Chassis welding my old Ford transit campervan to get it through yet another MOT. This year was a struggle to keep the rust at bay for a few more years.
Thanks Patrick, sadly you are right but apart from the annual winter welding the van never gives me any trouble and it is still going strong after 16 years so transits can't be all bad.
Sitting on the sofa watching this video lots of critical comments entered my mind. But then i thought 'you are the one sitting on the sofa, this guy tried his best a made a video about it.' So with that I will keep my critical thoughts to myself.
Hats off to you for tackling this welding job, you must love your old transit an awful lot, so glad that you are such a practical person who doesnt believe in a chuck away world. job looks great, so good to hear you are back on the road, i see the video is from december 21, so there is lots of life in the old girl yet till the next m.o.t.. Well done enjoy your summer travelling .Thanks for sharing. Cheers. Andy. Scotland.
Good effort in difficult conditions. The world wants to chuck everything away after a few years when in reality there's loads more live life left in it (90000 miles on transit engine and drive train a case in point). The planet needs to encourage this sort of practice, this is far more eco friendly than scrapping and turning into new products using masses of energy and resources.
Cheers Neil- you're apot on, it takes an extraordinary amount of natural resources to make a new vehicle and there's loads of life left in mine yet. When it eventually dissolves I'm whipping the engine out to use in another vehicle because it's ultra reliable.
While I was looking to buy an Oldish van..many People told me that Transits go Rusty.. Now I know just what they mean. True 'Heroes' Job there. well done
With respect it needs lifting and a lot of it cut out and replace sections and use 3mm plate on the chassis. A proper mig as fusion is suspect on those little sets..and last but not least plenty of light..i hope your work lasts and passes the mot.You have done very well in those primitive conditions, keep it up.
You are right but ufortunately I don't have access to a lift so it will have to be the primitive way for me! That is a good description of how I felt lying in the relentless bloody rain. It wouldn't be worth paying to have this sort of work done professionally as the cost would far exceed the value of the van. Patching it up like this has worked for three years and if I can get another three years out of the van I will be more than happy. Once the body and chassis succumb entirely to the steel worm I have plans to repurpose the engine as it's a keeper. Thanks for the encouragment.
@@abakerslife tbh I do the same with my old mazda it's not a show car so I couldn't care less about the welds aslong as the holes not there and I get through an mot
Just sold my mk5 smiley camper because it was like a swiss cheese failed mot badly Cant weld so would have cost a fortune, hats off to you for tackling such a big job
Your a super hero bud Great job 👏I Had one of these bad boys and done my fair share of welding but not as much as you! Its a shame they rust so badly otherwise they're great little vans and drive really nicely, Anyhow well done to you again. Iv subbed and 👍 Anyone that puts in such a massive effort deserves to be watched lol
Much obliged. The rewards are worth the effort. They do drive really well. I use it as my daily driver and when I'm in there cruising along with my Aldi middle aisle seat heater plugged in and the open road before me it feels good to know that that I'm the one who keeps her running sweetly.
Hats off to you doing it in the cold wet weather, i only have to see a rain drop and its tools away for the day for me, true northern grit. BIG thumbs up
My friend used to work on tanks, their known to sit around fot long periods, so have a sacrificial Anode . This it basically a zinc eath rod hammered into ground then connected to battery negative or back of chassis.
As much as I love a transit I think that if you had a sacrificial annode on every panel they still rust. When you get in amongst the underside you get to realise that they are designed to rot so you need to buy a new one every 10 years. Planned obsolescence I think is rhe term.
Your not wrong about the welding, i had as 55 plate MWB/MHT sweet as a nut except for welding every year!!! I gave up after 5 years when on the test the tester said ''you know all the patches of weld, you just need to join them all together this year'' 95K miles wish i still had it in a weird sort of way, Sold it to a Romanian guy who didn't care less about mot fail just bought it to load up and move back home to Romania. Happy (rainy) days. keep up the good work.
I have imagined that scenario with mine. At least transits keep you honest, the annual suffering makes you never take motoring for granted. I get a sinking feeling every year when the mot draws near but the sheer euphoria of eventually getting your hands on the certificate is worth it!
Great video, made me laugh a lot cos that is me! Have a Transit, did lots of welding for the last Mot and the leaf spring.. Also had to do a lot of my welding blind as My helmet wouldn't fit under the van most of the time........ Let's keep 'em on the road eh.........
Iv got MK3 nugget to do iv just done a mk7 and wow what a rot box my Mk6 steps was a challenge to but as you can tell I love my transit vans great video pal 👍
Mine's a 1995 and it has less corrosion that that. Spent it's entire life outside so mileage is very clearly the main factor in chassis corrosion. Mine has 37,504 on it. She's been standing for the last 8 years and i've finally got started on the camper conversion. Just the front sills both sides needing a couple of little patches and the top of the nearside sill where it meets the step plate. I was expecting a lot more to be fair. If the door seals hadn't been letting water in i don't think the sills would have corroded. The main thing with transits is stopping water getting into the sills and the doors. There's a hole in the front face of the sill (on the mk4/5 at least) behind the mudflap which is where the water gets in. Sealing that up properly will save a lot of future welding.
I think on the mk 6 and 7 it's the sound proofing in the engine bay that causes a lot of bother. It traps the water against the front wings and the top of the front chassis legs which is where mine was so bad. Good luck with your conversion. 8 years standing?! Hope it doesn't take that long to convert!
@@abakerslife That makes sense buddy. Yep 8 years. Welding is all done now, just having a nightmare with paint now. It's supposed to be diamond white. The paint code is diamond white. Ford say it's diamond white. It isn't diamond white. I presumed it must have been resprayed at some point but the paint behind the internal panels is the same as the outside. It doesn't have the slight yellow tint. She's gonna look slightly patchy when i've finished the few little bodywork spots. I've just welded up the split on the passenger door below the window where they always crack and then painted the top half of the door. It's not a massive difference but it's noticeable. I was well pissed when i took the masking off, i'd been crowing about how sweet the paint looked. That's what you get for gloating...lol
@@AndyMcGeever Yes life is always ready to kick you in the balls for sticking your neck out! Good luck with rhe paint, I'm sure it will look fine in the end. I saw a mk 5 the other day and it was a real blast from the past.
@@abakerslife I think having it sitting on the driveway and seeing it every day has kinda stopped me thinking about the Mk5 as an old van but when i try to remember the last time i saw one on the road... i guess they are pretty rare now. Of course there's still plenty of campers around but they tend to do less mileage and are looked after a little better than the typical builders van (although i am one and always look after my vehicles). I can't imagine there are many with 37,000 on the clock though. 100% genuine, MOT records back that up and the cab is seriously like a brand new van. It's the 2.0 DOHC too so there's plenty of scope for some engine mods to up the power a bit and i have the option of a nice sounding exhaust. Stripped and replaced all the seals in the master cylinder today so we are edging closer to an MOT....
Good evening, It’s great to see guys like you keeping old fords alive, Just wanted to give you a tip on using a mig Welder, when using a mig welder outside always Try to use it on a nice day! You’re be surprised how much better your welding will be, Also mate saw that you wasn’t using a proper face shield! Please think of your eyes You can’t get replacements……
Cheers Paul I will keep that in mind in future. You are certainly right about the face shield, unfortunately mine crapped out right in the middle of the job. It's stupid to weld without it so to anyone who watches the video please note that I am an idiot so please don't do as I did!
i found myself closing my eyes when you were welding haha its habit now. good work on the welding, hopefully you can get a few more years out of the old girl yet
The transit It’s actually from ford Europe parner design with ford engine , I just brought one. It’s how they got fantasy mpg and it’s light and drive like a car, but as long as it can Handel heavy weight and you silicon seal it early it cool my 1995 ford van sheet metal twice as thick and the heavy duty part can’t rust. LOL but it have so 40 buck gas a week. Transit is a good van I like how it shift to 2 th at 15 mph it has very good torque so don’t need rev to get up to speed quick.
I'm glad you are so happy with your van. Transits do drive very well. These days I drive a Citroën relay which has a transit engine but unlike the transit the chassis is galvanised so hopefully no more welding.
@@abakerslife I had a relay.... good vans. Half galvanised. Mine had the Peugeot engine and only issue I had was a sensor in the fual pump. All good otherwise. I've got a transit now though. Very clean Mk7. We shall see how long she lasts.... first job will be lanoguarding the underneath. They do love to rust.
Transits for you welded farther inlaws luton was same started small hole ended up massive so had to make all drivers outer footwell and a patch on the chassis seems to be common on them lol
I've done my share of mig welding I did the sills on a 92 astra diesel it was bulletproof apart from rust like the transits I realised it was a nonstop job so many bloody holes like a damn swiss cheese but eventually I finished and it passed mot only 4 gearbox to seize a few months later.lol
Swiss cheese springs to mind . Dont think the poor van is gonna see many more tests . Best weigh her in and buy a fiat ducato etc as they great reliable vans . Those mk6 transits were terrible as u point out . With ur hard work its managed to be on the road this long . Gd luck gettin her tested its great seein someone with patience doin this kinda work take care man .
Thanks Ian but I reckon I can squeeze it through another few tests yet before she goes to the great parking lot in the sky. Next van I buy though will definately have a galvanised chassis!
Lanolin I've heard of people using but the fish oil is a solution I haven't heard of. A mix of diesel and used engine oil works great but can leave a mess on your driveway!
I have Mk6 dashboard faulty, inspector told me speedo doesn't have to work, only regulation he said was speedo has to be there and light up, but doesn't have to work.
I'm on a mission to learn welding, just enough to patch up my transit,, our local garage took £240 for less than 3 hours just to patch up where the sill meets the quarter panel.!! Is this mig welding or flux core welding? Didn't see a gas bottle ?
Wish I had the balls to attempt welding, I have a mk7 transit which I also converted into a camper for fishing trips etc, paid 900 quid to have 3 corners of the inner sills welded in November, the holes were within 30cm of structural mount so had to be done. They say transits are great vans, just don’t get them wet 😅😄, my build is documented on my channel if it interests you, subbed 😎🤟🏼🚐
Hello mate, Just read your message about not feeling confident to weld your van , And just wanted to tell you I was the same a you 20 years ago until a friend, showed me how easy it is to use a mig welder, Your be surprised you’re self , It’s like using a glue gun for metal….:
Hi Just do it! Buy a cheap mig welder and practice on a few scraps of steel and you'll be good to go. People make welding into more of a dark art than it is. Don't get me wrong, it is a skill and not one that I am particularly competent at but it isn't hard to seam weld patches on vehicles and once you can do it you aren't at the mercy of 'professionals' who are more than happy to take your eyes out for doing it for you. Good job on your van. My van is a dedicated fishing vehicle too!
I had a bleed on the brain in 2009. I bought my smiley tranny so when I got driving again I could do a road trip. Around the Alps ha still not happened . Now the van rots waiting for me to learn to weld . I need someone to do it for me but like you I'm used to doing all trades to save money. Just have to admit I can't do it now. So . Looking for some paid help I can trust. Or exchange for stay at my Scarborough shack or woodland in Norway? Both near water hehe.
It sounds like it might be time to put sentimentality aside and let go of the transit. By paying someone to do the work which is likely to be extensive by now you might end up sinking more money into it than it would cost to get another van. If the interior is good you could transfer that into another vehicle and you'd have a far greater chance of actually getting to the alps. As much as I love my van I know it won't last much longer as once the rot sets into the chassis it will always come back. There are already other patches on mine that a fussy mot tester would fail it on and if I got a list of failures as long as I had last time then I doubt I would have the enthusiasm to do another round of massive welding. I got my van cheap and I've definitely had my moneys worth out of it but the problem is that they are basically designed to rot so that every ten years you need to buy another one. Probably not the advice that you want to hear but I have friends who are mechanics and as soon as you mention the word transit then they roll their eyes and try to change the subject. Even if you do get someone trust worthy and they do the work for a reasonable cost then it will need doing again at a later stage. I bought mine after it had had new sills installed but I still needed to replace them after only two years.
Ive seen loads of mk6 vans in this condition Ive wondered if they have lived near a coastline or infrequently driven and don’t get dried out underneath
I think it's the way they're designed. The open chassis members just encourage rot, plus mk 6's are 20 years old now so you don't see many decent ones anymore.
Hello buddy, we transit owners know all about rust, I owned mk1 XR2 and 2 and 3 fiesta, , XR3 , , FORD CAPRI 3L ghia, the S, MK2 1600E cortinas, I could never afford a lotus cortina lol even when they weren't popular 😆, I was a Ford guy, then I got into Japanese vehicles and I've owned my Honda integra type R dc2 turbo for 20 years, no rust lol, I've had multiple transit pickups but box chassis are rot boxes, I've known dodgy dealers to fill those box chassis with concrete then paint over it , Its only when you got stopped by DVLA and they weigh the bloody thing its 1 ton over its own weight empty 😆, My current truck is Nissan cabstar 1997 pickup, they rust but the slightly newer Nissan cabstar pickups were the fastest rust buckets known to man, you get a rotten 2010 model that gets scrapped, Surprised you only have 54 subs, Enjoy your videos and keep up the good work, 1 piece of advice, is try to buy ex police vans , my last transit van 24volt heavy duty lasted for 10 years and if it hadn't had been stolen that some muppet then set it alight , I would probably still have that van now, apologies for long message
Hi, you sound like you are an old hand with the steel worm reading through that vehicle history. There was a heavy duty transit for sale local to me. I used to walk past it most days with my dog and the owner was clearly a bit compulsive about maintaining it (it was getting jetwashed underneath at least 2or 3 times a week). It was on a 13 plate and I think he sold it for 7k but that was pre covid and the crazy vanflation that has happened since. I should have gone for it but it was a LWB and that put me off because my van is my daily driver and i thought it would be a faff to park near home. Glad you're enjoying the videos, to me it's a surprise that I have even got 54 subs! It's 53 more than i expected. Gutted to hear about a good van being set alight. The one that got away! I bet it brings a tear to your eye and a misty, far away look comes over you when you think about it!
I feel your pain. Its hard trying to weld outside when the weather is against you. I've been in a similar situation outside under my rusty nissan welding a plate in when its snowing . The front cross member always rusts out for some reason. How do you find the clarke mig 145 welder? I've got the same welder and i switched from gasless to wire and a bottle of co2 and argon mix. I find it welds a lot better. i found that the gasless wire seemed to blow more holes in the bodywork than i could weld lol. Like you said you can learn to weld on the job and save yourself a fortune if you know what you are doing.zinc paint is your best friend. Well done👍
Hi, I find that welder to be absolutely fine for anyone the little jobs that I ever do. There is a bottle of gas on the back but I've never really used it. Since most of the things I weld are outside I just am in the habit of using flux core wire. You're right in that it's much harder to do thin body panels because it burns hotter and blows through. That's why I mostly use quick pulses instead of continuous beads when doing thin steel. It's great that you did your own car, a cheap welder can save you a fortune.
Wicked Just got same van as yours , even the colour. Lucky as well, not very rusty. Can bottom be protected by runner paint/rust protection coat or it is just another micky ?
Yes absolutely your chasis will last longer with any kind of rust protection. You just need to brush, sand and scrape as much crud and rust off before you apply it. Someone in these comments suggested using lanolin based rust treatment which I think would work well. In the past I have used POR 15 chassis paint which is great but if it gets on you (which it always does) it's on you for days.
Cheers, no I was close enough to an electric supply to just run a cable out there. Hopefully the van is still going strong, I sold it a year later after doing all of the rest of the welding that was left.
I wonder if ford ever considered using decent quality metal when building any of their vehicles....i bought brand new mk6 transit on its first MOT it failed on structual rust.....
Does anyone know of a mobile welder or a workshop in Devon? Van failed mot and I’m desperately looking for someone to fix it to pass MOT but it’s a camper van
Thanks at least your car is now structurally safer by having it welded. Paint wouldn't help you out much in an accident. Never lose that welders number, you're lucky to know someone. I wish I did then I wouldn't have to do it myself!
@@abakerslife I had a guy last year to look at it was over a hundred my in-law said Tri this guy so I did he said 20 to 30 pmsl I about fell on floor but this year was bit more needed doing like rear suspension bottoms needed plating but 70 still gd wat make is your welder
Mine is a Clarke 130 or something. I use the minimum setting for the thin stuff with about 7 on the wire speed. For the thicker steel use a higher setting. To much heat and you will burn through, too little heat and you won't get good fusion. Best to do some experiments on scrap steel first. Good luck.
Hi, I do! The salt is fatal... The new ones are beautiful vans but if I was buying a new one I'd spend a couple of hundred quid on having closed cell foam injected inside the chassis members and underseal the hell out of it before I ever drove on the road!
Know your pain re transits and the metal worm if ford sorted the build quality they would easily knock Merc of the top spot , I've just got rid of a my mk6 transit and bought myself another headache of a van ......wait for it .....yesssss I've bought an ldv cub cos I couldn't find a decent pilot lol the joys eh lol
mate respect to you but come on start giving yourself a break when darkness comes as i am like you and then i realised i needed to stop when the light goes,use body filler and cardboard a mechanic says better doing it your way at least you know you will be safe
Thanks John but there was no time to waste. I was doing that at my busiest time of the year with work and had to squeeze it in around that. The smart play would be to have it tested again after 6 months and change to a summer mot.
Hi, I’ve just bought a vito dayvan/camper project. failed mot on a lot of welding, I can’t get anyone to attempt to weld it so looks like I’m going to have to give up on it, or, preferably go same route as you, and do it myself, problem is last time I did any welding was with arc welder and was many years ago!!!! What welder would you recommend? Any advice would be helpful. Thanks Dave
Hi David if it's only a few straightforward patches on the chassis it might be worth buying a cheap mig welder and giving it a go. Any small mig will be able to weld any thickness of steel you are likely to encounter. I use flux core wire because it's less faff than using gas and you can use it outside. The problem you might find is that Vitos, like transits rust like crazy and you might end up cutting out a lot more rot than you think which means having to put back in a lot more pieces of metal. If you haven't invested anything in converting the van yet it might be worth keeping in mind that it could turn into a very big and very frustrating project. I can only suggest that you try and get underneath it with a good torch and a pair of safety glasses and have a real good poke around with a screwdriver. Look to see if there is sound metal that you could weld to around the rust holes. If it looks anything like the front end of mine I'd bail out personally. The only reason I did mine was because I've had the van a while and I already spent some time converting the back.
@@abakerslife Hello again Thanks for the advice, the van does have most of the stuff in it to go camping with, fridge, bed, split charger and solar panels. But before I bought the van I checked the mot history on it, it only had advisory for crossmember corrosion last year and not much else in its mot history, which is why I bought it thinking it was solid😳😳. Anyhow, I do like a challenge so I’ll get under it and have a good look around, mot is saying 7 places of corrosion, but like I said, I think I’m better off trying to sort it because of the price of vans at the minute. So thanks again for the advice, and if I do go for it I might video it for RU-vid as your video was very helpful and informative, hope you got yours sorted. Thanks Dave
@@davidfitzgerald7835 Fair play David, good luck with it, hopefully it's just a few small patches. To brush up on your metal working and welding I'd recommend Fitzee's Fabrications as a channel to watch. I'm no expert but sing out if you need a second opinion on what you discover underneath.
@@abakerslife Hello I took it to a garage today to get it on the ramp and see how bad it is.. it looks pretty bad but think I’m still going to have a go, both front jacking points need sorting, a patch near the rear suspension arm, so that’ll have to come off, a patch on the sill and rear crossmember, if I can I’ll take some photos of the underneath at weekend and let you have a look, see what you think. Thanks again
@@davidfitzgerald7835 hi I would recommend a cebora 140 mig welder basicly a rebadged snap on I've had mine 45yrs it's a bit like triggers brush I've had to put a new feed motor and torch on it in that time but it's been amazing welder and you should be able pick a second hand one up cheep enough I haven't used flux wire I've used a pub bottle and .6 ccms wire and 1.5mm plate for chassis work and .9 for body and here's a bonus tip for anyone wanting there mini mig to last and not strain the motor , lay the mig unit on its back so the spool isn't straining the plastic spool spindle
Not a fan of transits then! I got 6 years of good service out of my mk 6 but was happy to see it go when I moved it on. Welding it every year was becoming a chore. I've got a citroen relay now which has a transit engine and a galvanised body and chassis which is the best of both worlds.
That's is bad it's worst I have seen .I have 54 plate which have done quite a bit welding not as bad as yours the answer to these vans is to get to rust early before it gets bad had my van 10 or 11years.
I've seen a few worse ones! We use so much salt on the roads where I live and it is right next to the sea so they just get eaten away with rust. My van was at the end of it's life when I bought it so I'm happy just cutting bits out and patching it up to get a few more years out of it. It's so reliable that I don't mind doing a bit of work underneath. If I had a new one, straight from the factory I would inject each chassis member with closed cell foam and paint the entire underside wih three coats of enamel paint before I even drove it on the road. I'd also jet wash the underside weekly. I'm glad yours is still going strong and that you're keeping the rust at bay. I love transits but they all die of corrosion eventually.
Sorry i dont agree, other makes and models rust just as much ,if you dont look after your vehicle it will rust ,my mk6 is 2002 and has been welded yet ,and doest need any either! You had a shitter from the start! Thats the truth in it !
It's true mine was doomed when I got it. I'm glad you got a good one but I must admit I have never seen underneath a mark 6 that wasn't a mess and I've been under a few.
That video is a year old. Since investing a few days effort to get it through it's mot that van has subsequently taken me to Inverness, the Outer Hebrides, London, Brittany and many other places in England and Scotland. It has also been my daily driver and my work van. During that year it has never once given me any single bit of trouble, costs £209 per year to insure and returns an average of 40 miles to the gallon. A brand new van would have done exactly the same thing (hopefully) albeit in a little bit more comfort but would have cost me upwards of 30k. And it wasn't worth the effort to spend a few days repairing a perfectly servicable van?
The only way is to do what I did in that video and get under the vehicle and scrape off the rust and treat it with rust converter then paint it or use a rust proofer like Lanoguard. It's horrible work but the only way to go. You will probably find bits that need to be cut out and welded unfortunately. For the rust on the front chassis legs remove any sound proofing material from the engine bay as this gets wet and pools water onto the top of the legs
