Is anyone interested in rocker panel replacement?

[ld50]

this is where I made my big mistake. This piece was not wide enough, even though it looks like it. Make it wider, you can always cut it off later, I had to weld a piece to the bottom of it after the rocker was installed and that sucked!!!

Hey didn't I warn you about that in my thread?

another tip I did not see in any thread on this is disconnect your battery before doing any welding. Better safe than sorry

That is a good point, I did not think of that at the time probably because I had the battery out for so long while I was modding and doing bodywork. Thanks, I will edit my thread with that point.

Thanks for sharing your work.

 

[Brian A]

Hey didn't I warn you about that in my thread?



That is a good point, I did not think of that at the time probably because I had the battery out for so long while I was modding and doing bodywork. Thanks, I will edit my thread with that point.

Thanks for sharing your work.

yea, you warned me. I just overlooked it and thought I would point out my mistake

 

[Joe Dirt]

Great job so far, Brian- I don't think I see an Aero around here without rotten rockers. Guy at work wants to do his Windstar, I'm going to let him check out your thread...

 

[Brian A]

Great job so far, Brian- I don't think I see an Aero around here without rotten rockers. Guy at work wants to do his Windstar, I'm going to let him check out your thread...

thanks man!

On those rockers, I think I know why they rot out like they do now.

There is an sheet metal brace welded to the inside of the outer rocker. The way its designed, its a water trap.

I will post a pickof the rusted out section I kept for a pattern, you will see what I mean.

The replacement does not have this, Im sure to save on cost. But there is no water trap anymore either

 

[Jeff H WV]

I wish I could have found the USA made rocker when I did mine. There was almost no rust in the inner structure on the passenger side and it would have been a piece of cake had it fit right. Only tough part was welding across the sill in the front door. I butt weld mine to eliminate any lap joints to cut down on places for rust to start. The inner brace you are talking about is where mine had the rust when I bought it. It is just like you said, almost as if they were trying to make them rust there. I left the remains of mine in there for the extra strength, but it doesn't touch the outer rocker so it won't rust it. Did you make the dogleg panel because you couldn't buy it? You also didn't mention if you had to do any patching on the braces that come down to the inner rocker. A couple of mine had to have the ends patched. You may run into that more on the driver's side.

I am impressed with what you are doing, especially with the welder you are using. I have experience with Harbor Freight welders and it wasn't good. Not having the fine heat adjustment really makes this kind of work challenging to say the least. Flux holds heat in, although it is easier to weld rusty metal with flux than with MIG.

How are you going to patch the sliding door? That big flat expanse of metal on the bottom of the door can stand almost no heat without major league warping. It would be very easy to end up with a door with 3/4" waves along the bottom if you get too much heat. To be honest, if you haven't done alot of this kind of work it is almost certain to happen. I would keep the patch as small as possible and glue it using Fusor or a similar product if you can afford it. What little metal you need, you could make the patches yourself if you could get access to a sheet metal brake for about a minute. Try to stay below that lower bodyline about 3" from the bottom.

It doesn't cost that much but you have to buy the special gun to use Fusor. I think I paid $35 for the gun. It's roughly that much more for the glue. If you haven't done the driver side yet it would work great on the top of the big one behind the door, also. You will have to battle the same warpage problems there, also. One tube of glue would be enough for both. Welding big, relatively flat areas of sheetmetal with no or not very pronounced bodylines is very difficult to weld without warping. I know professional bodymen that have problems doing it. That's why they all use glue.

Another thing you may want to think about is having the bottom sprayed with spray-in bedliner when you get done. You could probably get it to match the bumpers and have it done from the bodyline down. Good thing is if the metal rots away the bedliner has enough integrity to remain there for a good while after. Don't know if you like the look but I've seen brand new trucks with it done. It also covers a multitude of sins if you aren't happy with how it looks. The DIY stuff isn't the same as the professional stuff, though. Good luck, Jeff

 

[Brian A]

“Did you make the dogleg panel because you couldn't buy it? You also didn't mention if you had to do any patching on the braces that come down to the inner rocker. A couple of mine had to have the ends patched. You may run into that more on the driver's side."

I could have bought the panel, but its only available as a full rear quater panel. I could have cut off what I needed but for $140 for the panel, I decided to just make it.

If you mean the inner braces that run across the floor from the frame to the inner rocker, I decided just to leave that alone and spray it with a rust stop product. The are fine where they are welded to the floor, and while fixing them and attaching them to the inner rocker would provide more strength, I decided that everything is strong enough since this is not a unibody. And no one steps on the rockers getting in the vehicle through the sliding door, I dont have any rear seats in there anyway, its just me and my wife and 2 dogs so the back area is empty. I can always go back later and add that if I think its needed. Its stiff and strong now, I think it will be fine.

The drivers side is much more of an issue. I will have to replace some of the supporting metal as some of the rear heater lines are now being supported by tie straps. That’s the main reason I decided to tackle the pass side first, I figured I could learn things from that and apply them to the drivers side since that will be more involved.

How are you going to patch the sliding door?

Not sure yet. I am going to buy the panel for it. I will probably cut it off on the body line and flange and glue it, like the drivers side. I did look at the Lord Fusor products. I did find a similar product by Evercoat, it uses a standard caulking gun and has a special mixing tip that comes with each tube, I will probably go that route. I will need it for the drivers side anyway. It may just have surface rust. I have not looked that close at it but its probably going to have to be cut off with my luck

 

[Brian A]

well I ordered the last panel today and will have it tomorrow.

I did the rocker under the drivers side door, that went well. A lot smoother than the pass side since I had some experience under my belt

the last piece to the puzzle (that I could buy) is the panel on the drivers side that is between the front door and the rear wheel.

I will report back with some pics when I tear into it this weekend

after that there is a hole over the rear wheel lip by the bumper that I am going to make a metal patch for. I could buy that panel, but its the entire rear quarter and I dont want or need all of that plus its not cheap.

 

[Brian A]

I got the panel today.

its a bit different than what I was expecting. The part of the panel I was not really sure about was the top where its glued to the body. There is a line of glue there so I figured it was just flanged and glued and the new piece would have some kind of flange along the topfor gluing to the original upper panel.

wrong

the replacement panel is cut off where the bend in the panel meets the glue line.

hmmm I better take a closer look at this...

after sticking my head underneath and looking up into the body, I see now how its made. The upper part of that lower panel I am replacing is bent at 90 degrees and meets the inner body panel where its welded. The upper body panel looks like its welded to that. I am sure its to form a beam to provide strength in that big flat area. There is seam sealer between the 2 panels, which I thought was glue...

Ok so now I see why the replacement is made that way. Its made to be glued or welded to the existing piece after the orignal panel is cut off at the bend. So I will just trim it away and glue it in place. I was not looking forward to a weld in that area anyway...

The rest of the panel I will plug weld the way I have been doing the rest.

I will tear into it this weekend and post some pics so you can see what I am talking about

the one nice thing is its clean as a whistle in that body area. I did stick my head up there awhile ago just to see if it was rusted up in there, so I knew it was clean and shiny but i did not look closely enough to see how the area was constructed.

 

[TOOMANYEXPLORERS]

If your looking for a quick and easy fix, I have it. I have aluminium panels bent to precise specs, and cover up that ugly rust. Makes it looks new again. Self tapping screws hold it in place. Popped your plastic trim back on, and your done.

YOUTUBE LINK -------> http://youtu.be/QP8z3z6Eetc
Ebay link----> http://delivr.com/1j1dp_q

 

[BrooklynBay]

In your other thread I asked if you had this for the Aerostar, and you said that nobody asked for this yet. Are they available now since you mentioned it in this thread?