Welding a galvanised van - problematic?

Shakes · 2026-01-08 22:10:48

Hey all
Welcome to 2026, happy NY

Brenda's MOT is due and following inspection, i'm looking at £1200-1500 this time round, nearly all on welding. Both rear sills are shot again, after being patched up a few years ago.

How do you all deal with your corrosion issues? A mechanic friend of mine has pointed out that patching up these vans can be a problem because the new steel reacts with the galvanising and causes new rust to appear.

Both rear corners under the bumper are quite far gone, although not an MOT failure yet (marginal). The garage i am using have also agreed to weld up some weak spots on the rear axle.

Brenda as you know has been my van for 15 years now, she contains many new parts and still runs well. I am inevitably going to go for it and spend the dosh (luckily we had a refund on a holiday we had to cancel due to illness) but even with new sills and extensive patching, will the rot come back around the repaired areas, and is there a permanent solution?
Cheers all x

RegW · 2026-01-09 12:21:08

Happy new year to one and all too

I don't buy the galvanising bit as there's no sign of it on my van
Somehow these van seem too cheap to warrant PSA spending on that sort of quality.
Rust will appear anyway cos its rust, but newly welded steel will start to rust in days unless treated

Various 'anti rust wonder products' have been on the market for years but my cheap go to
has been old engine oil slightly diluted with white spirit and a pump up garden sprayer
I would often make a few access holes to get it in all the nooks and crannies.
I've used this method on, among other things, my old Transits after welding which as we all know are often feckin rot boxes,
motor cycle frames and swinging arms and it's worked for me.
Its messy but worthwhile and a hell of a lot cheaper than paying for a shop to weld yer old banger up.

1200-1500 quid for welding? jeez, that's more than the van is worth so I'll guess it's part of the family
to consider spending that.

kenbw2 · 2026-01-09 18:03:54

RegW wrote:

1200-1500 quid for welding? jeez, that's more than the van is worth so I'll guess it's part of the family
to consider spending that.

That's cheap compared to what mine cost me a couple of years ago

I too have never heard of any galvanised steel on these vans. I'd love if it were galvanised, maybe I wouldn't be facing my rust issues

Shakes wrote:

Both rear corners under the bumper are quite far gone, although not an MOT failure yet (marginal). The garage i am using have also agreed to weld up some weak spots on the rear axle. .... will the rot come back around the repaired areas, and is there a permanent solution?

This is exactly what I had welded reconstructed and a year later I had zero rust items come up on the MOT, which was a very pleasant surprise.

So my experience is that it's worth getting it done if like RegW says it's worth it to you

Shakes · 2026-01-10 11:49:57

Yeah she's worth it, getting rarer by the day and still a joy to drive. I use mine as an allotment workhorse, then occasionally as a camper which involves cleaning all the manure out and a good spray of air freshener.
Brenda will (hopefully) live on...

Eileen2006 · 2026-01-25 13:48:55

Hi Folks,

There's deffo some sort of galvanising or maybe aluminising on our Eileen's sills (2006 1.9 DW8B). It looks lighter and more silvery than the underlying steel. Trouble is it only seems to be on the outer surface which would explain why the panels rot so readily from the inside.

Whatever it is, the result is it's a bastard trying to weld new panels in. I spent 2 months last autumn repairing the off side rear sill and jacking point. Even after having cut out about a 2 foot length from the outer sill, some of the native metal was still paper thin at the forward end and after cleaning off the outer galv or whatever it is, it was like trying to weld tin foil, peppered with pin holes.

Good luck with getting Brenda sorted. Worth saving as like you say these vehicles are getting rarer and rarer.

RegW · 2026-01-28 15:50:24

That's just some kind of primer IMO
I hear later models were galvanised but these were after the MK1 pre and post face lift era

RegW · 2026-01-28 15:50:47

That's just some kind of primer IMO
I hear later models were galvanised but these were after the MK1 pre and post face lift era

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#1 2026-01-08 22:10:48

Welding a galvanised van - problematic?

#2 2026-01-09 12:21:08

Re: Welding a galvanised van - problematic?

#3 2026-01-09 18:03:54

Re: Welding a galvanised van - problematic?

#4 2026-01-10 11:49:57

Re: Welding a galvanised van - problematic?

#5 2026-01-25 13:48:55

Re: Welding a galvanised van - problematic?

#6 2026-01-28 15:50:24

Re: Welding a galvanised van - problematic?

#7 2026-01-28 15:50:47

Re: Welding a galvanised van - problematic?

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