Rusty Rockers / Weld in rock rails (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Jun 1, 2017
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Location
Appleton, WI
I should be acquiring a 99 100 series this weekend. Up here in MI, of course rust is an issue. In my case, the truck is very good outside of the rockers. I'm looking for input to see if anyone has gone to the extent of cutting out the rockers and installing square tube sliders in their place on a 100? Similar to the results on this 60 in this thread Rusty Wagon Rebuild

It also appears to be a common Cherokee thing, doing some youtube research.

In case you're wondering, this thing is just a comfy runabout / towing upgrade on my 80 series. It has 300k + miles, but appears well maintained, runs sewing machine smooth outside of a small exhaust leak when cold, fresh tires, and a documented timing belt within the last 20k. Interior is in nice condition, and it has rear locker. Solid if I can find a simple fix for the rockers. The rest of the rust is small surface rust nicks that can be easily repaired. I have no illusions of this thing becoming a show car.

So, any input? I'll update the thread early next week if everything goes as planned over the weekend.

Thanks
 
Have not seen this done on a 100, but I will be following the thread. My 100 is slowly loosing it's rockers and at 300K miles I can't stomach the cost of a rocker replacement.

I have done the box tube rocker replacement on a Jeep Comanche (pickup version of the Cherokee) with good results. Used 0.25 thick 2x4 tube with caps welded on the ends to replace the rotted rockers. Welding the sheet metal to the tubes was difficult to say the least, but they haven't budged. Landing on them offroad will send a teeth rattling resonance through the cab.
 
Are they meant to be rocker replacements only, or will they double as true rock sliders? If they're meant to be lighter duty (no pivoting off of or slamming down on rocks) you could probably do just fine welding them to the pinch weld. If you want something heavier duty, I would think you'd want to tie them into the frame or the body mounts..
 
Are they meant to be rocker replacements only, or will they double as true rock sliders? If they're meant to be lighter duty (no pivoting off of or slamming down on rocks) you could probably do just fine welding them to the pinch weld. If you want something heavier duty, I would think you'd want to tie them into the frame or the body mounts..
Purely a heavy duty rocker replacement. You could probably hit them fairly hard, but not as hard as a frame tied true rock slider. The techniques used on cherokees say weld to the pinch (once you find solid metal :bang:)

This truck will probably never be a rock crawler. My purpose is a good reliable daily that I can tow with from time to time. My 97 80 series is significantly nicer condition as far as rust is concerned, and will see the most potential future investment.
 
I've done it on a Grand Wagoneer. It's going to be considerably more involved on the 100 because the rocker flares out at the front and rear. In my case I cut the outer rocker up to the sill plate and left as much of the inner apron as I could and made lots of plug welds . I've also done a stock rocker replacement on a 73 Powerwagon. I would go with a stock rocker replacement. Not really much more difficult (other than drilling out alot of spotwelds) , looks better and preserves the value of the vehicle.
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