dog legs held in with screws

[lilredex97]

I have a 99 4 door explorer that needs new dog legs due to rust. Now with winter approaching and with other things I need to work on could I just cut the old out and rust convert and paint the rust and put the panels on with screws and weld then in next spring. I just dont want to rust to get worse over the winter.

 

[Anime]

If you just put them on with screws and don't have them on watertight, the water from snow and slush is just going to get into the rockers all winter long, and eat away the new metal as well as keep eating whatever old metal is on there too.

Generally the only real fix is either cutting off the rockers entirely and leaving off the plastic side skirts so there's no more rocker panel to rust away, or redoing the rockers and welding or filling the holes and using bedliner on the new rockers.

You could probably use drain holes to help, but without the inside of the rocker being primered/painted/bedlined its just going to rust from the inside out.

 

[MONMIX]

Exactly.

The only way that will work is to treat every thing and seal the living day lights out of it.

Any ANY bare metal WILL rust. no if's, and's or butts about it.

 

[lilredex97]

Thank yall for the replays. After searching I decided to pop rivet the patch the seal around it. Majority of the rocker is ok. Just rusted out before the weld joint under the door (4 door) the wheel well looks good. The Drivers side is the same way just have not taking off the running board to see how bad. I agree with the welding but it needs an exhaust and tires put on so I will have to tend to the body work next spring.

 

[Anime]

Well, you could always primer/paint inside the hole first, then primer/paint the inside and outside of the patch panel you will rivet to the body, the primer/paint it again, then seal it with something like silicone sealant or just throw some body filler on it and drill/pry it all apart when you decide to weld a patch panel in. More work in the long run, but do what you gotta do.