Is it worth fixing?

bafty_crastard

Mrs Bafty has an 05 plate Ka which has just failed its MOT as basically the floor pan and sills are rotten so needs a load of welding. There is also an advisory that the bulkhead is corroded to the limit.

She's had a quote of £400 for the floor pan and sills but not for the bulkhead.

Have no idea if it's worth fixing or not. Car runs well, has 72,000 on the clock and has had new brakes, discs and coil springs in the past 12 months.

Any advice?

mcjordi

400 for another years motoring seems ok.. although you could get another car for that 400 +scrap value of the KA. its boderline scrap to me to be totally honest.
also try another garage for a qoute..

bafty_crastard

I'm tempted to scrap it to be honest as even if I get the welding done to get a years MOT I know even more welding will need done next year including the bulkhead which apparently means taking the engine out. Definitely decision time, unfortunately she needs a car to get to and from work and although she can use mine for a week or so will need to decide soon whether to scrap it or repair it.

mcjordi

see if you can get a cheaper qoute from a welding specialist. sadly the 1.3 in these KA's will outlast the !!!!! metal they were built from

colino

Get an accurate quote from a recommended garage, I seem to have lost my bulkhead corrosion limitometer.
Very unusual to need a lot of welding suddenly on a Ka, they were so poorly designed/built/protected from new that if they were going to be crusty, you would have advisories and welding almost from the first MOT. Unusual for them to go from pleasant buggy to rust fest in a year.

bafty_crastard

Last year it needed a little welding to the chassis where the exhaust is joined from what I can remember. They said the sills may need doing in a year but it's not on the advisories.
This year apparently the MOT tester could almost put his finger through the floor pan according to what my wife was told.

bafty_crastard

Ok so failure reasons:

Offside front (floor pan) body or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30 cm of the body mountings (6,1.B.2)

Offside front (sill) body or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30 cm of the body mountings (6.1.B.2)

Nearside front (sill) body or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30 cm of the body mountings (6.1.B.2)

Nearside body or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30 cm of the body mountings (6.1.B.2)

Nearside front body or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30 cm of the body mountings (6.1.B.2)

Rear parking (secondary) brakes imbalanced (3.7.B.6b)

Advisories:

Offside rear brake pipe slightly corroded (3.6.B.2c)

Offside stop lamp dim

Bulkhead corroded (on limit)

Fuel tank slightly corroded

Oil leak

Area around fuel filler corroded

Offside front tyre worn on edge

AdrianC

It's a Ka. They all do that, Sir.

Yes, you can stick new metal in, but for that price it's just going to be hiding the rot, not fixing it.

I'd not even be contemplating that kind of bodge-fix, tbh. It's throwing good money away. If you want to keep the car on the road, do it properly - but that'll cost a LOT more. If it's to eke another year after it? No. You'll be replacing the thing next year - or welding even more - anyway.

In addition to the MOT question, consider that you're talking about properly structural rot. Seat and seatbelt mounts, suspension mounts, pedal mounts. If the worst happens, that kind of bodge-weld has no structural integrity to it whatsoever.

If the suspension mounts are affected badly, one good pothole could see the mounts tear loose. The rear suspension is what's called torsion beam - both wheels are connected to a sort of H-shaped single component, which is then pivoted on one bolt each side at the front, and only connected at the back by the dampers and springs. Each of those front mounts is smaller than a CD box, and connected to the floor by four bolts. They are the only solid connections between the car and the rear wheels. Once the floor and sill starts to rot around that corner...



This has different brakes to yours (upper ends), but the basics are the same. The front mounts are on the lower legs.

Edit: Whilst I was typing that, you've posted the actual fail sheet. So most of the rot is in the front, rather than the back. But that's where the front subframe mounts, and takes the forces of steering and braking. Rotten around the fuel filler, too? No, it's near death. Don't prolong its misery.

bafty_crastard

Decision made, it's going to be scrapped.

Need to find a replacement, she's not getting another Ka though :-p

atrixblue.-MFR-.

I wouldn't bother. surprised this hasn't been a feature of previous MOT advisories in the past with corrosion.


Sorry but I wouldn't trust many to weld up a bulkhead, done wrong weakens it. and its the main safety bubble of the car in a front end impact.

bafty_crastard

Passed in 2013 with the following advisories:

Nearside bottom arm rear bush Bonded suspension unit deteriorated but can function as intended (2.4.F.3)

Offside Front bottom arm rear bush Bonded suspension unit deteriorated but can function as intended (2.4.F.3)

Advise sills corroded but not holed

Then the 2014 test said:

Test class:
IV
Reason(s) for refusal to issue Certificate

Offside Rear Body or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of the body mountings (6.1.B.2)

Rear Exhaust system not adequately supported (7.1.1)

Advisory Notice issued

Nearside Front 3mm Tyre worn close to the legal limit (4.1.E.1)

Nearside Front Suspension arm rubber bush deteriorated but not resulting in excessive movement (2.4.G.2)

Offside Front Suspension arm rubber bush deteriorated but not resulting in excessive movement (2.4.G.2)

Which resulted in the small amount of welding last year. TBH was surprised there was so much corrosion this year when it wasn't mentioned last year.