Hole in inner sill

[D R Oldfield]

Today i have been wire brushing grinding derusting the inner sill on my z3 i have found a small hole about the size a postage stamp were the sill has rusted through i have cut away the infected area and i am looking for a repair panel does any one know if a repair panel exists or what thickness the metal is suppose to be ? so i can make a replacement welding it in isnt s problem as i have a mig but not sure of the thickness ?

 

[colb]

Where abouts on the inner sill is the hole? As its a pressed steel item it achieves its strength from the formed holes along its length, I would suspect your hole may be in the front end, if so you should be ok to use a small cut to size replacement out of some panel steel as long as your careful when welding it and don't blow holes in it. 16th of an inch thickness should be good to go. As a cover sill will be covering it you could get away just welding a small patch over it, that shouldn't create a problem with the cover sill going back on. You can always dress it back with a panel hammer if it needs to be set back for clearance.

 

[D R Oldfield]

Hi thanks for the reply , its about 6 inch from the rear on the angled piece if was quite rusty most of it has cleaned up there had been a bodged repair on the outer sill in the past which had been repaired with fibreglass and filler which ed had allowed moisture to get trapped , i have cut a a section out about 2inch square which has gone back to sound metal and thinking of welding in a piece off 2mm steel plate then flattening back is there much clearance between the inner and outer sill ?
thanks in advance

 

[colb]

Will be a small clearance but be best to weld the new repair into the shaped hole, cut the replacement to size and hold it in the hole using a magnet, tack the joints on four sides then weld the seams, little at a time to keep the heat down and avoid distortion. Flat back the welds using a flap wheel rather than a grinder to achieve a flush joint, rust proof with chosen product, mate uses red oxide followed by grey primer then a top coat. Cover the whole inner sill with Waxoyle Clear before refitting the outer sill making sure you get plenty inside the pressed holes, I coated my outers with a coat of Black Waxoyle when I did mine, I was lucky the inners were very clean and no rust.

 

[handsomejackuk]

this is what i always use and it always holds up real well...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Unknown-DY020A1-Red-Oxide-Primer/dp/B002WB6QXK

52001772_632359273867156_6369039778133835776_o by handsomejackuk, on Flickr