Chassis weak points

[fillpoke]

I've just checked my outriggers and found rust that's in need of attention. My plan is to cut it out and weld in new fabricated sections. My question is are there any other areas of the chassis that are known to suffer from rust damage? It would be good to get all of the welding done at once.

[Tuga2112]

the jacking points are the first point of call.

the rear of the outriggers (which can lead to rear jacking points on the SE ) are also known for rusting, although not as often.

from my experience, the rear central section of the chassis also corrodes, its visually noticeable but in my case not severe enough to be worth the effort to repair at the present moment.

other parts that also rust and you may want to inspect would be rear wishbones, and front TCA (Track controll arm).

[roy666]

Chaps - I’ve just had the rear chassis offside crossmember repaired (welded a new 1.8 steel patch on) where it meets the main rear chassis box section, I had the nearside repaired last year. This is the classic rust corrosion that happens in this area if the water holes get blocked up. It was pretty straight forward and during the process I was able to have and a could look inside the chassis in that area, the rest of the crossmember and the main box sides were in good nick; the original waxoil was still there. Below is before & after pics (I can upload the inbetween pics if people are interested).

[lotusflasherman]

I hope those are After and Before rather than as you stated ...

[chrisP]

Also check the mounting point to the chassis where the rear engine mount bolts up......

[roy666]

Thanks Chris... just to be clear;... you talking about the mounting points on page 64/65 of the service manual.... that area??

[cellaway]

The underside of the top transverse beam. Supports the bumper, radiator and aircon condenser.

[TorqueHorse]

The underside of the top transverse beam. Supports the bumper, radiator and aircon condenser.

Did this have a bunch of foil on it too, potentially holding condensation?

[cellaway]

The impact absorption matrix was the only aluminium material that was visible. I didn’t see any foil. The underside of the beam needed lots of work.

[cellaway]

I’ve just bought a new front transverse beam to replace the original. I figured it was best to have a strong front of car.