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[LaxeyStu]

Is this rust area expensive to fix when the time comes?
It is advisory now but am thinking ahead...
Thank you.

[cam.in.head]

it depends where it actually is. im guessing it means rear seat belt mounting but you will know for sure. if its where im thinking then its an easy bit to get to with rear seat removed.

[ajsphead]

Fairly standard rusty place. Remove the rear wheel and support the car securely, axle stand under the rear subframe. Remove the plastic cover panel from the lower front end of the inner arch. It'll probably just fall off with a good wiggle but you'll need to drill out the 2 plastic rivnuts from the end of the sill protector (8mm bit and go gently, new ones from Bresco). If you have to drill out the 2 securings from the cover panel to the metal you're doing Ok. Then take a pointy thing of your choice and start where the inner arch flanges onto the body panel and prod across the tail end of the sill and then work your way along the spot welded flange and just above it where the inner arch meets the floorpan.

Having done this you can answer your own question. Any welding in this area will involve removal of the rear seats and all associated bits, all the interior trim from the boot area floor and on the affected side and loosening up of the wiring looms. You can do this bit yourself and save some time. It's a straightforward cut and weld although pieceing some of the curve is a little awkward and making a nice matching fold to follow the finish of the lower edge needs a little care. You also have to be careful when you cut a slice out of the rear seat back hinge bracket, because inevitably you will. A careful good competent welder can do a good job, remembering to paint the pieces on the reverse before welding them in, wax injecting the end of the sill, and my preference is seam sealer only where needed as that's part of the cause of the problem, rust treater even when it's apparently good clean metal, 2 pack epoxy mastic, stone chip, schutz then stippled thick underbody sealant to blend the whole thing together.

A proper nice job should be achievable in 1-2 days, a nasty cheap one in 4-5 hours depending on how much has gone for a chop. Once done properly it's better than Opel made it (not hard in this respect).

Seam welding from both sides produces a more solid joint than the original. If it's the inner sill where the subframe mounts to the body that has gone through then it may well be a subframe off job. Not nice but not totally horrible either. Prod around that area too before going any further.

[Doctor Gollum]

Sorry but either the tester is blind or he's simply being a Lady bits.

No Omega has a rear belt anchorage anywhere near the outer sills... Both saloon and estate bolt to a reinforced section on the C pillar.

He might mean rust at the back of the inner sill, but you need him to show you exactly what his issue is, because the one he has given is bollaxed.

[LaxeyStu]

Thank you for replies. That is what the MOT says. I shall have to ask next time I am there.
Thanks.

[Doctor Gollum]

Actually, apologies, I have dropped a bollock...

The outer belt lower point is between the back corner of the rear seat base and the wheel arch...

If you pop in he can show you what the problem is

[Nick W]

Is this rust area expensive to fix when the time comes?
It is advisory now but am thinking ahead...
Thank you.

There's no way of doing even an MOT standard  Stick a patch over that rusty shit with the world's worst budgie shit welding without removing a bunch of trim and other stuff so you don't set the car alight.


rust is ALWAYS worse than the bit you can see; this corrosion close to seatbelt mount was flagged as an MOT failure courtesy of a small hole in the door shut:








what I know, but the MOT tester isn't allowed to dismantle to spot, is that the plastic sill covers hide corroded sills on both sides. Expect to pay for several hours work, although some sheet steel is cheap

[annihilator]

have a poke around inside the rear wheel arch,worst case scenario could look like this 



John.

[LaxeyStu]

I think it may well be like Nick W's pictures.
Thanks again.

[Nick W]

have a poke around inside the rear wheel arch,worst case scenario could look like this 



John.

that's not too bad - what you should worry about is the sort of rot I showed spreading to the subframe mounts. While I could repair that, it's likely to be just as bad above the front subframe(every Omega I saw last year was showing signs of decay there) which together would scrap the car. I see somebody has already pointed the budgie at it.

[ajsphead]

If it's still surface rust, a dremel with a flexible wand and small grinding end (ahem) will just get in there. Omega rust is like a slippery slope in the dark, you think you know where you're starting from but have no idea where you're going to end up or how long it will take.

As Nick says, it's always much worse than what you can see and you have to cut seemingly good metal away as it's become so thin you can't weld properly to it.

You might also find a gas torch, scraper and some sort of fire extinguishing equipment comes in handy when you peel off all the underseal that's not stuck down anymore and start to lift the lashings of seam sealer trapping the moisture that's encouraged it to rust in the first instance.

Just to fill you with a little more joy, one ex Omega estate I had was rusting under the mastic NVH insulation stuck to the rear floorpan inside the car.

Happy days.

[annihilator]

The car in the pic after a bit of "fettling" by yours truly now has a valid mot   

[Lizzie Zoom]

After seeing the pictures on this thread yesterday I had nightmares about it last night!

My new found friend in the form of a private owner driver body shop is sorting my rear quarter panels for me later this year to give my Omega, hopefully, a long future.  After this thread, I will be getting him, who regularly restores wrecks to new car status, to thoroughly inspect my car.  Vx technicians have given my car constantly a "very good, almost rust free" assessment at all the MOT's and general services, but from what I read from this thread, rust will lurk somewhere.  I must nip that in the bud if it is not too late!

[Doctor Gollum]

Popping the sill covers and wheel arch liners off should be enough to cheer even the most miserable sod