Pulling The Dent Out From The Sill .

[DamirGTI 325]

Hello !

 

Need some help regarding this :

 

Someone hoist up the car by placing the jack on the sill surface and made a real mess out of it , i tried to pull the dent out by opening the front part of the sill , pic :

 

 

... and then i push a round bar/tube inside the sill and tried to prise the dent out from inside , i did push it out a bit (was worse before then as it is now on the pics..) but i can't reach deeper down with a bar cos theres some sort of bracket inside the sill (near the entry , where i open it ..) so theres no space for pushing a larger dia. tube inside.. and deeper down up to the area which is squashed inwards ..

 

This is how it looks :

 

 

 

 

Also , what can i use for finishing the outer surface after pulling the dent out ? If i'm not mistaken body filler can't be used on these areas , or is there any other way of repairing this ?

 

Thanks !

Damir

[welshpug 1,622]

best way would be to replace the outer section, while its off you can straighten the inner part.

 

Or, bodyshops use an attachment for a slide hammer that they can spot weld to the panel to pull it out, not sure if they would be strong enough to do the sill as its thicker than a normal bodypanel.

[Tom Fenton 1,525]

Bloody hell, looks a mess!

 

You could either weld a stud on, or screw a self tapper in, and then use a slide hammer to pull the dented bit out. Then either weld up the hole or cut the stud off when you've done.

 

I don't see why a light skim of filler would not work there. As with any filler its down to surface prep and cleanness when you apply it. Then get some proper stonechip to paint it and copy the factory finish.

 

Check out this topic- http://forum.205gtidrivers.com/index.php?showtopic=89052

[toddydal 1]

you can either buy a new sill and just replace the bit you need or like tom said with the slide hammer or if your really tight you can cut it out bang it back in to shape then weld it back on skim it with filler and then stone chip

[Emmy Seize 8]

Well, that looks ugly indeed!

 

I would probably go for a replacement section as well.

 

What I would normaly do is:

 

Find a piece of metal tubing that has the desired shape of the sill.

Then drill and cut a thread into it (alternatively drill a hole and weld a nut into it).

 

Open up the sill (a small window where the sill is undamaged) and drill a hole into the deepest area of the dent.

 

Slide the prepared piece of tubing into the sill. If neccessary, weld a piece of wire to it to enhance reach.

 

Turn a screw or a bolt into the tubing and proceed with a slide hammer or a dentpuller.

[DamirGTI 325]

Well i must skip the option regarding the replacement sill (cos i'm a bit tight with the money , time and garage space for that job now ..) , i'll try slide hammer method and pull the dented areas out as much/best as i can then filling with body filler , sand down entire sill surface , rust converter , painting , stonechip etc. (i'll fit some side skirts afterwards as i have a few in my garage , nice/decent design skirts ... they will cover up the sill so that this section wont be visible )

 

Regarding the filler , was under impression that it'll be chipped of if applied on this area because of the "flying stones" from the front tyres during the driving ... which will be banging on this the front sill section

So Tom , any kind of filler (ordinary body filler) or some reinforced type filler perhaps ? (such as fiberglass reinforced)

 

Thanks !

Damir

Edited April 26, 2008 by DamirGTI

[toddydal 1]

at work if weve got a bad dent and cant get it out we use bridging filler its like fiber fill and its got a lot more build ,use this 1st as it will fill the dent in more or less one go then use normal body filler over the top,doing it this way 1st saves using loads of bodyfiller,the bridging filler is really for holes but we use it for filling dents on sills and wheel arches

[DamirGTI 325]

Nice one will do as you said

 

Thanks !

Damir

[boombang 2]

you might be able to get to it from inside the car - there is a hole entering the sill under the carpet beneath the seat.

[Paintguy 0]

Well as usual I'm entering a thread way too late, but I'd just like to agree with some of the advice given above.

 

There's absolutely no reason why you can't use filler on a sill, just don't use it to cover up rust, lol. Providing you apply it over clean, shiny metal, you'll have no issues with it.

 

I'd certainly prefer to pull a bit more of it out first though, but if you haven't got the tools for the job, then there's not a lot you can do really. A stud welder and slide hammer would be ideal, but buying them would probably cost more than having a new sill put on I'm never keen on drilling and inserting screws for pulling. I know that it's a widespread method, but I just don't like putting holes in metal where they aren't needed (yet more potential rust traps to worry about).

 

I'd certainly agree with using a bridging filler for your first skim. Something like U-Pol 'B', or Isopon P40 (same thing, different tin) would be ideal, and finish it off with a regular body filler if you need to (stonechip has great filling abilities, so you may not need to bother).

[DamirGTI 325]

I have so much to do on the car so i really must skip replacement sill for now , i know that it doesn't cost much but i have major rust problem on the floor and that's on top of the list priority's ...

 

I've been cutting and welding for a last few days and i'm still not even near the end with the floor bloody rust

 

Thanks for advice anyway

Damir