Aerostar with crushed rocker panels from incorrectly putting it on a lift.

[DarylJ]

Another surprise today with the "new" Aerostar. Before the rant starts, let me say that this car is 99.9% rust free. But, that could change. This afternoon, I took it to a local service station for it's first oil change under my ownership. I'm standing there during the whole event, and upon lifting it I discover that the rockers are crushed just forward of the rear wheels. The guys who lifted it today knew not to lift on the pinch welds, but it appears that the shop that did all of the routine service on it prior to my ownership didn't know any better than to lift there. Result is an area about 18 inches long on each side that is absolutely flattened, plus the rocker itself on each side is pushed up about 1/2" on both sides for the same 18". You really can't see if unless the car if upon a lift, that's why I hadn't noticed if earlier. Amazing that it hadn't begun to rust yet, but this is probably because this van was rarely driven in winter so salt hadn't done any damage....yet. But, here in the salt/rust belt that will change unless I fix this mess right away. The PO was an elderly gentleman who evidently wasn't aware of the damage, otherwise I'm pretty sure he would have complained to the perpetrators. So after returning home, I googled around the web, only to learn that this is a huge problem for Aerostars, as they are very susceptible to rocker damage whenever they are lifted on the pinch weld. So, prior to visiting with one of the local body repair shops, I'd like to ask if anyone here has had their Aerostar rocker panels repaired or replaced. Easy? Expensive? Leave them alone, or go ahead with the repair? I'm inclined to repair as they aren't yet rusty, so adjacent areas are solid yet. To not repair will sooner rather than later mean the start and advancement of the rust monster. Your thoughts?
It's a 97 XLT AWD with 109K, extra clean.

 

[BrooklynBay]

I don't know if it's worth repairing since there's a chance that it might get damaged again when a shop puts it on a lift.

 

[DarylJ]

The shop that I use doesn't have those types of lifts, so I'm not worried that it would happen again if I had them repaired, at least while I own the van. At minimum I'm going to drill some small holes in the damaged areas to enable spraying some anti rust solution inside them from time to time. However, the labor cost to replace the rockers may be the single reason to not have them replaced, but it remains an unknown until I obtain a cost estimate from an auto body shop. Will post the estimate here when it happens, so anyone else reading this forum having damaged or rusted rockers has a general idea what the costs would be to have them replaced.

 

[don-ohio]

I lift mine on the flat area just inside the rocker panel at the rear wheel. don-ohio

 

[Josh P]

Treat the metal so it doesn't rust and call it good. Roll/spray on Bed liner works great on the underside of a car, and it takes a lot of abuse. Diy kits are reasonable at the auto parts stores.

 

[DarylJ]

I have a supply of "Fluid Film" that I will be spraying wherever rust can form. Works pretty good at keeping it from forming.

 

[rv4fun]

I keep a printed copy of the lift points in the glove box with the lift points highlighted. I tape it on the steering wheel when I leave it for service. I've also painted the pads on the frame with high visibility paint. Dumb ***** don't pay any attention - you can't fix stupid.