Cracked front inner wheel arch classie leg HELP!!!!!

[nova dar]

Right lads my van has a crack on the front drivers inner wheel arch the outside of the chassie leg I'm assuming it happened from the years of road but I dono

anyway I asked the pannel beater to weld it and I got the car back from him and he only just put a small spot weld in the middle of it but actually didn't weld the whole crack.
so I want to know will the small spot weld do fine or do I need to get the whole crack welded and the a plate put over it. like my van is 1.5d not turbo and is on coilovers will that cause the crack to spread more or not.

not my car in picture but I circled ware the crack is like It is ware I put the small white line and the crack curls around the bottom of it and up into the shock chamber a small bit.

http://i61.tinypic.com/2d0noyf.jpg

is this a common problem with novas and is it urgent to fix or not it could have been like that for year I dono.
tanks

[Jonesfach]

I would say you need to put a strengthening plate on one side and get a bit more weld into it. Don't think you should just rely on a spot weld holding it for long. Especially being such where it is. Not worth chancing it getting worse and ripping the strut out.
their is an mot guy on here, perhaps he can comment. Staggy is it?

[nova dar]

Is it a common problem in novas ???

[paul james]

I'd weld it up properly. That area is a rust trap as dirt gets flung up there and as its behind the wing out of view you'll not know its rotting until its too late. Around the shock housing is common for problems, the spot welds from the factory that hold it together can get pulled apart, especially with uprated harder suspension, and inevtiable rust weaking it. Perhaps now is the time to invest in a mig welder and learn to do it yourself, as chances are there will be more bits to fix around the car somewhere.

[meritlover]

You need to put your hand inside the turret and check that the 'box' section is still intact between the inner wing/ inside turret and the 'bubble' part of the outer inner wing.

When this goes there is no strength in that section so the stress is transfered to the next bit along which is around where you have found your crack. This is normally made worse because the engine bay is stitched and therefore stiffer.

The easiest way to fix it is to undrill the spotwelds and remove a section the length of the turret, patch the inside, then weld the outer section back on again.

If you dont bother with it now (however bad it is) it will only get worse and/or harder to repair properly. In the state the car is in, it's an hours job max.

[meritlover]

While you are at it, check the drain hole on that outer section is clear. ( it looks like a small indent on the flange) This chokes with rust and mud and helps it rot quicker. If i remember correctly its just to the bottom left of the circle where it intercepts the lower edge of the inner wing.

[bazzap8389]

I've got a pair of inner wings I could sell you :)