Hello from Maine! I have questions about rocker panel replacement.

[ArcticChef]

Hello I am not going to do too much introduction I own a 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac, and live in Maine! lol Well I basically joined because I am looking to sell it and was hoping I could get some advice on fixing up the rocker panels. They are pretty badly rusted out and I included pics. I dont have the money to take to a shop and my dad has done some rust repair so Im hoping we can do it and increase my chances of selling it.

 

[ArcticChef]

Maybe I should have just said hello and posted this in another forum but I was hoping I could just get some quick advice here. Do I need to replace them all together or can they be repaired by removing the rust and bondo or something?

 

[Joe Dirt]

Well, it depends on how much time and effort you want to put into it. You're showing the backs, and the covers that you can buy/modify aren't going to be for the back of the rockers, only the metal face under the plastic shroud.

If you get another $500 for it, will a few hundred in parts, plus filler, paint, and all the labor involved going to be worth it?

It might help to know more about the truck to see if the work is even worth it. Without knowing about the truck, we have no idea if it is a 60,000 mile rig that is otherwise mint and has $4,000 in recently replaced parts on it, or a 200,000 mile truck that needs a bunch of stuff. It changes the answer.

 

[ArcticChef]

Good Point Joe Dirt. It has 154K miles, the brakes pulse pretty bad I think they just need to be ground. and it may need shocks and/or struts. Other than that it runs great and drives fine, it is just our only vehicle with baby #2 coming next month so we are looking for a more economical car.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! I've renamed your thread, and moved it into the 2001-2005 Sport Trac section.

 

[OffTrac]

There's not a cheap easy fix that will actually cure the problem but if you're just trying to hide the rust a little for a better sale, remove the running boards. They're adding nothing to the value of the vehicle in that condition and only detracting from it. That will reduce the immediate "there's rust" factor.

I don't like the idea of hiding issues with a vehicle during a sale but since there is really very little you can do cheaply to fix the rust at the seams underneath, removing the running boards removes some of the cosmetic rust that doesn't really hurt the functionality of the vehicle but would certainly hurt its value.

Detail it and have the interior absolutely immaculate. It's obvious that a Maine vehicle is likely to have some body rust on a 12 year old vehicle. I don't think you can do much to cheaply cover that fact but you can show that it was a well maintained vehicle with a clean interior and engine bay.

 

[Joe Dirt]

I agree with OT- remove the step bars, and I don't see anything wrong with pulling the plastic cladding, spraying some primer, and some topcoat- that's normal. It's not like you're passing it off as a rust free vehicle like the seller did on my old '97. The rockers were gone, and replaced with a myriad of metal and foam. I'd make it look nice, be honest, and sell it as a 12 year old, great running Maine truck.

Off-topic, I just got back from a weekend in Maine, drove into Sidney, then flew out of Portland home... Awesome place- if people haven't been before, Maine is a beautiful place, especially if you like Lobstah like I do...

 

[01STrunner]

Off-topic, I just got back from a weekend in Maine, drove into Sidney, then flew out of Portland home... Awesome place- if people haven't been before, Maine is a beautiful place, especially if you like Lobstah like I do...

Maine is wonderful! Went on a long RV excursion through NE and ended in Bar Harbor eating lobster lol


One thing to give it a new look if you want to put a little work in is to actually paint the cladding. Krylon fusion is only 3 bucks and completely changes the look of a truck.

 

[05dakotatrac]

honestly loose the steps maybe someone here might buy them since we know what it would take to clean them up. as for the truck i would touch up the rusted fenders pretty much where the rust shows through the white. and honesty is best.

 

[ArcticChef]

Thank you everyone for the advice! sorry it took me a while I didnt realize it had been moved. (though I do understand and appreciate it.) First of all I must admit I do not live in "that" Maine lol I live in Northern Aroostook county, which I encourage those of you unfamiliar with to look up for fun lol. I have it listed on local sales pages on facebook and am being VERY honest about the rust, mayeb too honest including the close ups on rust in the pics lol. But I figure if a person is interested in the vehicle being honest then they wont be suprised when they look at it and back out. I think I will remove the step rails since I actually had considered removing them anyways (just dont feel the truck is tall enough to even need them.) and I would do my best to remove what loose rust there is but on drivers side it is so bad that might be enough for the cladding to fall right off lol. I will most likely just sell as is since the rest is in great shape and even in "fair" condition it lists in KBB for around $4500 since it is pretty well loaded. I dont suppose anyone on here is interested in a Maine vacation to come buy it?! lol

 

[ArcticChef]

Ok I got in there and started investigating. Upon just lightly pulling on the molding it just fell right off with the inner and outer rockers crumbling away almost entirely. I have read and searched all over and can not seem to figure out how to get replacement rockers for my truck. I have heard I can use regular explorer rockers, I have heard they have to be ordered from a dealer, and I have thought about just getting metal and making my own. Can someone please give me some advice here. I dont have money to take it to a shop for this so Im trying to figure out how to do it on my own. I dont have a welder and can not weld so Im just going to pop rivit metal on and then bondo the seams and rivits and make it smooth.

 

[ncranchero]

Your parts can only be Sport trac parts. Regular Explorer parts will not fit. The only place you can get them is from a dealership and they are H I G H as you have to buy more than you need.

If I still had my parts truck I could have cut out the rockers and sent then to you, but it's gone. You'll need to have a salvage yard up there find them somewhere outside of the rust belt, have them cut out and shipped to you.

The 211A10 outer panel is like $700 but the 20402 inner rocker is only $60 or so. These are prices I got several years ago so you know they have increased. You might grab an inner, rivet it in and patch the outers but it's all going to be a temporary solution.