90 rear tub

[john henderson]

Hi thinking about replacing the drivers side rear tub panel the one around the filler neck and where the rubber wheel arch bolts onto.

Has anyone replaced this as there are a row of spot welds from front to rear.How would you spot these again or as anyone used rivots,or something else.

 

[Ben Breese]

You'd have to drill them and spot weld the new piece on. Its a professional job, unless you happen to be an expert with a tig welder and can weld aluminium! Its a b1tch to weld apparently, has to be spotlessly spotlessly clean with no imperfections else it wont weld.
There isn't spot welds down the side is there?? Only the rivets on the top. The only spot welds are the ones that hold the rear bulkhead in place as far as I can remember? Correct me if I'm wrong though!

Cheers, Ben

 

[Snagger]

There are a couple of rivets that locate the wheel arch box to the tub side before that long line of spots welds are done. It's common for replacement sides to be riveted in each spot weld location, but you could look into chemical bonding - PU adhesives (like Tiger Seal) are pretty strong and are used to hold airliners together, so they should be good enough for this application. The important factor would be surface preparation - the aluminium would have to be scrupulously clean and properly keyed to get a decent bond, and there may be requirements over temperature and humidity for the adhesive to set correctly. You'd need to get in touch with the adhesive manufacturer.

Of course, you'd then be missing the line of spot welds, but you could use a hammer and suitable drift or punch to mark the new panel to simulate the welds.

 

[john henderson]

ace thanks lots to think about thanks for replies

 

[nobber]

it may or may not work out cheaper to buy a second hand tub.
although a bit harder to install. but then again......