bit.

[JackIIA]

I'm not aware of a stiffening plate on the passenger side. I replaced the entirely of both footwells up to the where they meet the bulkhead, but the previous owner had done some sheetmetal repairs and so what I was working with wasn't original. Still, pretty sure there is no stiffening plate on the passenger side. Good luck with it, I'm sure you'll do fine.

[leafsprung]

Stiffener is on both sides . . .

[JackIIA]

Stiffener is on both sides . . .

too late now!