DIY repair of cornfields

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

The Niva VAZ 2121 became the first comfortable Soviet SUV. Until its exit from the factory gates in 1977, off-road vehicles were used mainly for military needs. For a Soviet citizen, an off-road vehicle, in principle, was not available, and they were not on the open sale. There was an opportunity to buy decommissioned UAZs, but they did not differ in comfort. The only alternative to them was Volynets with an engine from ZAZ 969, which was available for sale, but it also did not meet all the requirements for comfort, although its off-road properties were highly valued.

Niva turned the concept of an SUV for the semi-wild inhabitants of the country of Soviets - no one has ever seen such comfort as in the six, with the passability of an UAZ, but at first the consumer was stopped by a rather high price, and later they got used to it. Niva has become an active rural worker and city dweller - in terms of performance, it is in no way inferior to the VAZ classics.

Niva 2121, which every motorist can do in his garage with his own hands, is still one of the most popular middle class SUVs. Like every car, the Niva has its own characteristic malfunctions and diseases. Being a very durable and reliable vehicle, it is very easy to maintain. Typical car malfunctions are mainly associated with the peculiarity of its design:

  • four-wheel drive and a transfer case with a demultiplier sometimes bring some trouble;
  • body design features;
  • front wheel drive;
  • engines from the VAZ 2106 are not designed for use on off-road vehicles;
  • front suspension characteristic only for Niva.Image - DIY repair cornfields
Video (click to play).

We will briefly describe some of them, but we will dwell on the body in more detail. Questions to him rarely appear, but this does not negate their relevance.

The main problem with the Niva engine was that it was not originally designed for use in harsh conditions. This explains many of its characteristic breakdowns.

For cars with a 1.7 liter engine, valve lifters have become the biggest problem. More precisely, their adjustment. When installing them, it is necessary to observe a precisely calibrated effort, otherwise they will either wedge or twist out if they are not tight enough. The malfunction makes itself felt with a characteristic knock, and if you do not respond in time, it can kill the camshaft. Therefore, it is better not to take on this business on your own if you do not have enough skills.

Transfer cases, as a rule, never cause problems. You just need to monitor the oil level. Propeller shafts can be a nuisance. Especially if they are not lubricated every 10,000 km. The crosses are not durable enough, but with regular lubrication, they will not be problematic.

Oil seals are another matter. The axles and the transfer case are equipped with oil seals of not the best quality, therefore they often leak. If you do not pay attention to this when changing the oil, then you can easily screw up the dispenser. It is better to buy branded oil seals, according to the factory size. Then there is a guarantee that the oil will not leak until the next MOT. After 2011, the VAZ 2121 has Italian oil seals from the factory installed, in this case there is no cause for concern.

We will present several options for bodywork that you can do with your own hands in the garage with a pit.

Before you start fighting corrosion, you need to figure out how rational it is.If it is easier to change a rotten threshold, then it is better to do this than to mold patches to rust. Nevertheless, there are some ways to give the Niva body a proper look.

Tinning can be used to localize small foci of rust. How to do this, we clearly showed in the figure.

Epoxy resins can also provide temporary protection against corrosion and partial repair of rusted areas. First, you need to thoroughly clean the damaged area, and then apply a polymer patch using fiberglass. After final drying, the patch should be sanded, putty, primed and touched up.

In Nivs, the place where the beam is attached to the body often decays. If you have a semi-automatic welding machine, this can be corrected by making a new pad on the seat.

First, we disassemble the front suspension until free access to the rotten place is obtained and we clean it with a grinder, removing the rusty areas.

Image - DIY repair cornfields


Then we cut out a patch of living metal along the cardboard pattern, drill it around the perimeter for better welding contact with the metal of the car and weld it in place as follows.

Image - DIY repair cornfields


After that, we grind the welding points with a grinder, prime and cover with anti-corrosion mastic.

Niva VAZ 2121 is a fairly reliable and practical car that does not require expensive repairs. Almost all work, including bodywork, can be done by everyone in his garage at minimal cost.

Among the models of the domestic auto industry, the VAZ 2121 stands out a little from the general range, not only due to its excellent cross-country ability, all-wheel drive and a monocoque body, but also due to the fact that Niva is the first independent development of VAZ that has reached serial production.
The car began to be mass-produced at the beginning of 1977 and immediately began to enjoy great success among the population not only in the Union, and later in Russia, but also in many countries, both near and far abroad. In its class, an SUV from Russia is considered the most successful model.
He found his consumer in France, Portugal, Spain and Canada. And although "Niva" in a complete set with a French diesel engine "Peugeot" are in great demand, cars with a domestic "1.6" are also sold quite well.

Body repair VAZ 2121 consists of several types of work.

Small scratches and dents that appeared during the operation of the VAZ 2121 can be removed with your own hands and is not even expensive at all.
For instance:

  • scratches are repaired by polishing the scratched surface with various abrasive pastes and materials that remove the top coat of varnish and paint, and this evens out the scratched surface. In cases where the top layer of soil does not touch the complete removal of the scratch is almost guaranteed.

Advice! You should not be too zealous, because in this case we remove, not remove the paintwork, and if you polish one place for a long time and persistently, you can get to the metal itself, and this threatens with high costs in which you will have to include the column "painting the car".

Due to shocks, temperature changes and metal fatigue, the geometric dimensions of the car may slightly differ from those indicated in the operating instructions, which is fraught with the creation of unnecessary stresses in various joints and a significant reduction in the service life of the car itself. So checking and restoring the geometry of the car is the main stage in the overhaul of its body part.

The main geometric dimensions of the body of the VAZ 2121

If the result is negative, that is, when the actual dimensions differ from the reference ones, the geometry is restored by straightening (stretching / compressing) the body and its elements.

When deforming individual elements, the metal is straightened by tapping and extruding it.
There are two ways here:

  • No subsequent painting;
  • With subsequent painting.

In the first case, the repair is based on the principle of metal elasticity. Since every object with some kind of elasticity tends to return to its original position, this property can be used for its own purposes - a dent is squeezed out with a special tool and then polished.

Unfortunately, this method is available only for people with special tools and extensive experience. I am afraid that do-it-yourself repairs in this case will smoothly lead us to the second type of repair.

  • In the second case, the dent is evenly tapped with a hammer or mallet from the inside, while a "fulcrum" with a rubberized soft surface should be applied on the opposite side.
  • If the damage has sharper edges or is a deep scratch, then the support is taken not on an elastic basis, but as a rigid support or even an anvil. Tapping is carried out with a nylon or wooden mallet, from the middle to the edges of the dent.

Attention! The damage should be tapped slowly, and without applying great effort. Strong blows will only aggravate the situation, since the metal can flatten out and it will be impossible to return it to its original state in this way.

In cases where straightening by the above deformation method is not possible, the damaged part is cut out, a patch is placed by welding or using solder or epoxy glue. Otherwise, the element must be replaced.

Advice! If, nevertheless, you want to tap the part and at the same time try to preserve the paintwork of the element, place several layers of soft cloth between its surface and the stand.

Before starting this stage of work, you need to make sure that the end justifies the means. That is, if the part is already practically eaten by the rye, then, as the saying goes: "It's too late for Vasya to drink Borjomi when the kidneys have failed."
If everything is not so bad, then we choose one of two ways.
Method one. We solder the foci of corrosion with solder:

  • Preparatory stage. We clean the surface of the body, remove traces of corrosion, process the edges of the holes with flux;
  • Tinning. The surfaces of the "wound" and the patch (if any) are covered with a small layer of solder;

When restoring the surface by soldering, the next step can be skipped

  • Direct soldering. In order for the seam to be tight and have maximum reliability, the surfaces to be joined must have as large an area of ​​contact as possible.

Advice! In order to hide the soldered patch, it should be applied from the inside, then level the surface of the part with automotive putty and paint.

Method two. We seal the foci of corrosion with epoxy resins:

  • We process the restored surface with coarse sandpaper;
  • We clean the surface from particles of abrasive materials, oil and dust particles, degrease;
  • We cut out three patches from fiberglass according to a previously prepared template.

Attention! The patches should cover each other, that is, the first is 25 mm larger than the damaged surface to be covered, the second is 45 mm, the third is 65 mm, respectively.

  • The patches are impregnated with epoxy resin and glued one by one to the damaged area;
  • The resulting patch is covered with cellophane and glued with tape for tightness (so that the resin does not leak out);
  • The entire surface is rolled with a roller until the overall shape is given;
  • After 24 hours, the hardened patch can be processed - sanded, primed and painted.

Of course, it is advisable to watch the above presented body restoration work on a video illustrating DIY body repair of a VAZ 2121, but I think the presented material makes it clear the main stages of repair.

Due to the specifics of its operation and design, the VAZ 2121 requires increased attention, namely, increased control of the state of the body. In general, if you are the owner of a used "Niva" and are going to operate it for its intended purpose for at least a couple of years, carefully inspect the condition of the body of the VAZ 2121, whose repair and strengthening of its individual elements is more a necessity than a precaution.
Problematic areas that should be paid special attention to are:

  • The bottom, namely its corrosion and through holes in the floor (very often the car overcomes water barriers without further high-quality drying);
  • Spars, namely, for cracks (the consequences of impacts with appropriate metal fatigue).

Side member cracks, as a rule, occur in the area of ​​the mountings:

  • Steering gear;
  • Pendulum;
  • Engine beams;
  • Front shock absorber upper bracket;
  • Rear shock mountings;
  • Long jet rods to the very bottom of the floor;
  • "House" thrust "Ponar".

The photos below clearly show the body repair of the VAZ 2121, which has been in operation for only five years.

Restoration of the rear of the front side member

Front spar before repair

New, shiny - just like the real one

In addition to this, on the body you can expect some more "little things", namely:

Cracks in the most unexpected places

Complete loss of body parts

and car suspension elements

Since the work associated with the restoration and strengthening of the body is very laborious and takes a lot of time and effort, the restoration of a car from an economic point of view can be considered cost-effective only when it is done by hand. And this means that when buying a rotten car, even when its price is mere pennies, it is necessary to take into account the future considerable costs of its restoration.
Reinforcement and replacement of floor parts and side members are usually carried out with patches of sheet metal 3-4 mm thick.

Ready-to-Install Spar Patches / Amplifiers

Ready, with reinforced side members, car floor

After all the main deformations have been straightened, the welding work is completed, you can proceed to the final part of the repair of the VAZ 2121 body.
We carefully inspect the body and its elements for dents and chips, which, after preliminary degreasing, are covered with putty. At the moment, the plane of the surface of the car body depends on the quality of the procedure, therefore it is considered one of the most important stages.

  • After we have achieved the initial state of the body surface, we begin to grind and polish it. This process is carried out in stages - gradually replacing materials with large abrasive particles to finer processing with fine-grained sandpaper. Your task is to make the surface of the body completely smooth.

Image - DIY repair cornfields

  • We apply a primer. Primer - leveler eliminates all transitions between the filler and the metal (fills all the pores);

Image - DIY repair cornfields

  • The last stage of preparation for painting is blowing dust off the car body, degreasing and drying it. By these actions, we ensure the maximum connection of the dye and the car body.
    All that remains is to pick up the paint, paint and polish the car.

After perceiving the information presented in this article, it can no longer be argued that repairing the body of the VAZ 2121 and restoring its individual elements is an idle occupation. This procedure requires certain skills in many branches of plumbing, remarkable patience and ingenuity.
This is due to the fact that, even in spite of all the available power and capabilities of modern technologies, most of the body restoration work is carried out manually. This requires its specificity, which directly affects the cost of the work performed.
Well, since we do everything with our own hands, we “can handle all the mountains”!

Despite the fact that the VAZ-21213 is considered one of the most successful developments of the Volga Automobile Plant, like all mechanisms, it is prone to breakdowns. Moreover, the more mileage a car has, the more actively it begins to break down - this is characteristic not only of the Niva, but also of all other representatives of the domestic auto industry. Therefore, a dilemma very quickly arises - to constantly contact service centers or to learn how to repair VAZ 21213 with your own hands. With sufficient skills and "straight" hands, the latter is not as difficult to do as it seems - the main thing is to have all the necessary tools and accessories at hand.

The most common breakdowns and malfunctions

The most common malfunctions after which a VAZ 21213 Niva repair is required are:

  • Clogged carburetor;
  • Overheating of the engine;
  • Failure of timing chain tensioners and dampers;
  • Wear of the elastic clutch of the flush shaft;
  • Failure of the checkpoint;
  • Increased vibration;
  • Wear of CV joints anthers;
  • Oxidation of electrical wiring contacts;
  • Stove tap leak;
  • Body corrosion.

Some of the faults can be eliminated by yourself. For example, you can also clean the terminals from oxidation or install a new boot on the CV joint in your garage. With certain skills, you can also clean the radiator. But it is better to eliminate more serious problems with specialists - here you need certain knowledge, tools and equipment.

Image - DIY repair cornfields

Engine problems - what you need to know

The main disease of the VAZ-21213 engine is the carburetor. When using low quality fuel - and such a problem occurs at our gas stations regularly - the carburetor is constantly clogged. If fuel lines and filters are clogged, simply clean them and install new filters if necessary. But if you do not pay attention to this problem for a long time, then very soon the fuel pump will fail and then you will have to change it.

Another problem, and almost impossible to eliminate, is engine overheating. The reason for this is the unsuccessful design of the cooling system, or rather the blowing system. This is especially noticeable on engines that have undergone overhaul, since due to cylinder bore, the baffle becomes thinner and heat transfer increases. You can fight it only by upgrading the airflow system and installing either an additional fan, or replacing it with a more efficient one. But it is impossible not to pay attention to this problem - even novice motorists know what long-term engine overheating is fraught with.

Another problem that requires a VAZ 21213 repair is vibration. Its cause is the failure of one of the transmission elements. There may be several reasons for this:

  • Violation of the centering of the transfer case;
  • Souring of the propeller shaft cross;
  • Biting the SHRUS promval;
  • Wear of the elastic clutch of the flush shaft;
  • Failure of suspension elements.

As long as all transmission and chassis assemblies are adjusted, vibrations are invisible. But it is worth at least one of the parts to fail - it is immediately felt.

Among other things, the VAZ-21213 has a characteristic disease - a failure of the fifth gear gears. The fact is that this box is a modernized version of the old four-speed gearbox. There is a big flaw here - the ill-conceived design of the lubrication system leads to oil starvation of the fifth gears and they wear out much faster than others - literally after 30-40 thousand kilometers.

There is a joke that the Niva's body begins to rust even before it is bought. This is, of course, an exaggeration, but with the anti-corrosion treatment of metal it is simply a disaster - it really starts to rust very quickly, especially in those places where there is active contact with water: sills, rear door, bumper attachment points, fenders, and so on.

In order to delay the appearance of holes in the body to the maximum, it is necessary to carry out anti-corrosion treatment every year.Considering how we struggle with road icing in winter, the bottom can burn out in literally a year, if it is not processed.

Also, pay close attention to the drainage and ventilation holes - if they become clogged, then moisture and condensation begins to accumulate inside.

If you can repair the VAZ 21213 with your own hands, then reinforce the floor with an additional metal plate in the place where the distributor is attached - due to increased vibration, this area is subject to increased loads and can simply fall off.

Video about body and engine repair VAZ 21213