We all know about the rubbish sunroofs, roof-bar seals, and various other water ingress areas, but in my case I believe that a lot of the rot that ate away at my scuttle, the bonnet fixing brackets, and windscreen surround, was due to a very badly fitted windscreen. I can only assume that a PO had a replacement screen fitted by one of the main firms supporting the insurance industry, and that the fitter had little idea how to correctly fit a screen to a Discovery 2. The instructions as laid out in RAVE are quite specific about the width and depth of the PVU bead that the screen is bedded onto, also that the top weather strip should be replaced and the 'A' pillar trim rubber seals. When I first did repairs to rust holes appearing in the scuttle and the bonnet hinges coming away, it was evident that rain water was getting to the wrong side of the screen. Clearly that water had also found its way to the places that are now rotten.
I'm also quite appalled by the standard of workmanship and the poor build quality of the vehicle; it's shocking just how poor some of the design elements are and how little attention has been given to protecting areas that are obviously vulnerable. I've been investigating a bit today while preparing for the offside repairs. I was hoping that I would get away with some minor patching but that was wishful thinking.
It didn't take too much digging to expose the rot this side is as bad. It has eaten through the single skin section of the footwell behind the accelerator pedal
Now this is a perfect example of what I mean by poor build quality and design. The body mounting bracket that supports the inner valance/arch is spot welded in place. There is an exposed seam between the bracket and the body parts around its entire edge, no seam sealant, and perfectly placed to catch all the road water and mud flung at it by the front wheels. A built-in 'rust trap' (planned obsolescence?). Obviously the vehicles are now 18-22 years old but it's striking how the zintec steel body panels are pristine where protected yet rotten in areas like this.
I note that the area I showed ...
... has the rust developing at that spot welded joint where the zinc coating would have been compromised, also note the paint spray pattern and that the rusty area was never painted!
The so-called drain holes in the scuttle have been bugging me as they are only any use if the vehicle is facing slightly downhill. I decided to get the wings off today and have a closer look.
It's not easy to see from the photo, but the oversized hole (circled) actually overlaps the base of the scuttle leaving a hole into the footwell, this has been blocked off with seam sealer; a big blob of it! Now what's that all about? Are these holes there as part of the manufacturing process, are they drains, or what?
The red arrow is the route that rain water takes if it gets behind the 'A' pillar trim (from the top corners or past the trim seals or running back from the bonnet side gutters).
Looking at the design of the air intake plenum and the open intake through the pollen filter, I don't see how it's possible to stop water flooding through into the scuttle. If the screen is perfectly sealed, water will still make its way through as well as running off the rubber side chutes and into the bonnet side gutters. On this basis, I decided to add an extra pair of drain holes so that the water can escape if parked facing uphill.
I had to get the seat and carpet out ready for welding ...
... and to get a better look at the extent of the rot from inside
I'm now thinking I should probably go the whole hog and get the entire dash out, just not sure the effort is worth it now I'v already struggled to do the repairs with it in. That's for another day now anyway, as it's started to rain again so time to tidy up. TTFN.