Front cross-member replace / repair

[moss_b]

Hi,

The underside of my front cross-member below the radiator is rusting away.

53-160B on the diagram... http://www.lushprojects.com/bongopartsm ... mgno=.html

The rest of this piece looks reasonably solid.

Is it preferable to repair or replace this part? Would there be much difference between the two prices if this work was done by a garage?

Whatever the approach, does the radiator need to come out?

How much would I expect to pay for this work? I appreciate this could vary, but if people have had this job done I would be interested to hear what they paid. PM me if preferred.

Cheers

Martin

[dave_aber]

You can do it with the radiator in place. I have done one in the past this way.

IIRC, the grinding out of the old ends was a bit of a fiddle. Once all the old one is cut away, you can fit the new one and locate the radiator into the mounting holes, then prop the whole lot in place with a trolley jack.

[Simon Jones]

It would be easier with the radiator removed. Certainly it will need to be moved to allow the air con evaporator to lift out of the mounting holes shown below. I stripped it all down to allow for proper rust proofing to be done:

[Gripped]

I've just discovered this rusty area on mine. All Bongo's seem to rust in the same places:

• The front sills behind the wheel arches (below the front doors)
  The rear cross member
  The front cross member (presumably due to the warmth of the radiator and proximity to road salt etc
  The rear wheel arches
  Around the front windscreen

I've cut out the rotten bit, and luckily it's only the lower skin which is rusty. The inverted "U" shaped girder above it is sound and still has good paint on. Will post some photos of the project.

[Gripped]

photos as promised.

Before - showing the extent of rust. This only affected the metal plate on the underside. The rest of the "box section" is sound. So angle grinder cut out the rot to leave an open box section. Then rust treat and will prime before new plate is welded on.

[moss_b]

I've just had a quote from a local garage to repair my cross-member. It was more expensive than I expected.

I appreciate that this would be fairly labour intensive, but can anyone give me some idea of how much time it should take a garage to complete the work? Or PM me a price they have paid for similar work.

Cheers

Martin

[dave_aber]

It was a couple of years ago when I did one for another BF member on here - but IIRC it took about 4 hours. So, multiply that by whatever the labour rate is. The replacement crossmember was quite expensive though.

If it's just the bottom skin, then the parts should be cheap (flat steel panel) and around 2-3 hours work.

[moss_b]

Thanks Dave.

I've never used this garage before, so I'll need to check their rates when I collect my van.

However, if I base this on average rates, it looks like they have allowed themselves 6 hours to do the work. I suspect they've allowed time to cover their Bongo inexperience.

I'll get another quote, but I might need to go further afield for a garage who can do the work and is familiar with Bongos.

Cheers

Martin

[Gripped]

I was charged only £54 for my welding. If it is just the bottom of the cross member (which it probably is) it is just a matter of cutting the rust out and replacing it with a bit of steel plate. I would say it is no more than an hour or two for a garage.

I did the prep myself with a borrowed angle grinder and ramps to cut the rusty section out. Then I made a simple cardboard template of what I wanted and handed that to the garage. I even asked them to replace the bolt holes which the intercooler intake is bolted to.

Then all you have to do is slap some black underseal on it and squirt some waxoyl into the box section before you replace the bumper.

It is an easy job if you have/borrow some ramps. The front bumper is easy to remove too.

I have some photos of the completed work.

Drop me a pm if you want any help.

[Gripped]

As promised. More photos. Now you have a "beginning to end sequence." Not bad for £50 if you do your own prep.

1. Remove front bumper and plastic intercooler intake. All are held on with bolts and are fairly easy to remove if you have ramps. Note I added wooden blocks to the ends... I was paranoid about how much weight the ramps would take !


2. Note the rusty metal, but this is only the lower skin. The rest of the box section is sound.


3. Cut out rusty metal with a grinder. Use a wire brush or sander to tidy up the area and remove any surface rust to make it ready for welding. I put a bit of kurust on it, hence the blue tinge.


4. Wire brush and prime the inside of the box section before it is "closed up" by the welding.


5. Get some cardboard and cut out a template for the garage to use. Make sure you take the intercooler intake with you so they can line up the bolt holes.

6. Back from the garage. Welded plate made from a template I gave the garage. Note they replaced two bolt holes for the intercooler intake. They used the original nuts which I cut off the rusty metal, then they spot welded them above the hole, so the bolts will go straight in as original.


7. I used a grinder to flatten the welds down and tidy up, then a quick sand down before paint. Primer added. Wait for the paint to dry properly BEFORE you add waxoyl. I then injected thinned waxoyl into the box section of the cross member to seal the fresh metal from the inside.


8. Looking neat - did the rest of the cross member at the same time, but was not that rusty so I didn't strip the paint off.


9. Now hammerite black under seal with waxoyl


10. MMmm black underseal...... make sure you wear gloves !


11. Finally the intercooler intake was bolted back on, ready for the bumper to be added later.

[mikeonb4c]

Really good write with pics, and a cracking job. Worthy of a factsheet?