Rust under rear seat - opinions?

Ulrich

Member
Hello there

While poking around under the rear seat squab today I found that the well had some surface rust. After some prodding with a screwdriver to test for strength, while most of the well is intact I found a small hole in the wall of the well, towards the rear of the car, such that I can poke a finger through into the box section running longitudinally along the length of the car (not the sill, but the section that runs parallel to the sill).

The hole is about the size of a 10p piece, so not too large, but knowing the p6 is rather notorious for rust in this area I wondered if anyone has tackled repairs here, and whether anyone can offer advice. The rest of the car is reasonably rot free and sound and I'd like to repair the hole.

Anyone done repairs in this area?
 
Not quite sure which box runs parallel to the sill, but isn't the sill - got any pics? We do love pics.

If I was doing this job, I would remover the rear seat and soundproofing, and the screw on sill, then wire brush/clean up the whole area. Is there any dampness there? If so, try to found out where it is coming from and cure that first. Once you have found out the extent of the damage, remove any rusty metal with a dremel or angle grinder, then weld new steel in.

Richard
 
Hi, The box section inboard of the well is the rear chassis rail, it goes from the seat crossmember through to the back of the car. As quattro says have a better poke about to find the true extent of the rust and effect a repair.

Colin
 
This area is THE ‘litmus test’ on a P6. If it’s good here, it’s very likely to be a good car & well worth repairing.
 
This area is THE ‘litmus test’ on a P6. If it’s good here, it’s very likely to be a good car & well worth repairing.
It's pretty good on the passenger side, slightly less good on the driver's side (where the hole is). The car has been off the road since '92, and has been dry stored since, which I think has kept it in a reasonable state of preservation. I think it's worth repairing, as generally speaking it's a pretty rot free car. Jacking points all seem good in that they bear the weight of the car; I'll investigate further and see what's what!
 
Not quite sure which box runs parallel to the sill, but isn't the sill - got any pics? We do love pics.

If I was doing this job, I would remover the rear seat and soundproofing, and the screw on sill, then wire brush/clean up the whole area. Is there any dampness there? If so, try to found out where it is coming from and cure that first. Once you have found out the extent of the damage, remove any rusty metal with a dremel or angle grinder, then weld new steel in.

Richard
There doesn't seem to be any water ingress; I think what I've found is fairly old damage from when the car was last used (it was taken off the road in '92 and dry stored since). Although this area looks a little tricky to weld due to lack of space in which to wield a torch I think it can be done. I'll also check beneath the cover sill and see if there's any oxidisation going on there, although I think it's probably ok as the jacking point supports the car without any movement taking place.
 
There doesn't seem to be any water ingress; I think what I've found is fairly old damage from when the car was last used (it was taken off the road in '92 and dry stored since). Although this area looks a little tricky to weld due to lack of space in which to wield a torch I think it can be done. I'll also check beneath the cover sill and see if there's any oxidisation going on there, although I think it's probably ok as the jacking point supports the car without any movement taking place.

Do not forget that underneath all the metal is a FUEL tank and fittings so be extra careful when welding anything near there, just an observation .....
Peter
 
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