Rust - How bad is it?
Discussion
So we have bought a van, 06 Ducato. 85k miles and mechanically is spot on. It has been well maintained and we will continue to do so. The sticking point is, most of this era (MK2) Ducato's suffer from common areas of rust. Sadly ours is no different... Before purchasing I checked the MOT history and it has only had one issue with rust on an MOT which was in 2019 and that was the first mention of rust. It was obviously welded and it seems to a good standard.
When viewing it, I failed to spot a few problem areas (passenger side inner wheel arch was perforated after I scraped the crap off if, 1, maybe 2 of the chassis legs have small holes in, which is apparently very common on these, and where the tow bar frame connected at the back end had some holes) I got the back end sorted and the garage is happy that it is good and will last for years to come now. I got them to look it over and they are of the opinion that it is a clean van and is not a rot box, but it just suffers from the few common areas of rust on these vans. The majority of it is fine underneath, sills are perfect, few flaky bits of underseal which I am going to sort out (garage are letting me use their lift to sort it all).
Realistically, I probably shouldn't have bought the van as I didn't really want to deal with rust, but I have it now, so I'd like to just get on and sort it as it is for a DIY camper conversion and we do like the van.
I'll add some photos linked to my google drive showing the underneath, it'd be good to get the opinion of a few people on here so I get a proper picture of what i'm dealing with here.
Just to add, I've scoured eBay and almost every single MK2 Ducato panel van/professionally converted motorhome (£20k+) have much more in the way of rust on their MOT history, so I don't think I have got a complete dud, given the price.
I will edit this post to add the link to the pictures in a few.
Thanks.
When viewing it, I failed to spot a few problem areas (passenger side inner wheel arch was perforated after I scraped the crap off if, 1, maybe 2 of the chassis legs have small holes in, which is apparently very common on these, and where the tow bar frame connected at the back end had some holes) I got the back end sorted and the garage is happy that it is good and will last for years to come now. I got them to look it over and they are of the opinion that it is a clean van and is not a rot box, but it just suffers from the few common areas of rust on these vans. The majority of it is fine underneath, sills are perfect, few flaky bits of underseal which I am going to sort out (garage are letting me use their lift to sort it all).
Realistically, I probably shouldn't have bought the van as I didn't really want to deal with rust, but I have it now, so I'd like to just get on and sort it as it is for a DIY camper conversion and we do like the van.
I'll add some photos linked to my google drive showing the underneath, it'd be good to get the opinion of a few people on here so I get a proper picture of what i'm dealing with here.
Just to add, I've scoured eBay and almost every single MK2 Ducato panel van/professionally converted motorhome (£20k+) have much more in the way of rust on their MOT history, so I don't think I have got a complete dud, given the price.
I will edit this post to add the link to the pictures in a few.
Thanks.
Some of those pics look crusty, but most are OK.
The problem is that until you hit it with a needle scaler, you have no idea how bad it is really. I've looked at cars that had perfect looking floor pans - that turned into colanders when prodded.
If you're planning on keeping it, I'd get them to go over it aggressively and weld/treat as appropriate - some of that is going to get a lot worse rather quickly. No point in going to the expense of a camper conversion if the underpinnings will only last a few years.
If you you just need a van for a year or two, treat what you can see, and try and give the underside a decent coating of dinitrol or similar. It will hold it back for a while.
The problem is that until you hit it with a needle scaler, you have no idea how bad it is really. I've looked at cars that had perfect looking floor pans - that turned into colanders when prodded.
If you're planning on keeping it, I'd get them to go over it aggressively and weld/treat as appropriate - some of that is going to get a lot worse rather quickly. No point in going to the expense of a camper conversion if the underpinnings will only last a few years.
If you you just need a van for a year or two, treat what you can see, and try and give the underside a decent coating of dinitrol or similar. It will hold it back for a while.
rxe said:
Some of those pics look crusty, but most are OK.
The problem is that until you hit it with a needle scaler, you have no idea how bad it is really. I've looked at cars that had perfect looking floor pans - that turned into colanders when prodded.
If you're planning on keeping it, I'd get them to go over it aggressively and weld/treat as appropriate - some of that is going to get a lot worse rather quickly. No point in going to the expense of a camper conversion if the underpinnings will only last a few years.
If you you just need a van for a year or two, treat what you can see, and try and give the underside a decent coating of dinitrol or similar. It will hold it back for a while.
Plan is to keep for at least a few years, maybe more depending, really. This is a starter van for us. I want to sort it properly as it is really tip top mechanically, so it'd be a shame to bodge it and let it rust away.The problem is that until you hit it with a needle scaler, you have no idea how bad it is really. I've looked at cars that had perfect looking floor pans - that turned into colanders when prodded.
If you're planning on keeping it, I'd get them to go over it aggressively and weld/treat as appropriate - some of that is going to get a lot worse rather quickly. No point in going to the expense of a camper conversion if the underpinnings will only last a few years.
If you you just need a van for a year or two, treat what you can see, and try and give the underside a decent coating of dinitrol or similar. It will hold it back for a while.
The garage have already had a good luck under it and are confident that it's not hiding too many horrors. But I suppose when I get it on the lift myself in a couple of weeks and start grinding away the current stuff, I won't know for sure.
I figure a few hundred spent now, will save me more in the long run.
Initial plan is to grind all the loose underseal back and any other rusty bits (a lot of the bits that appear quite bad went back to clean metal very quickly when I had a quick go last weekend) then treat with some form of rust converter/remover. Prime and then either spray some Bilt Hamber UB wax, or paint and then spray the UB wax.
Then assess every 6 months or so and keep on top of it.
I did consider doing all of those steps and instead of using the UB wax, using gear oil or thicker white grease as it always stays wet then. And just reapplying every 6 months. But I think the Bilt Hamber stuff is probably a better bet.
Edited by gman88667733 on Friday 31st July 10:41
I think it needs one patch in one of the later pictures near the spring, the rest may, when cleaned show more work needing doing but a lot is just surface rust. I would go at it with a flat disk, wire brush etc, get it all cleaned off and then apply some kind of rust preventative, Bilt Hamber always seems to get good reviews, or Por15 I think its called.
No reason with some work why that cant last ten years. Trouble is, they get left, if done properly from new and reviewed once a year it could last indefinitely.
No reason with some work why that cant last ten years. Trouble is, they get left, if done properly from new and reviewed once a year it could last indefinitely.
J4CKO said:
I think it needs one patch in one of the later pictures near the spring, the rest may, when cleaned show more work needing doing but a lot is just surface rust. I would go at it with a flat disk, wire brush etc, get it all cleaned off and then apply some kind of rust preventative, Bilt Hamber always seems to get good reviews, or Por15 I think its called.
No reason with some work why that cant last ten years. Trouble is, they get left, if done properly from new and reviewed once a year it could last indefinitely.
I know. It's a shame that it needs doing in the first place really. No reason with some work why that cant last ten years. Trouble is, they get left, if done properly from new and reviewed once a year it could last indefinitely.
I was shocked when I checked the MOT history of a £30k MK2 Ducato motorhome which had a fail on rust bigger than any I'd ever seen. Almost everything underneath was rotten.
I'm hoping if I do the work now and keep on top of it, we can keep the van for a good while. Not the biggest fan of just scrapping at the first sign of problems, seems a real waste.
Looks like it needs a bit of attention, but it's not exactly hanging. A good underbody wash will help you see what's under all the crud and crap but it doesn't look like you'll have any proper nasty surprises.
If you're planning on keeping it, or throwing decent money at a conversion then it's definitely worth doing it properly, then when you come to sell you can get your investment back without getting it patched up or having to lower the price due to it needing rot fixing.
Probably worth removing some/all of the factory underseal, especially where it's peeling as that's a perfect water trap, the water will then work its way under, lifting more underseal and then being held between the underseal and body, causing it to rot very badly (and invisibly) as it's hidden by the underseal!
I think you're right in that you want something oily that doesn't ever fully dry. Also, possibly the most important part, and a part that most people overlook, you need to get some cavity wax in the, er, cavities! Vehicles tend to rot from inside cavities and by the time it's showing from a look underneath, that area is in need of some cutting out and welding. It'll need a good 360 degree coat inside every accessible cavity, but not so thick that it blocks drain holes.
If you're planning on keeping it, or throwing decent money at a conversion then it's definitely worth doing it properly, then when you come to sell you can get your investment back without getting it patched up or having to lower the price due to it needing rot fixing.
Probably worth removing some/all of the factory underseal, especially where it's peeling as that's a perfect water trap, the water will then work its way under, lifting more underseal and then being held between the underseal and body, causing it to rot very badly (and invisibly) as it's hidden by the underseal!
I think you're right in that you want something oily that doesn't ever fully dry. Also, possibly the most important part, and a part that most people overlook, you need to get some cavity wax in the, er, cavities! Vehicles tend to rot from inside cavities and by the time it's showing from a look underneath, that area is in need of some cutting out and welding. It'll need a good 360 degree coat inside every accessible cavity, but not so thick that it blocks drain holes.
Jaaack said:
Looks like it needs a bit of attention, but it's not exactly hanging. A good underbody wash will help you see what's under all the crud and crap but it doesn't look like you'll have any proper nasty surprises.
If you're planning on keeping it, or throwing decent money at a conversion then it's definitely worth doing it properly, then when you come to sell you can get your investment back without getting it patched up or having to lower the price due to it needing rot fixing.
Probably worth removing some/all of the factory underseal, especially where it's peeling as that's a perfect water trap, the water will then work its way under, lifting more underseal and then being held between the underseal and body, causing it to rot very badly (and invisibly) as it's hidden by the underseal!
I think you're right in that you want something oily that doesn't ever fully dry. Also, possibly the most important part, and a part that most people overlook, you need to get some cavity wax in the, er, cavities! Vehicles tend to rot from inside cavities and by the time it's showing from a look underneath, that area is in need of some cutting out and welding. It'll need a good 360 degree coat inside every accessible cavity, but not so thick that it blocks drain holes.
Thanks for that. I have got a plan for the cavities. Bilt Hamber do a cavity wax. Going to sort the bottom out first, then go onto the cavities. If you're planning on keeping it, or throwing decent money at a conversion then it's definitely worth doing it properly, then when you come to sell you can get your investment back without getting it patched up or having to lower the price due to it needing rot fixing.
Probably worth removing some/all of the factory underseal, especially where it's peeling as that's a perfect water trap, the water will then work its way under, lifting more underseal and then being held between the underseal and body, causing it to rot very badly (and invisibly) as it's hidden by the underseal!
I think you're right in that you want something oily that doesn't ever fully dry. Also, possibly the most important part, and a part that most people overlook, you need to get some cavity wax in the, er, cavities! Vehicles tend to rot from inside cavities and by the time it's showing from a look underneath, that area is in need of some cutting out and welding. It'll need a good 360 degree coat inside every accessible cavity, but not so thick that it blocks drain holes.
normalbloke said:
Thing is, quite often, mechanicals are far easier and cheaper to sort out than rust issues.
Agreed. Which is why I want to sort it now before it gets to a much more expensive stage. I always said I'd never touch anything with any signs of rust, but here I am..! I've got the van now, so I'll do the best I can to look after it.
Also worth mentioning, if you give it and underbody wash, try and time it at the start of a few days of hot, dry weather. Leave it a few days to fully dry out, in fact driving it around for a bit to get the air moving is probably the best way to ensure it's properly dry. Just stay away from puddles!
My mate who has the local village garage always gets local camper vans in for an mot in the early summer when folk start thinking of a holiday. Gary is handy with a welder and keeps quite a few going but lots get to the stage of not being worth the expense. The worst ones all sit wet all winter rusting away and never moving so it would make a big difference if you could get dry winter storage.
stichill99 said:
My mate who has the local village garage always gets local camper vans in for an mot in the early summer when folk start thinking of a holiday. Gary is handy with a welder and keeps quite a few going but lots get to the stage of not being worth the expense. The worst ones all sit wet all winter rusting away and never moving so it would make a big difference if you could get dry winter storage.
Our plan is to use throughout the winter too. Weather never put us off!Also, I'll use it to commute every now and then as well as it is a lot better on fuel than my Honda CRV. (10mpg better in fact!)
Gassing Station | Bodywork & Detailing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff