Outriggers

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classicclara
Posts: 31
Joined: Wed Jul 02, 2014 6:29 pm
Location: East Anglia, UK

Outriggers

Post by classicclara » Tue Jul 15, 2014 8:43 pm

Hi.

Just been told by a mechanic that the bulkhead outriggers and centre outriggers on our P4 need replacing. He wants £600+ to replace them...is this an average price for this work and how important are the riggers to the structure of the P4s.

Cheers!
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roverdriver
Posts: 46
Joined: Fri Oct 10, 2008 9:36 am
Location: Victoria, Australia

Re: Outriggers

Post by roverdriver » Thu Jul 17, 2014 10:30 am

I must admit that I have not needed to do such a replacement, we have minimal rust problems in Oz, but contact with a P4 parts recycler should provide you with outriggers at a relatively low price. They are, AFAIK a simple bolt on job, but then the bolts could be well rusted and take a while to get off.

The outriggers are fairly heafty forgings, and I doubt if they would be so corroded as to need replacing.

A second opinion should be sought before you go any further.

Dane.
Dane, roverdriver, not a Viking!
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paul williams
Posts: 236
Joined: Wed Sep 24, 2008 12:47 pm
Location: Telford,Shropshire
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Re: Outriggers

Post by paul williams » Mon Jul 21, 2014 8:30 am

Hello,

the outriggers on a P4 are prone to rot and rust because they collect water and rubbish over a period of time. It is not strictly true that a P4 has a bulkhead in the true sense of the word. The outriggers, or chassis legs, extend out from the main chassis to provide support and mounting points for the body of the car. The outriggers also carry the brake master cylinder and handbrake mechanism. If they are badly corroded then this can affect the mounting of the body. The outriggers are not bolt on items, no part of the P4 chassis is bolted on as it all seam welded. The only exception are the jacking tubes which bolt onto the outriggers but they form no part of the car's strength.

Replacement outriggers are available from a number of P4 suppliers (about £50 each) but they will need to be welded in place, see the following link for a description of how this is done.

http://www.roverp4.com/outrigger.htm

I have replaced front outriggers on a P4 and it is a time consuming job as a great deal of the car has to be stripped and it is difficult to weld the new outrigger on because of the small gap between the chassis and the body.

You did not say which outriggers you were quoted for, I think that the price you have been quoted may be a good price (especially for 4 outriggers), but you should check with the repairer exactly what they intend to do, if it includes all the replacement parts, plus if required, removal/replacement of the brake master cylinder and handbrake system ( make sure if it does that the handbrake box is replaced at the same time ) and replacement of the body mounts and final painting and rust proofing it is a good deal.

Note: if the body mountings are replaced, which should happen if the outriggers are replaced, this will mean removing the rubber covering on the door step sills and you may find that they will need replacing as well.

Best of Luck

Paul Williams
1929 2litre Saloon
1934 P1 10HP
1951 Rover Cyclops
1974 P6 3500
1998 LR Discovery I


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