Rocker Panel Replacement - No Welding, No Bondo

Like many people, I had to do this project in my driveway with some basic tools. I have about $300 in the whole project, not including the tools. I bought full panels at $125 each on amazon. I have another $50 in paint, primer, rustproofing, undercoating (all aerosol spray cans). You can use something like duplicolor to match your paint color, but I chose to use a 2K epoxy aero primer with black chassis paint. It actually looks pretty good with the black plastic trim and its hard as nails.

Angle Grinder w/Cutting Wheel
Cordless Drill w/Wire Brush Attachments
Demo Bar, Chisel
Clamps, Vice Grips
Rivet Tool and Rivets
Rust Encapsulater
Rustproofing or Undercoating
Wet/Dry Sandpaper and Scuff Pads
Paint and Primer


Before

After

Remove The Doors

Use cutting wheel to remove most of the panels. Wire brush all loose rust. Wash with degreaser, let dry, wipe down with prep all or paint prep degreaser. Note: I clamped the new panel in place and marked it so I didn't cut too much out.

I used a rubberized rust encapsulater from Eastwood on everything. I taped it off and sprayed right up to the marks I made. Be careful not to go too thick on the remaining out rocker. The new panel will go on top of this. You could use an encapsulater and then an undercoating, or POR15 or whatever you like. While I had everything apart, I also used rustproofing inside the doors, quarter panels, etc.

The panels came with an EDP coating which I left on, wet sanded, scuffed, 2 coats of epoxy primer, 2 coats of black satin chassis paint. The 2-part epoxy primer is a bit pricey at $15-$20 a can. I only needed 1 can. If you don't use an epoxy primer, you might need to use an etching primer on any bare metal (the panels usually have some scratches through the EDP). Just follow the directions for whatever system you choose.

Clamp panel in place and rivet under the weather stripping and plastic kick plates. I was able to rivet the underside to the existing inner rockers. If they're in bad shape, you could replace them or add a little sheet metal where needed.

That's it. Put everything back together and its finished. Oh, I was able to reuse the old weather strip on the rocker. I lined it up, marked the holes, and used some stainless screws to re-attach it.

I've found a lot of great information on this site, so I thought I'd share this project. Hope this helps somebody!

 

[CDW6212R]

The 4.0 SOHC is a quality motor, that is why you still see plenty of 2nd 3rd and 4th gen explorers on the road most of them 4.0 equipped not to mention rangers and sport tracs(granted you take extra care of the motor). Ive got 295,000 on my original motor, never had to open the motor, haven't even replaced any of the timing drive yet. Ive only had to replace most of my engine gaskets with the exception of head gaskets and block cradle gasket. I supercharged it around 200,000 and its still runnin strong and I am currently working on building a 4.0 to 4.3 or 4.4 stroked and m112 blown V6 and also building a performance 5R55E. Id like to see somebody with a highlander or land cruiser say the same. I wont include Honda pilot in that because I know that thing wont make it that far. Although I will say based on the quick bit of research I just did the land cruiser does seem to have a beefier chassis frame. but the highlander and land cruiser and pilot are unfubugly. Explorers look so much better. Plus if you wanna talk vehicles outside the ones mentioned Ford alone definatly takes the cake in build quality compared to Toyota and Honda.

But as far as this rocker panel build goes he did do a decent job even though its not structurally sound but its prolly not worse then some of the rusted to hell rocker panels ive seen on our explorers. He still does have the option to do some spot welds. He could go to harbor freight and grab their cheap spot welder and do his spot welds. If it were me I would definatly adhere it to the forward section of the front door jamb and the rear section of the rear door jamb and the B-pillar and most likely even the bottom of the door jambs and then spot weld to the underside pinch weld and spot weld under the sill plates. I really really wish I could find rocker panel replacements like this for my 2001 explorer sport 2dr. All I can find are the stupid slip on knockoffs. If anybody knows where I can get the official rocker panel replacements I would greatly appreciate it. Or even if somebody down south is willing to go to a junkyard and cut out rockers for me from an 01 to 03 sport Id pay decent money. I'm looking to have the full rockers cut at the floorpan up to the bottom of the door jambs. Ill post a picture illustrating kind of what I'm looking for.

Rocker Panel Cutout

• Devan
• February 9, 2018

You just need to get serious about finding a good donor truck, and crank up the sawzall.

I like adhesives for bonding two surfaces together, but as the OP did, there needs to be stronger connections like welding, or screws where it's not truly structural.

I overlapped and welded the floor area, but the rockers and pillars have multiple layers, and had to be butted together, welded along the seam.

 

[imp]

@CDW6212R I just read through this entire thread, old as it is, and feel compelled to add 2 cents. Regarding sheet metal rocker panels, no matter whether they are strengthened by rills, bends, creases, or other gussets, I see little occupant safety effect due to side impact collision, IF there is a stout frame backing up the body sheet metal. Litigation notwithstanding.

When I was a teen, my Dad driving our 2 month old '59 Ford Sedan four-door, we took a driver's side impact while standing still by a '58 Chevy full-size which had been speeding, left 90 feet of skid marks before impact, which threw our car sideways at least 25 feet. Guessing now, impact velocity ~35-40 mph. My Dad, holding onto the wheel, had the inner part of his door wind up just short of crushing his left had. My Mother bounced around the rear seat, had the imprint of the window crank roller on her lower back. I was in the front passenger seat, grasped the inner door handle, as we saw it coming 3-4 seconds before impact, my Dad yelling, "He's gonna hit us"! BOOM!

Wrap-around perimeter frame, the hit was dead center, the doors center pillar caved in at least a foot, over the frame, the front-seat was stout enough (bench seat) to drive the passenger side pillar out about 4 inches. North Riverside Auto Body, suburb of Chicago, repaired that car such that the doors closed BETTER than new! Could absolutely no way tell it had been so damaged. The frame was not bent. They jacked the bent upper body structure back into position, repaired the crease in the roof panel. The left side rocker panel had become basically a part of the frame, it did nothing to protect us. Repair cost was $2,200. I swore I'd never get into doing collision repair! imp

 

[CDW6212R]

Good story, and I'm glad it had a relatively happy ending. Cars don't protect us the way we imagine, if possible make things better, always.

BTW, what happened with the countless Chevy trucks with the gas tank along the side, outside of the frame rails? Did they ever recall any of those, and what year models were those? That wasn't a smart design decision.

 

[imp]

Good story, and I'm glad it had a relatively happy ending. Cars don't protect us the way we imagine, if possible make things better, always.

BTW, what happened with the countless Chevy trucks with the gas tank along the side, outside of the frame rails? Did they ever recall any of those, and what year models were those? That wasn't a smart design decision.

@CDW6212R
A great variety of makes and models of vehicles had their fuel tanks in "vulnerable" locations. Really bad, IMO, were the pickups with the damned fuel located right behind the seat. '65 Mustang had the fill tube centered above the rear bumper; the medallion was the gas cap. Rear end collision hit the tank's appurtenances first, but fortunately they did not place the fill tube's entry location down near the bottom of the tank.

It took the Pinto to catch the brunt of rear collision gasoline fires, which cost Ford plenty! To allow easy filling, unlike early Jeeps, which guaranteed gas puked all over the place, Ford attached the fill tube to the bottom of the Pinto fuel tank: filled nice, quick, easy. Collision sheared off the fill tube, ALL the fuel poured out everywhere, fire all but guaranteed.

Concensus held that location of the tank was at fault, which was used as a liability issue successfully in the courts, when in fact, most small cars had the tank in the same damned place: no one looked at the tank design, nor cared. imp

 

[RhinoQuartz]

@CDW6212R I just read through this entire thread, old as it is, and feel compelled to add 2 cents. Regarding sheet metal rocker panels, no matter whether they are strengthened by rills, bends, creases, or other gussets, I see little occupant safety effect due to side impact collision, IF there is a stout frame backing up the body sheet metal. Litigation notwithstanding.

When I was a teen, my Dad driving our 2 month old '59 Ford Sedan four-door, we took a driver's side impact while standing still by a '58 Chevy full-size which had been speeding, left 90 feet of skid marks before impact, which threw our car sideways at least 25 feet. Guessing now, impact velocity ~35-40 mph. My Dad, holding onto the wheel, had the inner part of his door wind up just short of crushing his left had. My Mother bounced around the rear seat, had the imprint of the window crank roller on her lower back. I was in the front passenger seat, grasped the inner door handle, as we saw it coming 3-4 seconds before impact, my Dad yelling, "He's gonna hit us"! BOOM!

Wrap-around perimeter frame, the hit was dead center, the doors center pillar caved in at least a foot, over the frame, the front-seat was stout enough (bench seat) to drive the passenger side pillar out about 4 inches. North Riverside Auto Body, suburb of Chicago, repaired that car such that the doors closed BETTER than new! Could absolutely no way tell it had been so damaged. The frame was not bent. They jacked the bent upper body structure back into position, repaired the crease in the roof panel. The left side rocker panel had become basically a part of the frame, it did nothing to protect us. Repair cost was $2,200. I swore I'd never get into doing collision repair! imp

Love reading your stories imp, thanks for sharing! Especially for a wee **** such as myself, really makes me appreciate how far auto design and tech has come along.

 

[MONMIX]

You just need to get serious about finding a good donor truck, and crank up the sawzall.

I like adhesives for bonding two surfaces together, but as the OP did, there needs to be stronger connections like welding, or screws where it's not truly structural.

I overlapped and welded the floor area, but the rockers and pillars have multiple layers, and had to be butted together, welded along the seam.

Do did you weld the inners?

If so how?

 

[MONMIX]

@CDW6212R I just read through this entire thread, old as it is, and feel compelled to add 2 cents. Regarding sheet metal rocker panels, no matter whether they are strengthened by rills, bends, creases, or other gussets, I see little occupant safety effect due to side impact collision, IF there is a stout frame backing up the body sheet metal. Litigation notwithstanding.

What if the impact is above the frame?

When I was a teen, my Dad driving our 2 month old '59 Ford Sedan four-door, we took a driver's side impact while standing still by a '58 Chevy full-size which had been speeding, left 90 feet of skid marks before impact, which threw our car sideways at least 25 feet. Guessing now, impact velocity ~35-40 mph. My Dad, holding onto the wheel, had the inner part of his door wind up just short of crushing his left had. My Mother bounced around the rear seat, had the imprint of the window crank roller on her lower back. I was in the front passenger seat, grasped the inner door handle, as we saw it coming 3-4 seconds before impact, my Dad yelling, "He's gonna hit us"! BOOM!

Wrap-around perimeter frame, the hit was dead center, the doors center pillar caved in at least a foot, over the frame, the front-seat was stout enough (bench seat) to drive the passenger side pillar out about 4 inches. North Riverside Auto Body, suburb of Chicago, repaired that car such that the doors closed BETTER than new! Could absolutely no way tell it had been so damaged. The frame was not bent. They jacked the bent upper body structure back into position, repaired the crease in the roof panel. The left side rocker panel had become basically a part of the frame, it did nothing to protect us. Repair cost was $2,200. I swore I'd never get into doing collision repair! imp

Are you implying that cars from the 50's and 60's are safer than todays modern cars?

 

[CDW6212R]

The "A" pillars I cut both sides of each and had good overlap to weld about double the perimeter of what butt welding would have done. The rockers matched well cut at the same place. So that is welded completely on the outside, but the one short inner seam is not welded. I wouldn't have settled for that if there wasn't a full frame. It's my work truck and was never meant to be resold.

Look at the rockers below, of my 99 Limited. There is a thickness of two layers of sheet metal, and the inner layer is away from the outer layer, in one short line/plane. That is the one line I could not weld, though of you were after perfection, you could cut open the backside to get at the inner seam, but I didn't think that was worth the effort.

 

[imp]

What if the impact is above the frame?




Are you implying that cars from the 50's and 60's are safer than todays modern cars?

@MONMIX
No. Hell, no! It just happened that the only side-impact I ever had the opportunity to be involved in as a passenger was the one I described. Today's vehicles are imo far safer. Unfortunately, more folks today seem to take advantage of that fact by driving more like maniacs! imp

 

[MONMIX]

@MONMIX
No. Hell, no! It just happened that the only side-impact I ever had the opportunity to be involved in as a passenger was the one I described. Today's vehicles are imo far safer. Unfortunately, more folks today seem to take advantage of that fact by driving more like maniacs! imp

Which is good for me.

 

[RickOTR]

(dead links)

This is the damage to the left drivers side rocker panels. What do you guys think.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Skin it and forget it.

Or.

Get intimate with a cutoff wheel and some welding.

Depends on the rest of the body and how long you plan to keep it.

 

[scl.rasc]

Like many people, I had to do this project in my driveway with some basic tools. I have about $300 in the whole project, not including the tools. I bought full panels at $125 each on amazon. I have another $50 in paint, primer, rustproofing, undercoating (all aerosol spray cans). You can use something like duplicolor to match your paint color, but I chose to use a 2K epoxy aero primer with black chassis paint. It actually looks pretty good with the black plastic trim and its hard as nails.

Angle Grinder w/Cutting Wheel
Cordless Drill w/Wire Brush Attachments
Demo Bar, Chisel
Clamps, Vice Grips
Rivet Tool and Rivets
Rust Encapsulater
Rustproofing or Undercoating
Wet/Dry Sandpaper and Scuff Pads
Paint and Primer


Before
View attachment 153275

After
View attachment 153281

Remove The Doors
View attachment 153280

Use cutting wheel to remove most of the panels. Wire brush all loose rust. Wash with degreaser, let dry, wipe down with prep all or paint prep degreaser. Note: I clamped the new panel in place and marked it so I didn't cut too much out.
View attachment 153276

I used a rubberized rust encapsulater from Eastwood on everything. I taped it off and sprayed right up to the marks I made. Be careful not to go too thick on the remaining out rocker. The new panel will go on top of this. You could use an encapsulater and then an undercoating, or POR15 or whatever you like. While I had everything apart, I also used rustproofing inside the doors, quarter panels, etc.
View attachment 153278

The panels came with an EDP coating which I left on, wet sanded, scuffed, 2 coats of epoxy primer, 2 coats of black satin chassis paint. The 2-part epoxy primer is a bit pricey at $15-$20 a can. I only needed 1 can. If you don't use an epoxy primer, you might need to use an etching primer on any bare metal (the panels usually have some scratches through the EDP). Just follow the directions for whatever system you choose.
View attachment 153279

Clamp panel in place and rivet under the weather stripping and plastic kick plates. I was able to rivet the underside to the existing inner rockers. If they're in bad shape, you could replace them or add a little sheet metal where needed.
View attachment 153277

That's it. Put everything back together and its finished. Oh, I was able to reuse the old weather strip on the rocker. I lined it up, marked the holes, and used some stainless screws to re-attach it.
View attachment 153282


I've found a lot of great information on this site, so I thought I'd share this project. Hope this helps somebody!

Can you show a link to "where to buy" the 2000 Ford Explorer XLT rocker panels? phgstudio@gmail.com Steve

 

[Mike65]

Check out LMC Truck. This is where we purchased the ones for our 99 Sport. Here is a link to the rocker panels. Front Steel Body Parts

 

[redsafi]

May be I can't see it, where are the rivet spots?

 

[410Fortune]

In the original post He said he put the rivets under where weatherstripping goes so they would not be visible

I would also use some adhesive if it was my truck

 

[redsafi]

In the original post He said he put the rivets under where weatherstripping goes so they would not be visible

I would also use some adhesive if it was my truck

Thanks, just bought the same rocker panels. Will use rivets and glue. Going to try to pull this off on my 05 Ford Explorer V8.