Rusty sill

[S - Type Driver 2022]

Hi all I’m looking for some advice on my S type it’s been off of the road for around a year now I can’t bring myself to part with it I have an mot booked next week and I know it will fail on a number of problems but I’m most worried about some rust I’ve discovered on the front passenger side sill and also some rubber bushings/mounts on the lower subframe I’ve attached some photos if anybody can give some advice id greatly appreciate it I’m debating weather it’s worth my time keeping it anymore or if I should let it go 

[DeBruce]

I have literally just gone through this with my S-Type R 2002. I had similarly rusty sills and when the undertrays and skirts were removed it wasnt pretty. Its ended up costing me £2500 in metalwork having them replaced on both sides. There were three panels that come together and they had all started to rust badly. The sills are open at the ends so water gets in and rots them. I also have rust starting to show in the rear passenger door opening by the sill plate.

 

I think if it's started to go, you are going to have to spend money on metalwork and welding pretty soon now if you want it to be solid and last.

[S - Type Driver 2022]

Hi 

Thanks for giving me some advice sorry for the late response work gets in the way. I took my jag for the MOT and all it failed on was the brakes being imbalanced across axels so new disks and pads all round should remedy that but the rust definitely needs attention which I am prepared to do, It’s going to be quite expensive to get it so the car can be preserved but it’s only done 65,000 miles and drives like a dream I think these cars will start to get pretty rare soon and we need to save them whilst we can I know the s type is a somewhat controversial car in jaguars history but it’s a car that has a soul and personality.

[LairdScooby]

I'm about to embark on similar rust repairs to the rear of my sills, following an MoT failure a few days ago. My tester wasn't quite as generous as yours, obviously!

The big thing with rust is to nip it in the bud before it spreads, even if you just spray rust neutraliser/converter in/on those panels for now so they don't get worse before you get time to repair it properly.

Those bushes don't look too bad, it's the subframes that would bother me to be honest.

As for your brake imbalance, chances are the sliders and/or calipers have siezed through lack of use, you may find driving it up to ~30mph and hitting the brakes hard a few times will help "rebalance" them but also try driving along with the brakes lightly applied before doing that. The heat generated will help shift the stuck calipers/slides.

On 4/23/2023 at 10:02 AM, S - Type Driver 2022 said:

I know the s type is a somewhat controversial car in jaguars history but it’s a car that has a soul and personality.

Very true but that's why we're all here, it is something different from the Euro-blob norm that so many people blindly accept as cars these days!

[S - Type Driver 2022]

On 4/24/2023 at 3:09 PM, LairdScooby said:

Very true but that's why we're all here, it is something different from the Euro-blob norm that so many people blindly accept as cars these days!

Hi thank you for replying, I couldn’t agree more all these German cars that seem to dominate the roads just don’t have the same class or ambiance of a Jaguar. As far as the breaks go I’ll give a few hard stops from 30 mph a try and see if it helps free anything up but I have got new disks and pads all round, it’s quite possible that it’s still got the same disks fitted nearly 21 years ago so I think it deserves a new set. The rear subframe is a real concern I think it’ll be a case of having it refurbished in the next few years but as it’s a weekend car and doesn’t get used in winter months I’m hoping it will hold out a little bit longer yet. 

[DeBruce]

My subframe was rusty too and looked quite bad when the sill work was done but the guy said it was actually okay if you knocked off all the rusty top and rust-eater it. When he finished it seemed to come up okay to be honest and it was solid under the rust. Yours could be the same and just need a really good go at with a hammer, wire brush and rust eater.

 

For me it was the sills that were the expensive bit but then the rest of the car seemed to be solid. Seems on these cars the sills by far take the brunt of rust issues. Personally I think your sills need doing even if the MoT guy passed it. As the other guy said, if you want to keep it long term you need to tackle this sooner rather than later.

[LairdScooby]

I've just had another look at the pic you provided of your rusty jacking point and marked in red where the floorpan has rotted away. Also marked is where the inner sill has rotted in yellow.

There are other bits on the floorpan closer to where the fuel tank is that are questionable but tricky for me to be certain whether it's surface rust or gone through but they are the darker spots you can see near those brake lines in the bottom left of the pic.

Not only will you be completely snookered if you get a flat tyre while out and about as that jacking point won't lift the car but the important bit is that the corrosion is within 30cm of a seat belt mount - in other words, an MoT failure point.

To give you a bit more of an idea whaat's happening, mine rotted in the same place, both sides. I only took pics of the drivers side but you'll get the idea :

Doesn't look too bad there but here are a few more once i'd cut the roten stuff away :

The outer sill is completely cut away there and you can see the remains of the inner sill hanging down into the hole. Jaguar used several pieces to create the inner sill, alternately layering them and spot welding each piece to the next. I don't know if this was done to create a break-point for corrosion but it certainly worked as that! I used a similar idea but seam welded each layer so i wouldn't fall foul of the MoT regs, not that it could be seen easily with the outer sill repair piece in place but you get the idea.

First inner sill repair piece in place, welds ground down and weld through primer applied, ready for the next piece. Now it's all finished and has a new MoT, i can certainly tell you it's as solid as, if not more solid than, when it left the factory. Despite the obvious curvy nature of the bodywork in general, there are no complicated compound curves except a very slight one at the rear end that can be pushed into place (even with 1.2mm sheet) to be welded then trimmed to suit after with the disc cutter.

I wouldn't call myself an expert welder by any stretch of the imagination but was quite chuffed when i asked the tester "What's the verdict?" and the reply came "Yeah, that'll pass - nice job!".

Like everything with bodywork, preparation is the bulk of the time, the actual welding took about 10% of the overall time i spent on it, most was prep work, making/shaping repair patches/panels. All in, i probably spent about 12-15 hours doing it all and out of that, about 1-1.5 hours was actual welding.

Your big decision is whether to do it yourself, get a mate to do it at mates rates/mutual exchange of labour or put it in to a garage that can do it or a bodyshop. On a DIY basis, about £250 including buying a cheap gasless MIG, metal and consumables (wire, grinding/cutting discs etc) or likely to be £2500 at a bodyshop and the rest, somewhere in between.

If you're keeping it, whatever the cost is shouldn't be an obstacle, if you're selling it then get it done as a buyer would likely offer scrap value if they saw the current state of your sills, not to mention calling into question if the MoT tester was Mr Magoo! Once done, if you're selling, get another MoT done as i wouldn't feel confident buying a car that had been passed with that level of corrosion and an alleged 12 month ticket!

Probably not all of what you wanted to hear but i think others will agree that nobody wants to see you driving around in an unsafe car!