Rusted floor boards in Lancaster, PA...want to learn to weld

[jtkratzer]

My 96 XJ went in for inspection yesterday and it needs a repair on the front and rear floor boards on the driver's side. I originally was intending to sell it as I really don't need a diesel truck, my wife's car, a diesel car I drive, a motorcycle, and the Jeep. I know I'm not going to get a lot for it with 238,700 miles on it, but it runs great, everything else is good, it's the 4.0 and 5 speed. My dilemna is that I put a new clutch, flywheel, master and slave cylinders in with the clutch, steering gear box, and power steering reservoir less than a year ago. It's had a new battery, alternator, catalytic converter, plugs, wires, etc within the last couple years as well. Even with all that I have put into it, this rust is preventing it from passing the state safety inspection, so to keep it or sell it, the repairs need to be done, otherwise, it's a couple hundred bucks for scrap/salvage, and I'm not interested in that route either.

It's been years since I've touched a welder, almost 10, and even then it was very basic stuff. I don't own any welding equipment.

I'd like to tackle this project rather than fork over several hundred dollars to the shop for basically tearing out and putting the interior back in. The quote I was given was about 95% labor and a few bucks for the sheet metal. Quote is $400-$500 in labor plus the sheet. If that's "cheap" for the job, and I should just dump the cash, I'm open to recommendations.

I've been wanting to learn welding basics and if it costs me about the same amount of money to get the gear and do it myself, I'd rather do that since I have to spend the money anyway and I'd end up with the tools.

This doesn't have to be an immediate fix. The XJ is not a daily driver any more and I'll have space in the garage to work after this weekend.

What I'm asking of you is help on recommending tools/equipment and if someone is nearby that could lend a helping hand or show me the way, I'd be most appreciative.

I'm going to pick up the Jeep today and I'll get some pictures from the underside and post to give a better look at what I'm facing.

I also have access to a MIG welder I can rent for $40/day if that's a better option than buying something right away.

Anyone interested in teaching me a skill and helping out? I've got cash and beer (commercial and home brew) as an incentive.

Thanks in advance.

 

[souske]

First thing: look into taking a class at your local community college.
How serious are you about becoming proficient in welding? Do you just want to do basic stuff like floorboard repair/tacking stuff together, or do you want to be building steering/suspension links eventually?
For a basic, cheap welder my HF 110 flux core hasn't let me down. I've run 9 pounds of wire through it so far, and it was heavily used when I got it.
The one thing to not mess around with is your mask. Get a good autodarkening unit off the bat, it will make learning that much easier.

 

[jtkratzer]

First thing: look into taking a class at your local community college.
How serious are you about becoming proficient in welding? Do you just want to do basic stuff like floorboard repair/tacking stuff together, or do you want to be building steering/suspension links eventually?
For a basic, cheap welder my HF 110 flux core hasn't let me down. I've run 9 pounds of wire through it so far, and it was heavily used when I got it.
The one thing to not mess around with is your mask. Get a good autodarkening unit off the bat, it will make learning that much easier.

I don't plan on lifting this Jeep or really off roading it. It's been a great, reliable vehicle to take into the woods for hunting and fishing as well as winter driving conditions.

I'd love to take a class at a community college, but that's not in the immediate future. I have a 2 year old and another on the way and I have a bedroom I need to do some work in (split it into two rooms) so my daughter has a bedroom and can move out of the nursery room.

I'm in the Marine Corps reserve and one weekend is gone every month. I just have a lot of other stuff going right now to try and commit to a class, but I have no idea what's even involved, I haven't looked into it.

To answer your question, right now, I want to do this repair. I have a 1/2 barrel brewery system that some welding skills would come in handy when I'm ready to modify/build my new stand. But that's down the road.

 

[souske]

No worries, life gets in the way sometimes.
If you can't find someone local to help out, the HF unit is only about $120 new. Not gonna build a battleship with it, but for home use it gets the job done. Not as prett as aa real mig, but if the carpet is going back over it, who cares?

 

[js_customs]

I could probably lend a hand, but unfortunately the welder I usually use is buried in my parents garage...I did my floors last winter, the hardest part was figuring out what settings the welder needed to be at so I didnt burn through the floor.

 

[jtkratzer]

I think the simple solution at this point, with everything else going on is to just pay to have it fixed. I can buy a welder down the road and since I do have stuff I want to work on with my brewery and I need to be able to do sanitary welds, I'll probably invest in a unit that does MIG and TIG after getting some classwork done at a school.

Since my wife is pretty adamant about selling the Jeep, actually, insistent, I think the quickest way to get it ready for sale is to pay for it. With my diesel truck, I have a 4x4, it's not the same a Jeep, but it handles the snow and can tow/haul way more and I really can't justify the space to keep it.

 

[chedisme]

its really not too hard. I cut my floor up when i did my atlas, and welded it back together and it was the first mig welding i had ever done. I had some experience with a stick welder but not much more then sticking a piece or two of 1/4 together. I still dont think im all that good at it, but it gets done.

just go slow with sheet its really just a bunch of tack welds. alittle tack here move to the other side, another tack, and gradually join the whole seam. at least that's how I did it.

money is tight for me and i would rather put the 500$ toward a mig/tig machine, plus with 200K+ on the jeep I imagine that 500 bucks would be a good chunk of the money you would have made from the sale.

if i was closer I would offer to help.
just my .02

 

[pajeepman]

You could also was cut out some metal and pop rivet in in place and seal the edges with seam sealer, caulk, etc. You could also fiberglass them, with resin and some fiberglass cloth. Either is cheaper than $4-$500.

 

[fsj-earl]

Drop me a PM. I am in Middletown, PA, have a decent garage, MIG welder and just did some major floor repairs to my XJ last summer.

 

[GI-John]

Make sure you check around the leaf spring mounts. Mine were rusted around it to the point of being unsafe. I'll be parting mine out due to the cancer.

John