Just got an XM! ['92 TDi Estate, J71 MCW]

[gwolfski]

Sad day, got the update from the garage. Rotten. Floors where the subframe joins are rotted out. Rot all the way up from the jacking points, strut(?) towers can be pierced with a screwdriver. Garage deems it "not worth it" to repair. It's a shame because the only other major problems are the hydraulic leak and a small engine oil leak.

[Dieselman]

Pretty normal stuff on an Xm, but you have to decide whether to either fix it yourself, pay for it to be done, dispose of, or break it down.

[Flegmaatikko]

Do you have any pics of how bad it is? Breaks are so rare that I would personally try to save them.

[gwolfski]

Pretty normal stuff on an Xm, but you have to decide whether to either fix it yourself, pay for it to be done, dispose of, or break it down.

Don't have the skills for the first, got little budget for the second, I'd like to avoid the 3rd and 4th at all costs.

Do you have any pics of how bad it is? Breaks are so rare that I would personally try to save them.

I'll be getting some once I go back down to collect it

I think I'll end up putting it in dry storage so it doesn't get worse, and start putting *more* money aside.

[Dieselman]

If you have some space, buy a welder and some metal and start your journey.

[gwolfski]

I actually do have an old arc welder, but pretty much anyone I talked to said you need a mig for car panels. I'll look into it again, I do even have another victim- I mean, project car that I could practice on (lada niva if curious)

[Dieselman]

Car panels can be welded using arc if you are patient and use very low current, but Mig is much, much, easier.

Many years ago, I welded new sills and floors into a very rotten Mini 1275GT using a cheap buzz-box Arc welder. It was strong enough to pass an MOT and probably saved my life two days later, when my friend crashed it heavily. The collapsing of the front stopped when it reached the new metal.

You could convert the Arc to Tig by adding a gas delivery kit.