///Manuel
Active Member
- Joined
- December 12, 2002
- Messages
- 96
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Denver, CO
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 92 XLT
After looking at the other DIY rocker panel repair on this forum (linky), I decided to go purchase an angle grinder and go at it. This is my first detailed DIY, I have to say I was fun doing it and didn't take me as much extra time as I thought it would.
I was quoted $1,500 for the job at Maaco and was able to get them down to $1,000 eventually with no paint job. But it was still too much for me and I thought the work would be fun.
First, I put the explorer on jack stands and removed the rear wheels for easy access.
Then, I pulled (by hand) whatever was left of the rusted dog legs (there wasn't much).
Put on my respirator and grinded away the rust, cut off about 1/2" to an inch from where the rust was.
After the grinding was all done, I noticed some surface rust all the way down inside both rocker panels.
I purchased a garden spray bottle with wand for $10 at Lowes and filled it up with rust converter (or reformer).
The rust reformer came in a can and I had to drill out the spray tip to empty it out using a straw.
I cut the sprayer wand and reconnected it with a clear flexible hose about 5 feet long purchased at the same Lowes.
That way I was able to spray rust reformer well inside the rocker panels as well as up inside the dog leg.
Once all of this was dry, I made a backing plate out of stainless steel which I polished and expoxied on whatever was left of the original backing plate.
Then I sprayed undercoat behind the plate and primed what would become the inside of the dog leg and rocker panel.
Next was the dog leg alignment. I used clamps to hold the dog leg in place while I tried lining it up with the body panels and the door.
It looked fairly good from the start. I had to cut a little bit more of what was left from the original parts.
I also bent the parts to make it looks the best. I bent the metal by hand for the most part.
I used a combination of cut-off wheel combined with the angle grinder and a pair of tin snips to reach in narrow places.
I drilled a few holes in the various parts and temporarily attached them with screws.
Once I was satisfied with the shaped of the new dog leg, I removed the screws and expoxied the leg to the body panels and secured it with rivets.
To cover the small hole towards the rocker panel, I cut up a steel plate and shaped it using a hammer. Again I used epoxy and rivets to secure the plate in place.
Both sides were done with similar techniques.
I used bondo-glass to fill in the gaps and smooth out transitions.
Now the toughest part was to fit cutom plates onto the back of the backing plate and the dog leg.
I had to cut two pieces to make the job easier. I had to curve one pretty much by hand so it follows the original curve of the fender. I then used steel epoxy to secure both plates in there along with rivets.
Used bondo-glass on everything and sanded down.
When all the parts were in place and no more metal work was needed, I used regular bondo to mask the remaining imperfections.
Then sanded some more (it was not easy to sand inside the wheel well.
And finally applied the primer.
Took me a few days, it wasn't as bad as I expected. I thought I would run into problems but I never really did.
I think it turned out very well.
I was quoted $1,500 for the job at Maaco and was able to get them down to $1,000 eventually with no paint job. But it was still too much for me and I thought the work would be fun.
First, I put the explorer on jack stands and removed the rear wheels for easy access.
Then, I pulled (by hand) whatever was left of the rusted dog legs (there wasn't much).
Put on my respirator and grinded away the rust, cut off about 1/2" to an inch from where the rust was.
After the grinding was all done, I noticed some surface rust all the way down inside both rocker panels.
I purchased a garden spray bottle with wand for $10 at Lowes and filled it up with rust converter (or reformer).
The rust reformer came in a can and I had to drill out the spray tip to empty it out using a straw.
I cut the sprayer wand and reconnected it with a clear flexible hose about 5 feet long purchased at the same Lowes.
That way I was able to spray rust reformer well inside the rocker panels as well as up inside the dog leg.
Once all of this was dry, I made a backing plate out of stainless steel which I polished and expoxied on whatever was left of the original backing plate.
Then I sprayed undercoat behind the plate and primed what would become the inside of the dog leg and rocker panel.
Next was the dog leg alignment. I used clamps to hold the dog leg in place while I tried lining it up with the body panels and the door.
It looked fairly good from the start. I had to cut a little bit more of what was left from the original parts.
I also bent the parts to make it looks the best. I bent the metal by hand for the most part.
I used a combination of cut-off wheel combined with the angle grinder and a pair of tin snips to reach in narrow places.
I drilled a few holes in the various parts and temporarily attached them with screws.
Once I was satisfied with the shaped of the new dog leg, I removed the screws and expoxied the leg to the body panels and secured it with rivets.
To cover the small hole towards the rocker panel, I cut up a steel plate and shaped it using a hammer. Again I used epoxy and rivets to secure the plate in place.
Both sides were done with similar techniques.
I used bondo-glass to fill in the gaps and smooth out transitions.
Now the toughest part was to fit cutom plates onto the back of the backing plate and the dog leg.
I had to cut two pieces to make the job easier. I had to curve one pretty much by hand so it follows the original curve of the fender. I then used steel epoxy to secure both plates in there along with rivets.
Used bondo-glass on everything and sanded down.
When all the parts were in place and no more metal work was needed, I used regular bondo to mask the remaining imperfections.
Then sanded some more (it was not easy to sand inside the wheel well.
And finally applied the primer.
Took me a few days, it wasn't as bad as I expected. I thought I would run into problems but I never really did.
I think it turned out very well.
: 
