DIY VAZ 2105 bottom repair

In detail: do-it-yourself repair of the bottom of a VAZ 2105 from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

I propose a way to restore the bottom of a car without overcooking and in normal garage conditions. I do not pretend to be the author of the idea, although the idea was born myself 🙂 If we compare the costs of capital welding, then this method is incomparably cheaper. It is certainly not perfect and is unlikely to suit those whose body has already rotted into "dust". And so - think for yourself, decide for yourself - to have or not to have.

For this we need:
Materials:
- galvanized iron in sheets (2 sq.m.);
- antinoise bitumen mastic (2 cans);
- bolts, nuts, washers M5;
- self-tapping screws 15-20mm long
Equipment:
- angle grinder (in common people, a grinder);
- drill
- screwdriver
- scissors for metal;
- roulette;
- brush 100mm wide;
- permanent marker;
- metal brush;
- cutting and grinding wheels.
Details:
- Small front side members right and left

And so, let's get started.
First you need to understand the interior: remove the seats, floor mats, remove the noise insulation. I have only one name left from Shumka :).
Next, you need to remove the old bituminous mastic from the floor in the cabin. this is necessary for a more detailed assessment of damage and marking of sheets. it is also necessary to remove the exfoliated mastic from the bottom of the bottom.
Image - DIY repair of the bottom of a VAZ 2105


The rot is already cut off in the photo.

Due to the presence of a "grinder" I cleaned the "live" part of the floor to metal. The only jamb - after a couple of passes through the uncleaned mastic, the petal circle clogged and no longer cleaned it, but polished the rust, it had to be replaced.
In the end, it turned out something like this:
Image - DIY repair of the bottom of a VAZ 2105


After sanding and trimming everything that is superfluous, we begin to cut the tin. Here, everyone has their own injuries. I covered the entire half from the inside, right down to the transverse spar, although the floor was intact there. The fact that there is a stamping in the floor does not really matter, later it will be possible to pour mastic there and everything will be a bunch. In any case, the tin did not work for me from this.
After cutting the material for the inner part, we cut the tin for the bottom. Here, again, your personal wishes, the amount of galvanizing available and the nature of the damage play a role.
After cutting the metal, coat the floor with bituminous mastic (from all sides). It is advisable to let the mastic dry so that the layer of mastic will eventually be larger. I had to dry for a week due to working days.
Image - DIY repair of the bottom of a VAZ 2105

Galvanizing installation.
Before installing galvanized sheets, we generously smear them with mastic (by the way, it is better to make the mastic thicker, otherwise it flows strongly) only from the installation side, otherwise then all the mastic will be smeared on hands and clothes.
It is better to fix galvanized sheets intended for installation from below with self-tapping screws to the bottom, especially if you do not have an assistant. The protruding parts in the cabin must be cut down. Then we climb into the salon, put the galvanized steel (again, oiled with mastic) on the floor and begin to fasten it with bolts. In principle, M5x15 bolts are enough for the eyes with the obligatory use of washers on both sides. When using self-locking nuts, the lock washers can be omitted (only regular ones). If the nuts are common, then the growers must be installed. The drill must be taken with the same diameter as the bolts.
It is better to fasten it to start from one end, since the possibility of metal bending is excluded. I didn't do that right away and had to rebuild the structure.
How many bolts and location to choose according to the situation. If you have to replace the front spar ("jack"), then in this place the sheet is not yet fixed.

Video (click to play).

Installing the front side member
Preparation of side members:
I removed the hinges for the standard jack, I think very few people use a regular screw jack.
Drill six holes on the long crown attachment petals (three on one side and three on the other).
We apply the spar to his place of permanent residence and squeeze it from below. Better jack.
We drill holes in the floor through the spar. Then we remove the spar, coat the inside of the spar with mastic and the section of the bottom that will be closed by the spar and put the spar. We fasten again with bolts.

As a result, we got something like this:
Image - DIY repair of the bottom of a VAZ 2105

the protruding parts of the bolts can be cut off.
In conclusion, we cover the galvanized sheets with mastic, trying to push the mastic into the cracks, if any, the spars and all places not covered with mastic.
I think this design will last longer than a digested bottom.
Now let's summarize the financial result of this venture (the repair was carried out in the winter of 2009-2010):
- galvanized iron 2 sq. M (350 rub.)
- bituminous mastic 2 large cans (360 rub.)
- side members 2 pcs. (200 rub.)
- bolts, nuts, washers, screws (about 80r.)
- cutting disc 1 pc. (15-20r)
- grinding wheel (60 rubles)
Total: approximately 1070r.
Plus an invaluable feeling of what I did myself :). The service asked 15 thousand rubles for overcooking the bottom.

I hope that this manual and idea will be useful to someone.

Masters at car services most often thicken the paint and tell the owner of the car that a rotten bottom requires long painstaking work, the cost of many materials. It is from this that such a high price is formed. At the same time, they try to prevent the owner from being examined or show problem areas in low light. In this case, ordinary dirt can be mistaken for an oxidized rotten metal, which you just touch and it crumbles. With the help of such little tricks, the colors are thickened, which allows to inflate the price.

If the car owner wants to save money, he needs to do a preliminary inspection of the bottom on his own. For this you will need:

  • Lift, observation pit, overpass.
  • Good lighting: a torch or a carrier with a powerful lamp.
  • Hammer.

With the help of a hammer, it is necessary to tap all suspicious areas of the bottom and determine the degree of their damage, in order to approximately know the amount of required materials.

If all of the above is not at hand or there is simply not enough time for a thorough inspection, then a special mirror will come to the rescue for inspecting the underside of the car. It will allow you to assess in general terms the condition of the metal and get an approximate idea of ​​the scope of work. But the situation will become fully clear only after a thorough examination.

The welding process itself is simple, everyone can master it in the shortest possible time. Sometimes it takes longer to connect and set up equipment. The easiest way to over-weld the underside of a car is with a semi-automatic welding machine. But often such repairs are simply impossible without the involvement of gas welding. Best of all, when these two units are used, they complement each other and enhance the quality of underbody repairs.

As the saying goes: "If you want to do something well, do it yourself." Car underbody repair is no exception. To implement it, you will need the following equipment:

  • Semi-automatic welding machine.
  • Gas welding.
  • Conventional metal or electric scissors.
  • Bulgarian (angle grinder).
  • Hammers of various sizes and configurations.
  • Good lighting.

You also need to stock up on the following materials:

  • Oxygen and calcium carbide (for gas welding).
  • Carbon dioxide and copper wire (for semi-automatic welding machine).
  • Grinding and cutting wheels for metal grinders.
  • Metal for patches.

To repair the underside of a car with your own hands went without problems, you need to choose the metal of the optimal thickness. Its recommended thickness varies from 1 to 2 mm. But here the qualifications of the one who will carry out the welding work should be taken into account.When working with thinner metal, it is necessary to strictly observe the temperature requirements during welding. Which, in turn, depends on the debugging of the equipment and the quality of consumables.

Thicker metal is more difficult to process, but at the same time it is more difficult to damage and spoil it. Therefore, before purchasing consumables, you need to really assess your qualifications as a welder.

Now you can start preparatory work. There is nothing difficult in this, and it will not be difficult to do them with your own hands. You just need to clean all problem areas of the bottom from rust. This can be done in two ways.

With the help of a grinder. In this case, it is necessary to use both cutting and grinding wheels. During work, be sure to follow all safety rules. It is better to clean hard-to-reach places from rust by gas welding.

After hitting rusty metal and corrosion, the edges of the surface to which the patches will be attached must be well cleaned. It is advisable to do this work with a grinder. Now you can cut out patches from metal and start welding. Cutting metal is best done with hand or electric metal shears. This will allow you to make your workpieces to the exact size and keep the edges straight. Cutting metal, especially thin metal, by welding requires high qualifications.

It is advisable to weld the bottom together. It will be difficult for one person to simultaneously fix the patch and scald it. If the metal is applied to a flat surface, then fix it faster with a semi-automatic welding machine.

If it is necessary to make a bend, you should resort to gas welding. When heated, the metal becomes soft and it can be bent and shaped with a hammer. At the same time, do not forget that high temperatures reduce the properties of the metal. Another option in this case can be a special device designed to create bends on metal workpieces.

After completing the welding work, all seams must be cleaned with a grinder and covered with anti-corrosion compounds.