Range Rover Classic Rust

I bought my LSE knowing full well that the rear body crossmember was rotten... like there's virtually nothing left of it!

The lower tailgate seal aperture is a section of metal that's been bonded on top of the rusty crossmember (the crossmember has remains of filler from previous repairs).

The floor looked okay, but on further inspection it's a little bit ragged at the rear under that strip of bonded metal. Both boot floor sides as it runs up the car are rusty & I guess the channel(?) that it sits in too. I've hit each side with a screwdriver/hammer combo & it still seems strong however. There is also the very odd rusty bit here & there, again resisting the urge to hole when hit. It's otherwise still clean with shiny original paint.

Thoughts... Repair or Replace?

replace the floor, if its owt like the disco its a very straightforward job and can be done in a day by the inexperienced for the princely sum of 60 odd beans.

cant comment on the other, how much work is there involved? pics?

rangieden said:

I bought my LSE knowing full well that the rear body crossmember was rotten... like there's virtually nothing left of it!

The lower tailgate seal aperture is a section of metal that's been bonded on top of the rusty crossmember (the crossmember has remains of filler from previous repairs).

The floor looked okay, but on further inspection it's a little bit ragged at the rear under that strip of bonded metal. Both boot floor sides as it runs up the car are rusty & I guess the channel(?) that it sits in too. I've hit each side with a screwdriver/hammer combo & it still seems strong however. There is also the very odd rusty bit here & there, again resisting the urge to hole when hit. It's otherwise still clean with shiny original paint.

Thoughts... Repair or Replace?

Click to expand...

replace.much better than messing about doing a repair that will need doing again and again.

You can't buy Range Rover boot floor panels so you will have to repair it or make a new up out of 2 Discovery boot floor panels. The rear cross member is not too bad but there is some messing about to do in the corners (you'll see what I mean if you get in to it).

The sides of the boot floor are easy enough but be prepared to find more rot in the wheel arches - be aware you cannot but new inner arches, you have to repair them as well (guess how I know!).

Overall it really isn't that bad, you just need to take your time and make sure that you properly protect the new metal you put in. YRM metal solutions do most of the bits you are likely to need, more expensive than Paddocks but better quality, I used them for my replacement cross member and also boot floor side support rails and main cross supports.

Hmm... I was hoping to just repair it, but I know it'll just continue to rust in the channels that can't be got at without removing the floor.

The outer rear arches have gone rusty but could repair, the inners are solid, the rest of the seams in the boot area are all factory fresh.

In addition to the back of the car, the n/s inner wing is pretty rotten & the o/s inner wing looks like it'd repair. I didn't intend for this car to be a full blown restoration lol!!

BTW I DON'T HAVE A PIC OF MY FLOOR, but the closest google pic I could find is this one, with my floor maybe being 20-30% more advanced with rust in the same areas.

My rangie floor is 85% air vents. 15% rust..
Will be getting 2 disco floors and a sheet of 1.2mm mild steel and lots of cutting disks and cutting the floor out and starting again..

It's nothing compared to my sons zuk sj410..

Can't wait to get stuck in...

Plenty of flap discs make the job easier too!