Treating Sills

A

Alf

Newbie
Joined
Aug 19, 2015
Points
3
Hi, I am new Z3 cars and having purchased one called "Zziggi", and, living in the West of Scotland am interested in going over her with Blit-Hamber Dynax S50, to counter the wet/ salty road confitions.
aI have studied the photo article where even panels are removed and do not feel I am capable of this.
Can I enter the sill after removing the plastic jack points?
Or other suggestions please
alf
previous cars of interest Eos 200bhp, Porsche 944 2.5 auto1985, Saab turbo 2l convertable, Jaguar S type 3.0l , BMW 5 Series 2.5d chiped, and a couple of Mercedes C class both diesel.
 
:welcome: to the forum from West Cumbria. I'm sure one of the Forum's more technical minded bods will be along shortly to assist.
 
I know how you feel. A while back I never dreamed of tackling all the jobs I've done on this car and can tell you that getting the sills off really is easy enough, just take your time and print of the guide on here on how to do it.

It's worth doing to get at the sills properly as the area you really need to treat are the bits by the front and rear arches.
The actual chassis underneath the sill doesn't really get much corrosion, it's just the outer sill cover that gets chipped and water that gets in behind the splash guards.
You can pull the plastic away and get at the sills but not sure if you'll get the result you want without taking them off.
 
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Welcome @Alf,

Alf said:
Can I enter the sill after removing the plastic jack points?
Click to expand...

You would be able to get a short section where the jacking points are but you would not get the important front and rear sections.

You say west coast, I'm over in Killin if you need a hand with the spanners just shout.

Brian
 
Top man Brian, that is typical of this forum. Good on you mate.:)

Tony.
 
Hi,
Welcome from Glasgow!
I will be interested on how this goes for you as I may consider doing this myself.
I have heard that it is not to difficult, just have not found the time yet to tackle it
Regards,
Andy.
 
Hello and welcome.
 
From what I see and hear you just really need to be able to be without your car for a while. As in all body work it is time which takes over waiting for various coats to dry etc. Fairly straight forward bolt on/off panels. As @miller1098 and I were discussing earlier today it's the simple construction of these great little cars which makes them relatively easy to self maintain.:)

Tony.
 
Dino D said:
I know how you feel. A while back I never dreamed of tackling all the jobs I've done on this car and can tell you that getting the sills off really is enough, just take your time and print of the guide on here on how to do it.

It's worth doing to get at te sills properly as the area you really need to treat are the bits by the front and rear arches.
The actual chassis underneath doesn't really get much corrosion, it's just the outer sill cover that gets chipped and water get in behind the splash guards.
You can pull the plastic away and get at the sills but not sure if you'll get the result you want without taking them off.
Click to expand...
Dino D said:
I know how you feel. A while back I never dreamed of tackling all the jobs I've done on this car and can tell you that getting the sills off really is easy enough, just take your time and print of the guide on here on how to do it.

It's worth doing to get at the sills properly as the area you really need to treat are the bits by the front and rear arches.
The actual chassis underneath the sill doesn't really get much corrosion, it's just the outer sill cover that gets chipped and water that gets in behind the splash guards.
You can pull the plastic away and get at the sills but not sure if you'll get the result you want without taking them off.
Click to expand...
Still feel a bit unsure bur will try thanks alf
 
Brian H said:
Welcome @Alf,



You would be able to get a short section where the jacking points are but you would not get the important front and rear sections.

You say west coast, I'm over in Killin if you need a hand with the spanners just shout.

Brian
Click to expand...
Thanks Brian, Im down in Kilmarnock might take you up on your kind offer, but next Spring thanks alf
 
Hi @Alf, :welcome: to the forum from me in Staffordshire.
 
My Z3 is back from the body shop where it has had both outer sills 'done'. They look like new.
Both sills were de-rusted and repainted. The rear of the sills both have new metal and the rear inner sills have had some sort of under seal applied. I believe the technical term was black gunge.
In November the Z3 is going back in to have some scratches removed from the rear left wing, where it suffered a hit and limp with an old ladies shopping basket. Then she will be as good as new.
If you find a good body shop it is not to pricey to keep the paintwork up to standard.
 
One Spanner Frank said:
My Z3 is back from the body shop where it has had both outer sills 'done'. They look like new.
Both sills were de-rusted and repainted. The rear of the sills both have new metal and the rear inner sills have had some sort of under seal applied. I believe the technical term was black gunge.
In November the Z3 is going back in to have some scratches removed from the rear left wing, where it suffered a hit and limp with an old ladies shopping basket. Then she will be as good as new.
If you find a good body shop it is not to pricey to keep the paintwork up to standard.
Click to expand...

Hi OSF,
thanks fot your reply. I had rust round boot lock and tried to fix myself, took four days and ended up not really matching, bought spray paint, brush paint, rust eater, grey primer, lacqer etc etc probably cheaper with body shop.
Will go round a few local to Kilmarnock to get idea of cost
regards
alf
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hi Alf, even if you were able to squirt some protective into the sill, with the sills still in place, it may be to no avail. The front and rear of the sills fill up with road muck after a few years. the muck hold the water against the chassis. Best to take the sills off the car, clean and inspect the chassis for rust damage and then coat the sill inside. My Chassis was remarkably rust free, but the sills were marked inside where the corrosion resistant galvanise had peeled away as a result of stone chips on the outside.

Mike
 
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