Rocker Rust Repair...Done Right....
I had really good results repairing rusted out 'doglegs' on my '91 Explorer. Had it done right for $200 labor, which included a complete repaint of the lower valances below the door molding, plus the cost of the steel 'patch panels'.
My experience is with complete rust-through of the 'dogleg', which is the 90 degree bend at the bottom front of each rear wheel opening. This is usually where the rust starts on these things. If your rust goes beyond/forward of the dogleg into the rocker, you'll most likely need to replace the rockers as well as the doglegs. I can't comment on rocker replacement, since I didn't have to do that.
I bought a pair of 'patch panels' that were a perfect replacement for the rusted areas ahead of both rear wheel openings. These panels replace the sheet metal at the seam on the rocker, cover the area into the door sill & behind the weatherstripping, and go as high as the door molding line on the wheel openings.
I then had a shade-tree body guy who could weld trace the patch overlay and cut out the old sheet metal. He welded the new doglegs in, and where the metal was too unstable, he riveted it. He only had to rivet along the underside of the dogleg rocker, which is hard to see. He also needed to rivet some small galv. patches in the inner lower fenderwell, since I had rust-through at those points, and the patch didn't cover this area. These patches took all of 30 minutes to do, and can be coated with 3 coats of rubberized undercoating.
The end result is great. It will outlast the rest of the truck.
Go to this link for these doglegs:
Dead Link Removed
Good luck.
Feel free to email me with any questions.
J.P.
'91 XLT..Looking good again
200k with orig. Engine, Trans, Rear, AC, Body, Interior
