Defender Door Repair - Help please!

bankz5152 · Jul 23, 2015

Afternoon!

Did search but nothing relevant came up...

Looking at my doors they are not in the best condition. Both close fine, both open fine, no issues with the windows moving either. However the bottoms of both are at least 20 - 30% rotted out, theres some minor rot inside around where the top hinge is and some rot moving up the left/right sides of the frame.

Now I cannot weld, I can barely solder! BUT I have a friend who is willing to teach me what he knows (very basic limited knowledge as well) One thing I definitely do not have the cash to buy new doors, have em painted etc... So repair is the only option.

Basically how difficult is it to weld in new bits on the frame? Especially for a first timer?

Thanks!

owl · Jul 23, 2015

It's not too hard, though the more experiance you have of such work the better it will look when finished. Aneal the edge of the skin before prising it up and use an anti electrolysis past.

bankz5152 · Jul 23, 2015

Thanks! but now I have more questions lol Aneal? Anti electrolysis past?

Not too bothered how it will look as i will rarely ever see it...

Al2O3 · Jul 23, 2015

Annealing is the heat treatment of metal to soften it. Owl is recommending this on the door skin to make it easier to peel off and stop it from cracking. Is the aluminium skin still ok? I've just done this with my doors and they came off no bother, but they were brand new. Yours are old so may have age hardened. The anti electrolysis paste is to put between the steel frame and aluminium skin to stop dissimilar metal corrosion. You'll need to be able to peel enough of the skin back to allow you to cut off the rotten frame and weld in new sections without damaging the skin.

bankz5152 · Jul 23, 2015

Ahhh ok! Thanks that helps. The skins are fine, the passanger side has a small amount of corrosion on the outside. Need to check the inside more thoroughly though....

Last time I checked was 18 months ago, i did do a light sand down a repaint to stem the corrosion but nothing too serious. Hopefully it isnt too bad, ill strip the doors over the weekend if I have time.

Thanks for the help

Brown · Jul 24, 2015

If you're replacing the bottom frame rail, drill a few holes in to enable drainage and ventilation. Water will always leak in around the window, the trick is to get rid of it before it does any damage. In addition, I've squirted Dinitrol ML up the holes in mine and when I take the door trim panels off, it seems to be working - no corrosion and everything's covered in an oily deposit. Well worth it, as you don't want to be doing this job too often.

bankz5152 · Jul 24, 2015

I was thinking that, I have fitted genuine new weather strips as the old ones where shot, also got wind deflectors so combined help keep water off the doors.

That said I will do some drainage holes. Then paint the entire inside nice n thick then some Fatmat (dynamat alternative) over the top should stop any water even touching the steel.

Thanks for the help chaps!

Defender Door Repair - Help please!

bankz5152

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owl

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bankz5152

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Al2O3

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bankz5152

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Brown

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bankz5152

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