# Rust holes in sills



## fethead (May 12, 2007)

I've attempted to rectify the blistering rust in my civics sill, but opened a large hole (75mm) and wondered if I could use expanding foam to fill the void, then sand it and apply filler and finish the process with primer, paint and lacquer.

WOULD THIS WORK???????

Thanks,

Richard


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## Glaschu (Sep 16, 2012)

You want to repair a structural part of your car with expanding foam? :doublesho


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## gm8 (Apr 25, 2011)

i would prefer a cornflakes box duct taped into position..............

in all serious though , no. the paint would crack due to flexing etc . It needs welded I would say


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## Jem (Aug 10, 2007)

On sills it will have to be welded to pass the MOT.


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## fethead (May 12, 2007)

Glaschu said:


> You want to repair a structural part of your car with expanding foam? :doublesho


I don't see that a 75mm hole is going to reduce the rigidity and overall safety of the car!

Tell me if I'm wrong.


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## fethead (May 12, 2007)

gm8 said:


> i would prefer a cornflakes box duct taped into position..............
> 
> in all serious though , no. the paint would crack due to flexing etc . It needs welded I would say


Fair enough statement


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## Jem (Aug 10, 2007)

You're very wrong!


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## fethead (May 12, 2007)

Jem said:


> On sills it will have to be welded to pass the MOT.


It just passed without any advisories!!


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## theshrew (May 21, 2008)

You either need to weld in a patch or weld on a new sill. A garage wont charge the earth for doing it for you or ask about one of your mates /dads might have a welder 

Whatever you do DONT bodge up this repair. A sill is a very important part of the safety bits of the cars body.


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## fethead (May 12, 2007)

Jem said:


> You're very wrong!


Can you provide the MOT code that applies to it

Only joking, but...can you?


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## Jem (Aug 10, 2007)

Yes I can.


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## theshrew (May 21, 2008)

fethead said:


> It just passed without any advisories!!


The MOT tester must of been a bit of a mong / hungover or just blind

Joking aside mate it shouldnt pass with a hole or bad rust to a sill. There is a reason for this :thumb:


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## fethead (May 12, 2007)

theshrew said:


> The MOT tester must of been a bit of a mong / hungover or just blind
> 
> Joking aside mate it shouldnt pass with a hole or bad rust to a sill. There is a reason for this :thumb:


Worse thing is it's the same on the drivers side:speechles

I'll get it done properly, but was aiming to keep it cheap as I'm a university student.


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## Jem (Aug 10, 2007)

See here: http://www.motuk.co.uk/appendix_pics.htm

And here: http://www.motuk.co.uk/mot_appendix_c.htm


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## fethead (May 12, 2007)

Jem said:


> Yes I can.


I have to call you out, so supply a quote and I want HARVARD REFERENCING STANDARD!:lol:


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## fethead (May 12, 2007)

Jem said:


> See here: http://www.motuk.co.uk/appendix_pics.htm
> 
> And here: http://www.motuk.co.uk/mot_appendix_c.htm


Cool link, thanks.

Richard


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## fethead (May 12, 2007)

Anyone know a good garage in the Birmingham area?


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## theshrew (May 21, 2008)

fethead said:


> Anyone know a good garage in the Birmingham area?


Mate your possibly missing a trick here.

You just said your a student ****** :wave: :wave:

Take a visit to the engineering dept ask the chaps down there if they could help you out weld a sill on or help you with it for a few beers :thumb:


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## fethead (May 12, 2007)

theshrew said:


> Mate your possibly missing a trick here.
> 
> You just said your a student ****** :wave: :wave:
> 
> Take a visit to the engineering dept ask the chaps down there if they could help you out weld a sill on or help you with it for a few beers :thumb:


I'll look into it, but think that the University's engineering dept would be looking at things from a different perspective and a little higher than car mechanics!
Although they may know a man who can:lol:

Cheers for the lateral thinking.

Richard


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## Sh1ner (May 19, 2012)

A sill can have a holes/ holes in it as long as it is not within 30cm of a brake, suspension or seat belt mounting. It is not likely to cause loss of control under steering or braking, so it can pass.
The MOT is pass or fail at that moment in time. Advisories are not a compulsory part of the test and do not have to be recorded. It may help in a disciplinary situation and the ministry like you to give them out but it is not a requirement.


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## Jem (Aug 10, 2007)

Sh1ner said:


> A sill can have a holes/ holes in it as long as it is not within 30cm of a brake, suspension or seat belt mounting. It is not likely to cause loss of control under steering or braking, so it can pass.
> The MOT is pass or fail at that moment in time. Advisories are not a compulsory part of the test and do not have to be recorded. It may help in a disciplinary situation and the ministry like you to give them out but it is not a requirement.


It's highly unlikely any part of the will will be more than 30cm away from a brake, suspension, seatbelt mount.


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## Aaran (Sep 18, 2007)

his car will have passed the MOT with rusty sills.

90% of the hondas i have cut apart over the last 10 years all have rusty as hell sills and most come a few weeks after getting an MOT on them.

the sole reason for them passing is they are completely covered by plastic sill covers+ sideskirts, and if you read the MOT rules an mot tester cannot remove a plastic sideskirt/cover to inspect under them. its why this guy has got an mot. most civics on the road will have rusty sills with holes in them :lol:

mot rust failures on hondas are when it gets pretty bad and the floor pan side of the sills start rotting (the front and rear seatbelt mountings are all within 30cm of pretty much all the floor pan). those are mot fails because they are not covered by the skirt/sill cover.

box sections on cars (especially the sills!) rot quick, around 400% faster than the outside, never fill them with expanding foam because this just adds to the problem. just find someone that can weld and give them some beer money.


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## Sh1ner (May 19, 2012)

Jem said:


> It's highly unlikely any part of the will will be more than 30cm away from a brake, suspension, seatbelt mount.


That is why the test is worded as it is. Anything outside those areas is not a problem and quite rightly so. The mot is not about having work done for nothing.
Some sills are not considered structural at all.
From a testers point of view it is far worse to have failed something that should not fail than pass something that perhaps is borderline. That is why the advisory system is there. It can cover a testers backside but there is no excuse for failing what should pass.


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## Glaschu (Sep 16, 2012)

Sh1ner said:


> Some sills are not considered structural at all.


Only if the vehicle has a separate chassis...


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## PootleFlump (Jan 1, 2006)

Welding sills is so easy it shouldn't cost more than £35 to slap a quick patch over and atleast you know you're safe.


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## RedUntilDead (Feb 10, 2009)

PootleFlump said:


> Welding sills is so easy it shouldn't cost more than £35 to slap a quick patch over and atleast you know you're safe.


Spoken like a man who has never welded a rusty sill.

75mm hole in a sill is considered large. This says to me that the sill is rustings away quite badly. By the time you try cleaning back for sound metal you may find there is none to weld. Its never a case of "just slap a patch on" in my experience anyway, but what do I know
Many bodyshops wont touch "old metal" so you need a weekend warrior or shop around for a body shop.


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