VW T4 RHD Multivan - Mag feature :-)

Next job was a full service and cam belt. Got a local garage to do it as I didn’t really have time or space. When I picked the van up it was really sluggish to start - the garage said it needed new glow plugs which was a bit suspect as it was starting fine before. A quick Google revealed the likely issue to be the fuel pump timing. The garage seemed pretty clueless so I did some research, purchased the correct timing kit with DTi and stripped it down and refitted the belts on my drive.

That was Xmas 2019 - roll on lockdown and started a few more jobs!

Whilst giving it a wash I hit the wheel arches with my jet wash which revealed a couple of minor bits of corrosion which if not dealt with would be problematic in the future. Aswell, the underside of the van was solid but had quite a bit of surface rust, the wheels were really rusty, as was the rear X member and spare wheel carrier. Next job was a strip down of the rear end, jet wash, wire brush, rust treatment and seal.

I used Bilt Hamber Hydrate 80 on the rusty areas and bits, followed by Dinitrol brushable sealer then a coat of Dinitrol brushable underseal. Pretty impressed with the Dinitrol products, went on well and still looking good. As lot of the bits were hidden by the rear bumper I gave them a coat of black paint to provide some extra protection.

That's a really clean looking van - very nice.

Lovely looking van

Interior works for me.

Fantastic machine. Well done!

The next step was to start dealing with the rust, the front inner wings were pretty straight forward - wire wheel, bit of Deox Gel, zinc primer, Dinitrol sealer and a coat of paint - 2 coats of hammerite on the outside and a coat of 2k primer and 2k top coat on the inside. Had the front cross-member blasted and powder coated for £80 as well (although since found out a new one is only £120).

So final update for now and pretty much where I’m up to at the moment. Had some rust around the top of the B pillar, have already given it a go with the Deox Gel with good results, will give it a couple more coats to get all the rust out, the gel works well in tight areas like this. This pic is before the Deox was used.

Had a few spots of rust on the B post so stripped the paint off and again used the Deox Gel - I did buy a replacement panel for the lower section of the B post but it’s looking like the Deox will save it. I had previously treated the rust on the B post with Hydrate 80 6 months ago so it was disappointing that it had come back.


Had a few bits of rust on the arch and sill, original plan was to treat and paint but once I started digging I found some holes. Was going to do some patch repairs but after some advice on here I decided to remove the arch and sill completely. I have new inner arches, outer arch and sill to fit. Although a bit more time consuming, overall easier to just replace the whole lot. In a previous life I was a qualified panelbeater so nice to be able to continue to use the skills I learnt all those years ago :-)
So where I’m up to is that both arches and sills have been removed, some rusty areas are being treated and I’ll hopefully start welding after Boxing Day. Will post some more pics of the progress as I go[

So much work

Worth it in the end.

That’s it really, could have left it a few more years but better to do it now before it gets too bad, the NS inner arch is quite badly corroded under all the underseal so really needed doing. I didn’t buy it as an investment but pretty sure it will only go up in value from now on

Nice to see you are preventing the rust before it gets really bad.