Has the chassis steel quality changed over the years?

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mikerajjers

mikerajjers

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Has the quality of steel used for the chassis degraded over the years? I was passing some time this morning and looking at a 2013 90 defender and the chassis has definitely got quite a bit of rust (also considering its only done 27000 km). When I compare it to my 1997 110 which was properly abused by the police (over 250000km - ex croatian border police) and my 2000 TD5 90 this new one must have been made from ****tier steel.

Just curious. Anyone in the know?
 
It can depend on how it is used, and where.
Yours sounds like it was in constant use, which could keep air flow through the chassis and help it to dry out when it got wet.
That 2013 Defender may have sat about unused for some of the time and maybe used in a salt environment.
My 2005 110 is used all day every day and despite 90,000 miles the chassis is rust free. Although it has been wax protected inside and out, and l wash the underside regularly in the winter when the salt is on the roads.
 
mikerajjers said:
Has the quality of steel used for the chassis degraded over the years? I was passing some time this morning and looking at a 2013 90 defender and the chassis has definitely got quite a bit of rust (also considering its only done 27000 km). When I compare it to my 1997 110 which was properly abused by the police (over 250000km - ex croatian border police) and my 2000 TD5 90 this new one must have been made from ****tier steel.

Just curious. Anyone in the know?
Click to expand...

Yes. Series 1 chassis is much better quality than S2, and that is better than a S3. Ninety/One Ten chassis is better than a Defective, and the longer you go on, the worse it gets. Rover used to use British Steel, modern JLR stuff is all Indian steel. The coatings on the modern chassis are thinner and worse than on older vehicles too.

As lightning comments, conditions of use, and individual owners care of the vehicle, make a difference as well.
 
The quality of steel in general is s##t I'm a fabricator and been at it for 30 years making various things and the quality has gone down hill cheap foreign rubbish.
 
Tata also has plants in India and other places although they have plants in the UK doesn't mean they use it from here , we've been making steel in the UK for years but unfortunately like many other things the majority is imported because its cheaper. Something wrong somewhere .
 
Its a shame that in order to save a tiny bit of money (grand scheme of things) they used cheap steel. Mind you they could have galvanised it as well. A brand new Defender cost 50k euros over here during the last year of sales. I don't believe for a minute it cost more than 20k to build. It's not as if they had any airbags, multi-link suspension, sound deadening...or in fact anything fancy. If Dacia can build, ship, sell and make a profit on a car which costs 6200eur ex vat, has Aircon, airbags, Bluetooth,etc then why couldn't JLR galvanise a bloody chassis? Someone got greedy somewhere along the line
 
Ian Maycock said:
Tata also has plants in India and other places although they have plants in the UK doesn't mean they use it from here , we've been making steel in the UK for years but unfortunately like many other things the majority is imported because its cheaper. Something wrong somewhere .
Click to expand...

This is true, although I was watching reels of rolled steel being unloaded at the press shop Halewood at the time and I asked where it had come from and was given the name of a UK steel mill.
 
Perhaps British steel isn't what it used to be either , the quality of a lot of things now doesn't seem to be as good as it used to be.
 
lightning said:
When did the crappy steel use start then, tdci?
Click to expand...

Gradual decline in quality over time, not a fixed point.

I think it is to do with carbon content, and a reduction in use of expensive additive metals that improved quality, and possibly lower smelter temperatures as an energy saving measure, which would give impurities less time to rise to the surface, and be skimmed off.
 
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Just watching an old how its made was about steel production, guy reckoned there was 20 main grades of steel and 100 sub grades, pick the lowest one and theres your chassis steel!
 
lynall said:
Just watching an old how its made was about steel production, guy reckoned there was 20 main grades of steel and 100 sub grades, pick the lowest one and theres your chassis steel!
Click to expand...

That may be a bit harsh, the very lowest grade is probably only for bean tin production and so on. JLR may have splashed out, and gone for grade 98.
 
My opinion is this is the same as fords the metal is alright but they never under sealed anything so it rots out twice as fast as it should
 
Discodevon said:
My opinion is this is the same as fords the metal is alright but they never under sealed anything so it rots out twice as fast as it should
Click to expand...
I think that's the real story, I remember the old 1970s Ford cortina they would rot before your eyes, but all modern cars are much better (even Fords)
Just that LR don't rust proof things very well, or design things in a way that makes them easy to preserve, by using drain holes, and wax injection, can't be so expensive if done on industrial scale.
 
Discodevon said:
My opinion is this is the same as fords the metal is alright but they never under sealed anything so it rots out twice as fast as it should
Click to expand...

raywin said:
I think that's the real story, I remember the old 1970s Ford cortina they would rot before your eyes, but all modern cars are much better (even Fords)
Just that LR don't rust proof things very well, or design things in a way that makes them easy to preserve, by using drain holes, and wax injection, can't be so expensive if done on industrial scale.
Click to expand...

There is some truth in that, the coatings on the chassis have never been great, and are worse now, and the interior protection is poor too.

But it is also true that the metal quality has gone downhill over time. Have a look at an original Series One chassis, there are plenty about, and some still with very few welds on them.
I doubt if the same is true of Ninety/One Tens, or early Defenders, even though they are forty years younger.
 
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