Rusty holes in floor

[tc112969]

I pulled the bench/bed out of my conversion van today. Three out of four of the bolts just ripped off the floor and through the carpet. I am left with 3 rusty jagged holes in the floor, the biggest being about 2" in diameter. Now I'm trying to decide if I should do a cheap and easy patch job or pay a professional. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[sparky1]

2+ " pretty big hole---when i removed my rear Chairs --i had similar problem--I took old inner tube(seal hole from water coming in or exhaust fumes)-&amp; some 3/8" bolts, Large washers, top &amp; underneath,to seal the holes.a bear to do by your self..had the wrench on top-cinderblock holding it--put washer &amp; nut on the bottom..finally got them tight.<BR>good luck with your repair.<BR>sparky1.

 

[MrNoodly]

Do it the right way once or the cheap and easy way several times.

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

I used a sawzall and cut the rusted area out, shot it with some rustoleum rust converter and then screwed some sheet metal over it.&nbsp; Primered the sheet metal.&nbsp; Dont know how well it is working cause i put ply over that but i can see one of the holes from underneath and it doesn't appear to be getting worse yet.

 

[Willy]

&nbsp;Cut out the jagged rusty stuff, hit it with a wire wheel/sander, then rivet in a patch panel with an adhesive between; epoxy (JB Weld=WIN!!) werks well. Then prime/paint it. ..Willy.

 

[tc112969]

<p>Thanks guys, I'm gonna bust out the sawzall tomorrow and see what happens.</p>

 

[Willy]

&nbsp;Personally, I prefer using a 4-5" grinder with a really thin cutoff disc; cuts through like butter and grinders are dirt cheap. ..Willy.

 

[daminc]

make sure you use steel rivets or zip screws when you put your patch in... dont use aluminum rivets... you can also get some panel adhesive at auto parts stores too.

 

[RJCooper]

I agree with Willy on the grinder.&nbsp; Some people with Sawzall's scare me.&nbsp; LOL

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

I bought a whizwheel but the pancake compressor we had couldn't handle it.&nbsp;

 

[daminc]

i have an electric cutoff/grinder... harbor freight has cheap 4" cutoff disks. probably the electric grinder too

 

[Zil]

I had a harbor freight electric disk cutter. It worked well on a few jobs then melted the plastic gears. Bought on sale it was a good deal and did the first job I needed.

 

[RJCooper]

I have two, a Metabo and a Dewalt.&nbsp; I use them for many things from grinding and cutoff on metal, to diamond wheel and tile/concrete.&nbsp; I beat them up pretty good and they still work.&nbsp; Got to blow the dust out of the motor once in a while.&nbsp; Cheap tools are ok for a one and done project where a person is trying to do a job to save money.&nbsp; But, if that tool is to make you money, you need to spend some money.&nbsp; <br><br>I buy good stuff once from ankle socks to zip ties.&nbsp; To me, there is nothing more aggravating then have your gear or equipment let you down.&nbsp; It wastes money and more importantly time.&nbsp;

 

[RJCooper]

As to the floor of that van, what I would do is wash it out, get some roll on bedliner (duraback, herculiner) coat the floor on the inside, get under it with some undercoat spray and coat it, than get a piece of 1/8" 4x8 sheet of diamond plate and self tap it down.&nbsp; Quick, cheaper in the long run and about the same time frame.&nbsp; My estimate is under $200 and about 4-6 hours.&nbsp; <br><br>Bed liner material $60 and about 1 hour.<br>Undercoating rattle cans 6 at $6 = $36 and 1 hour<br>Diamond plate, $100 bucks and two hours.

 

[daminc]

well said about the tools... all mine make me money... if I know I will never use it more then a few times, I buy a HF tool, and some of those actually last way longer then some brand name tools out there

 

[Ziggy Moon]

If and when you decide to make a patch, use similar metal to make the patch.... dissimilar metals rust, given the right conditions (moisture, bare metal to bare metal).

 

[Willy]

&nbsp;Over here, Canadian Tire always seems to have pretty skookum tools for sale at awesome prices. I've had my little electric grinder now for years, and used it a lot, with it costing around $40 (including some grinding/cutoff discs). I generally cary it with me when I'm traveling, seeing as I'm always doing some sort of repair that, for instance, requires zapping through a rusted on bolt. ..Willy.

 

[tc112969]

Here's the update: After pulling up the carpet I found the damage to be far worse than originally thought. The holes are near the tires and the van is a '97 so it seems all the years of water, dirt and junk flying up there caused lots of rust. The good news is the rest of the floor is in pretty good shape. I took a grinder and cut out the rust, now I'm left with 4 gaping holes. From the advice on here and from a friend this is what I'm going to try. first I'm going to use fiberglass cloth and resin to cover the holes. Next use 1/8" sheet metal riveted or screwed over the sections of the floor and attached to the wheel wells. I'm hoping to get this done on Monday.

 

[RJCooper]

Scrap the fiberglass, it will not bond well.&nbsp;

 

[daminc]

I would just use sheetmetal... <br>you can also use something like this on all the rust<br><a href="http://zero-rust.com/?referrer=google&amp;gclid=CLPioayb4bgCFUmk4AodnVAA-A" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://zero-rust.com/?referrer=google&amp;gclid=CLPioayb4bgCFUmk4AodnVAA-A</a>