Pickup bed taking off ally and sealing underneath, replacing

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rollercoaster
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Pickup bed taking off ally and sealing underneath, replacing

Post by rollercoaster »

Water has been leaking into the locker box area from the bed,
planning to remove the checker plate aluminium, seal it all up and replace it again.
Is there a thread about this kind of thing, what should I use?
Wouldnt want it to drip into the boxes on hot days..
But do want it to penetrate and prevent rust..
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Re: Pickup bed taking off ally and sealing underneath, replacing

Post by Aidan »

The chequer plate was probably fitted to conceal the state of the load bed or to niceify it; I'd wait till you've removed it before making any decisions; if the 8mm captive bolt holes at the front of the load bed are open then water will find it's way in through them, take a look from inside the locker, you can fit a bolt with some sealant from below to block those off, originally they had a plastic cap screwed in from the top; in fact take a good look at the load bed from below becauseif the van originally had the wooden slats fitted to the load bed then there will be 10s of 6mm holes in the troughs all letting in water that gets between the plate and the bed

it's likely the chequer plate won't be flat when you remove it so will take up more space than you think and refitting it will be a mare trying to line up the old rivet holes and re-secure, it might be easier to get new sheets cut, and then pay particular care to sealing when refitting

maybe one of the rubberoid load bed protectors as a top coat on the load bed before fitting the chequer plate, or even instead of it if the load bed steel is good and forget the chequer plate

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Re: Pickup bed taking off ally and sealing underneath, replacing

Post by rollercoaster »

Thanks, good advice, and you can imagine I have been thinking about this job for a while, actually since I got the truck.
So yes, of all the rust problems it looks like the worst, even though I can't see it!
I had carpet in the locker boxes, (standard, its a Tristar) so that was wet and removed,
a nice surprise it wasnt rusty underneath, although there are startings to rust in various places in there.
Generally I dont think it will need any welding, just lots of cleaning and "curing" and further prevention.
The last owner had the chequer plate off and treated the bed with engine oil, replacing the ally.
I wish he had taken just a little more time and lavished it with more of something to make it waterproof.
But what? Some sort of thick gunk that won't dry up, crack and let water through all the various holes.
Underseal of some kind?
I will put the ally back on as its great protection, I am often carrying stuff that would damage the steel bed.
At least ally can take some scrapes and doesnt need protection.
With the steel under it, its very strong too..
After the sealing under it I will again seal the edges and any spare holes.

Can appreciate it might be a 'mare to refix but the time spent will pay off in the end.
Planning to use bigger rivets redrilled, with washers under and sealant, carefully countersunk above.
Also its aesthetically good as it has an ally headboard under the rollbar and ally drop sides.

I have taken to regularly painting the truck liberally with waxoil type stuff or WD40,
chasing the water and rust away faster than it appears!

So what to put under the ally? Do you mean what they call Gorilla paint?
If so I wonder if it needs treating first and if it would stick to the treatment.
I was more thinking of an all in one rust treating underseal of the Dinitrol or Bilt Hamber varieties.
Sounding knowledgeable but actually not done it before or had experience of using them..
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Re: Pickup bed taking off ally and sealing underneath, replacing

Post by ssdt »

Some good information on these threads my project doka has only a few holes on the deck unlike when l had single cabs which were working vehicles all had ash timber slats and were riddled with holes allowing water into transverse lockers l have had chequer plate made to cover full bed up to the engine access this has also an upstand at the front taking advantage of the full stock sheet .across the engine access l have 3 pieces which all line up symmetrical .l will be painting deck with galvafroid ,then intend using adhesive to stick down the ally ,at the front my canvas tonneau frame will along with a screw at the rear will be the only mechanical fixing .my local bus makers Alexander of Falkirk use adhesive readily in fitting out their buses .l am fortunate in that my Doka was an escort vehicle and the load bed and drop sides are all virtually straight

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Re: Pickup bed taking off ally and sealing underneath, replacing

Post by DokaHarryVW »

Hi. I am in the process of buying a 1990 T25 Doka and have one initial question (with probably many more to come 8) ).
Please can anyone tell me the bolt size of the bolts that fix down the engine lid that is on the bed?
"Lets torque about Volkswagens"
1990 VW T25 - AAZ 1.9TD Doka

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Re: Pickup bed taking off ally and sealing underneath, replacing

Post by Aidan »

DokaHarryVW wrote:Hi. I am in the process of buying a 1990 T25 Doka and have one initial question (with probably many more to come 8) ).
Please can anyone tell me the bolt size of the bolts that fix down the engine lid that is on the bed?


M10, depending on what the engine lid is made of and drilled you might want countersunk ones for a flush finish, plenty of people just use hex head bolts and washers and have them protrude

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