welding boot floor

Zaky31 · Jan 4, 2015

I have a question on boot floor. Have cut old one out and hammerited EVERYTHING.

Question is. When welding new one in, for MOT purposes do I have to seam weld all the way round or can I spot/bead weld every few inches and seal the gaps with silicon or similar?

ER1C · Jan 4, 2015

It has to be the same as it was or stronger.. so if it was continuous metal it needs to be again.

I believe for all welding now you have to go all the way around... I may be wrong but you used to be able to weld top/bottom or left/right of a panel, or spot weld but I think it has to be all the way around.

Unless its a bracket or brace which was always spot welded..

robbh · Jan 4, 2015

Zaky31 said:
I have a question on boot floor. Have cut old one out and hammerited EVERYTHING.

Question is. When welding new one in, for MOT purposes do I have to seam weld all the way round or can I spot/bead weld every few inches and seal the gaps with silicon or similar?

Seam welding all the way round is best. If replacing like for like.

But you can get away with riveting or bolting it in also.

Boot floor is not structural.

Mine will be removed soon and replaced with 5mm Ali chequer plate.

Zaky31 · Jan 4, 2015

I wanted to check plate mine too as I have no welding skills at all. When I spoke to various MOT testers they said it must be welded. Although it's not structural, because the seat belt mounts (and my LPG tank) bolt through the floor it has to be welded. THEN you can check plate over top.

robbh · Jan 4, 2015

Zaky31 said:
I wanted to check plate mine too as I have no welding skills at all. When I spoke to various MOT testers they said it must be welded. Although it's not structural, because the seat belt mounts (and my LPG tank) bolt through the floor it has to be welded. THEN you can check plate over top.

Not sure why. Seat belts are mounted to the chassis underneath the floor so shouldn't make a difference. Not sure about the LPG tank but it wouldn't be hard to knock up a couple of mounts similar to that of the seat belt ones that pass through the floor to attach it to the chassis.

Luckily I have no rear seats or LPG so doesn't matter in mine. But even if I did have seats I'd still chequer plate it.

ronsealdeath · Jan 4, 2015

This is one that has been done to death but to be honest there is no right or wrong answer. It all depends on your MOT tester and how rigidly they follow the guidance for the inspection. Interpreted pragmatically, you can use ally or steel replacement and bolt/rivet/bond it in and it will pass. Interpreted strictly, it will fail as the replacement panel has to be fixed to the rest of the structure using a method that is at least or stronger than the original OR via another method approved by the vehicle manufacturer.

The consensus seems to be that an MOT tester that knows land rovers will not see the boot floor as structural so will accept a replacement that isn't plug welded (you do not need to seam weld it). If your in doubt or your MOT tester can't be guaranteed, then you should plug weld it. However, be advised that an MOT tester cannot pull anything off your vehicle to check on a repair and in this situation, they must put an advisory and give benefit of doubt and pass it. So even though I'm going to plug weld mine after sandwiching it with TEK screws, after smothering it in Sikaflex on top and bottom, painting then smothering in underseal, the tester would have no way of checking my plug welds anyway! But yes, as said, do what Land Rover did (plug weld is fine to replace a spot weld just in case your MOT man is a pedant. It's bollox tho really as RRC boot floors up to 89 were rivetted ally which proves very well that the boot floor gives no structural integrity to the car. On top of that, modern adhesives give just as good if not better strength than plug welds; check any rally cars that have been rolled etc... and have had bonded panels. The flex in the adhesive means they dont' shear off as easily compared to a spot weld. I'm not an MOT tester nor an engineer tho so follow the rules

ronsealdeath · Jan 4, 2015

Here you go, this is what Land Rover require:

So you should plug weld it really as the MOT tester may not assess anything else as being as strong and therefore passable.

Zaky31 · Jan 4, 2015

Cheers guys. I know this subject has been done to death but I keep getting conflicting info. I'm a beginner at welding. Yes I have bought a MIG so willing to learn. HOWEVER I don't want to do It only to find its not acceptable and end up cutting up a brand new floor and starting again.

ronsealdeath · Jan 24, 2015

Bastid. More rust. Should be ok to plate whilst doing side panels. Bottle of argoshield en route from boc, they did free delivery too. Booked 5 days off in late feb to sort sills, front inner wing, boot floor and sides and rear x member. Yrm package arrived as well. All in for about £220 for materials so far.

ronsealdeath · Feb 23, 2015

MOT booked for Friday early. I know it needs the welding but I will have to see how long the list is. If its just rust then im ok, praying nothing else will be on that list!

ronsealdeath · Feb 28, 2015

It failed as expected but my tester convinced me she was a pup and to walk away. So I have. Ive sold her to a fender owner for the 300 and axles. Another disco bites the dust. Pob hwyl.

welshspringer · Mar 2, 2015

I see the 300 tdi disco horror goes on. Last June mine blew its cylinder head so asked the mechanic to check if vehicle was sound for an engine top end. His reply. "YES. Since then have replaced the starter motor and alternator. In other words mechanically sound. Problem the boot was rotten, so rather than throw all the effort away I have decided to rebuild the boot etc. My logic being, I know the problem with the disco, to buy another I could still be buying similar if not worse problems. Also it is cheaper to follow the rebuild route. The rebuild is going ahead but I have been advised to dump the accoustic blanket as it retains condensation/ moisture, hence rot. So a little advice would be appreciated, can anyone recommend a substitute for the "accoustic" blanket.

ShaunPDisco · Mar 2, 2015

What bits are in the YRM package you ordered???

Chrisw8 · Mar 2, 2015

I've got closed cell foam , bought a big roll of it. Done my footwell , and enough of it to do the boot this summer.

dieseldog69 · Mar 2, 2015

ronsealdeath said:
It failed as expected but my tester convinced me she was a pup and to walk away. So I have. Ive sold her to a fender owner for the 300 and axles. Another disco bites the dust. Pob hwyl.

WTF does "pup" mean exactly?

boot floor = 6hrs

inner wings = 4hrs each side(assuming you bought a complete kit from YRM?)

patching rear inner wings is variable but depends on how much you wanna cut out to make replacing easier? Estimate 3 to 4hrs each side.

all doable and it don't take as long as you might think if you sip less tea and make bulk cutting and fast big panel repairs over seam welded patches.

Done a few weld-a-thons and saved a few Disco's.

shame you binned it, all for a bit of welding.

welshspringer · Mar 4, 2015

Chrisw8 said:
I've got closed cell foam , bought a big roll of it. Done my footwell , and enough of it to do the boot this summer.

Have tried to purchase foam from a manufacturer - no go. Where did you obtain yours?

Chrisw8 · Mar 4, 2015

Ebay.....I'll post link when I get home

Chrisw8 · Mar 4, 2015

this is where I got mine from ,,,,, 20mm x 1m x 2m

CLOSED CELL FOAM 1M X 2M X 20MM | eBay

ronsealdeath · Mar 4, 2015

welshspringer said:
I see the 300 tdi disco horror goes on. Last June mine blew its cylinder head so asked the mechanic to check if vehicle was sound for an engine top end. His reply. "YES. Since then have replaced the starter motor and alternator. In other words mechanically sound. Problem the boot was rotten, so rather than throw all the effort away I have decided to rebuild the boot etc. My logic being, I know the problem with the disco, to buy another I could still be buying similar if not worse problems. Also it is cheaper to follow the rebuild route. The rebuild is going ahead but I have been advised to dump the accoustic blanket as it retains condensation/ moisture, hence rot. So a little advice would be appreciated, can anyone recommend a substitute for the "accoustic" blanket.

You could try wood with carpet on top with rubber mat underneath? Just dont lwt water get in; fix alpine seals and get a tube of soudal clear and coat the eain gutters and so on.

ronsealdeath · Mar 4, 2015

ShaunPDisco said:
What bits are in the YRM package you ordered???

Boot floor, side boot panel, side z strip, rear mount on x member, sill ends plus a pair of easy on sill outer repair panels. All going for sale this week. Ive got a few other bits also like props, full set of sun shades, a frame, steering arms and the crisp wrappers from the footwell.

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