Hi there new to the fourms

im looking in to buying a 300tdi, been to look at one today from some one i know its a p reg es model with 120,000 on the clock, had full service history from 1st owner up untill 52,000 miles then the guy i know brought it at 75,000 and its been serviced by a land rover specilist up untill now all wheel arches have been welded, clutch has been replaced not to long ago, exshaust also, newish tyres on it.
my dad gets his defender serviced by the same guy that did this oneand he said engine is fine and the only rust is in the boot which sanded and wax oiled would be ok.

but ive been and had a look at the disco and there is some rust around the bottom (right at the bottom) of the middle door pillar ( bit between where the front door closes and the rear door hinges are) and also around some of the windows the paint is bubbiling up a bit, my question is how much would the rust on the door pillar cost to repair rougthly and what is the correct lingo for this part lol.
also is the bubbling paint a small problem or big ?

this question might have been answered so i will now go thorough the threads and have a look for any answers.

any more info needed or any advice to give please do so.

thaks ben

Also not to sure if this is the right place for these questions, if not could some one let me know and i can move it

thanks again

 

bubbling paint is not a good sign..where are you? if you're in the US I say get it..it has a 300tdi..if you're anywhere else in the world I say pass.

 

X2, if you are in the US get it for the engine. You can drop it in a broke down rover with a good body and have a ride everyone else will drool over.

 

Bubbling paint is no biggy, just sand it down to bare metal and prime and paint it.
If it is rusted through so there is a hole you need to clean down to bare metal, fill in the hole, prime and paint.

The pillars go like this starting with the forward most pillar...A-B-C-D, thats what they are called.
So the pillar by the driver is the "A" pillar, between the driver and rear seat the "B" pillar, and so on.

The biggest and most problematic rust area on a DI is on the wheel well under the rear passenger doors, assuming you are talking about a 5 door truck, look at the door strike and right below that it will rust, easy to fix.

 

I would also add behind the kick panel on the driver side. I found a hole the size of a fist on mine, while it has only started to bubble at the bottom of the C pillar

 

hi thanks for the replys guys

Im in the uk, and both the back wheel arches and front have been replaced.

its just the b pillars that i can see have a problem, i think the sills have been done but i will go and have another look to night just to make sure, i had little look last night but couldnt see any rust on the under side but tonight i can have a proper look


thanks again

 

If it's anything other than cheap then it needs a good looking over, by now a 300 TDi will have started to rust unless it's been cosseted in a garage and never driven.

Personally I always worry about buying a car that's already been welded, no-one ever repairs a car well enough, especially when they are doing it for money.

The A pillar will rust out at the bottom, fortunately they most often go at the back where you can see rather than behind the wing but also as mentioned the sides of the footwell ahead of the door can go. You need to get right behind the wheelarch liner to see this or lift carpets. If any of the wheelarch liner clips are in rusty holes this is not a good sign!

The B pillar you have seen is not a hard fix unless you want it restoration standard, more worrying is that it's very close to the seat belt mount and the B pillar does not rust unless there is more serious corrosion behind it. If the sills have been done I'd want to satisfy myself they were done very well, many of the sill repair sections omit to replace the sill behind where the B post is attached, right where it needs to be the strongest!

The C pillar will as you know rust out at the bottom, they have been repaired so again I'd want to know how. A lot of comrecial repairs just cover rust over with good metal, in my experience to do the job right you need to grind the bottom of the pillar flat and replace an A4 sized section of the wheel arch. You must also satisfy yoursefl that the metal inside the B post is solid, the rear seats are secured to the inside of the pillar.

Although in the car industry there is no such thing as a D pillar, the rear door/rear corner assembly can rust too, I'd seen them go anywhere form above the rain gutter to the joint with the rear crossmember.

Discos also suffer from leaks in the rear corenrs so lift carpets and check floors, any sign of damp is not good.

Underneath you need to check the front end of the sill, there is a stupid pocket under the base of the A post but inside it the sill should be closed off, if it isn't it's an MOT fail on an otherwise solid sill.

At the back the end of the sill and the wheelarch extension form a narrow V gulley that is a massive rust trap, any bubbling inthe wheelarch and it's already too late. Also check the state of the seam sealer in the wheelarch and the seat belt reinforcing plate, they frequently have to come out.

Check all 10 body mouting brackets and the bottom front of the inner wing, check either end of the radiator and the back edge of the inner wing/footwell seam for bubbling/splitting sealer or rust.
At the back end the rear crossmember will be rusting, check for bubbling or cracks anywhere near the chassis mount which is where they go due to stress, check that the seam on the bottom edge hasn't started to open up anywhere and check the corners on top where it joins the door.

Lift the rear carpet (again) and check the top of the boot floor where it joins the crossmember.

Check the fornt edges of the doors for bubbling or cracking (inside the door shut), check the tailgate around the hinges.

Check the underside of the rear seat area with a torch is needed.


Basically check the bit between the bumpers.

How much to fix? Clark hobby MIG in Machine Mart =£200