Discovery update, from close of play last night ....
So whilst waiting for the Watts Linkage, (on it's way now, hopefully be here by the w/e), I decide to do some small (ha ha) jobs on the D15KOE which involve a small amount of welding
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It needs Mud-flap Bracket left rear, and Mud-flap Bracket right front, which I already bought.
The left rear looked to be easy, just weld on a 5" Long x 1.5" wide piece of steel with a 45 degree fold to the Rear inner arch lip and drill a couple of holes to bolt the new 'Fud-m'lap' bracket to, so I decide to tackle the front right first as the 3 studs holding it to the front floor pan are minging rotten and gonna snap, so my plan is remove a few bits of trim from the drivers footwell, fold back the carpet to prevent smoke / flames / fire
, then grind the nuts off the 3 floor studs and spot weld the bracket onto these, plus also there is a small triangular plate to weld on the front inner Sill's Body Mount bracket .................
Therefore it seems the front will be harder than the rear and I always like to attack the hard bit of a few jobs first and finish with the easiest
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So I did the front in around an hour and a half, just gotta buff and Schutz that area now
Pixels :-
Front Mudflap Bracket spot welded to the 3 stud stubs on the floor pan ....
And the wee plate on the forward edge of the Body Mount ....
So that was easier than I thought, time to do the rear left
Workshop busy so it went on hold for a couple of days, and then I get to weld in my 45 degree mounting plate for the rear Flap Bracket ....
Also made a couple of aluminium repair plates as the lower rear (ally) 1/4 panel steady bolt has corroded through the inner section and that Panel needs attaching to the Mud-flaps bracket
So that was pretty easy, except, as I was welding that 45 degree mount plate in, the heat gets to what looks like a surface rusted inner arch, and it all falls to bits, meaning a bunch more plates and work to rebuild it
The issue here is parts of the area needing welding are directly under a load of Trim, Seat Belt and Insulation inside the Boot area, with one of the 2 third row Seats mounted here and I just know removing that lot will likely open a can of worms with snapped Seat Bolts etc etc, so I have to rethink this .......................
I certainly can't do it with the Vehicle raised up on the lift, because if it does go up in flames it will have it's rear end well alight by the time I realise and get the lift down to extinguish it, I've seen that happen at other Garages, and it dun'arf make a mess of an Interior / Wiring etc etc.
Here's what I did, which I don't recommend, but I am "Dangerous Dave" and have been doing this kind stuff for donkeys years, elf and sayftee don't exist here at Croft Tek Engineerin'
So I don't have a second person here to even sit in the back on "fire watch" ..................
I settle on a low down working height (kneeling), so I can weld a little at a time and keep standing up to check for smoke etc .............
I fold the seat away from the Corner Trim Panel, I also connect up the Hose Pipe to water trigger Gun, and remove the rear corner Vent and the Seat Belt capping Trim so I can squirt water down inside the area if really necessary ....
The area I have to squeeze into is between the Lift Leg and the front edge of the rear Hub / Brakes / Axle, so I can lean over the Brakes and weld the bloody inner Arch without being directly under it
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Just like when I did the inner arches on the Silver SLK due to the complex array of double curves etc I have to do this section in several pieces. I can find replacement Panels for every other piece of the rear inner Arch but not this "outer rearward" inner section
Off I go, a few minor welding burns to myself plus some profuse workshop language later and it's now welded up and solid again, there was several nervous moments with a lot of smoke from inside the rear of the Truck, but no flames, no vehicles were set on fire during the making of this production
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I just gotta mask it and Schutz this and the front bit and that's another 2 of the small welding jobs done
Not many jobs left to do now the biggest one will be pulling the Auto box out to sort that harmonic / vibration issue, which I suspect is a crack in either the Engine side Drive Plate or the Converter plate that bolts to it
I may leave that particular job until my Xmas shut down, or if it gets really bad / breaks beforehand.
I'll do the Watts Linkage if it's here for the weekend, if not I'll have a bash at the leak on the Diff Lock lever, might get time to do both if Watts arrives
I've arranged with the Gearbox seller to pick up that Auto Trans / Converter I bought on Sat 25th, might make him an offer for the rest of that Discovery, depending exactly what is left of it for spares and condition dependent not sure yet
I'll go get the Schutz done after lunch