Hi everyone!

My XJ will sadly be due for some urgently needed corrosion repair around the front subframe mounting points. One area seems to be quite common (behind the brake lines / inside of the dampers) and I have a good idea on how to fix it but on the other area I'd appreciate some feedback on how to best repair this.

The area in question is where the large subframe bushings are, hence the chassis mounting points of the rear front subframe. There is a rather large bushing/bolt unit mounted directly to the chassis which seems to be comprised of two layers of sheet metal. As you can see in the pictures attached, these two sheets start to seperate due to corrosion within. Any tips on how to ideally approach this mission?

PS: Car is used daily, even in harsh winters, and therefore the repair must be as technically sound as possible.

Greetings from Vienna,
Oliver

 

I've actually never seen anything like that (the sheet-metal separation). I am am hopeful, that I will never see anything like that here (no cold winter, no salt on the roads).

My ideas of how to fix that would be:

1. Welding (Auftragsschweissen): Skilfully remove the rust and then weld a new layer on top of the remaining sheet, or even better: cut a suitable bit of metal to size and weld it into the place where rust has dissolved the plate.... This would be the proper way. Or:
2. If that sounds too complicated and you feel save with the remaining amount of real metal, but you want to make it look good again, then you could remove the rust and apply "liquid metal", where the material is missing, It adds a little bit of extra stability, but is not as good as welding. Liquid metal is a "2 component"-mixture, and I have done amazing things with that in the past.

Obviously step 1 and step 2 would need to be followed up by sanding and painting.

 

I know there was at least one if not two full write ups about someone performing that kind of surgery on these cars. If you type in “rust repair” in the X308 section, I imagine you’ll get a few hits.

 

https://bilthamber.com/product-category/anti-corrosion/

Swedish Oil Rig platform developed.....my go to for Jaguar tin worm treatment. It's quality.

A heavy jet wash to remove anything in the way of a good inspection before you start. Removing parts means a more complete job.

Drilling small 3mm holes above the rot and inject the S50 into cavities & between the welded sheets so it's running out.

Grinding back to metal and assess where each area needs welding pieces in. To be fair it's in good condition compared to some UK salted cars I've seen recently.

Areas to fully check - Jacking points x4 - Outer sill end caps - inner sills - front wing bottom rear edges - rear screen base corners. Arresting any rust now for future protection.