Rocker Rust Repair Options?

[AimCOtaco]

No worries anything 100 rocker related fits right in here. What they describe does sound reasonable. Their stud welder may not get the back side hot enough to damage the metallic corrosion protection as its so fast.

DJWUZJ posted a link to a product like you describe in this thread.

Got pics?

 

[SupraTuRD]

No worries anything 100 rocker related fits right in here. What they describe does sound reasonable. Their stud welder may not get the back side hot enough to damage the metallic corrosion protection as its so fast. DJWUZJ posted a link to a product like you describe in this thread. Got pics?

I'll mention the product DJWUZJ described to the body shop... thank you.

Some pics of my carnage:

 

[SupraTuRD]

The area with the black marks under the right rear door doesn't appear to be dented... just the area under the right front door.

 

[AimCOtaco]

I still haven't got around to the rockers proper but I did go after the right rear rocker/wing area. I knew there was a little corrosion in this area but didn't realize how bad it was until I removed the rear bumper and started poking at it:

The whole lower surface and pinch weld were involved and the rot went pretty far into the wheel well face. There was old collision damage that I saw clues to but with the trim and bumper off there were still some dents but other than some touch up they were not rusty so I left them alone (didn't want to pull the rear AC to get deeper access to the back side).

The inner vertical section was perforated and rusted badly as well so a lot was ground away but we ended up with another hole, this one was patched with 16ga metal.

Cut away the rest of the bottom surface and cleaned up the internal support

Rear patch in place, main patch in progress...

22 ga sheet metal was used for the outer skin...

 

[AimCOtaco]

Main patch ready to weld in...

Not to bad...

Much welding and grinding later...

Some primer...

 

[AimCOtaco]

The wheel well face...

More finishing work and done...

The bare metal and all the internal surfaces and welds were coated and re-coated several times with Eastwoods rust encapsulator. The wheel well surface was then over-coated with a 3M undercoating product. I'm optimistic that the repair will hold up for several years. The Left side is fine with just a little red showing at the lower front of the pinch weld so I think some fluid film or similar should stop that in it's tracks. Thanks for tuning in, hopefully it gives some insight into how the rear corners were constructed at the factory and where you might find rot on a 100.

 

[fumetsu]

Dismayed to find the exact same type of rot in the right rear rocker (to similar magnitudes) in my LX as well. Pretty frustrated that it's been hiding there away from my eyes for so long. Anyone know how much this may cost to get someone else to do?

 

[ponytl]

nice metal work... I think the main thing is to make sure you leave a drain hole... like you said on the fronts it was most likely packed in there and never dried out... things getting wet is not the problem... it's the not draining/drying out that causes problems... I've replaced a lot of rocker panels and always make sure I leave a way for them to drain... even after you have wand in the rust proof material it's important that the weep/drain holes stay open... in my area it's not salt but tree leaves that find their way into the bottom of fenders and stay wet and too large to pass through the drain holes..

 

[Girv24]

@AimCOtaco Did you ever fix the front of the rear wheel well you showed in your original post above the slider? I just picked up a 2001 LC with similar rust and are trying to figure out how I should construct a panel.

 

[AimCOtaco]

Nope, I'm just watching those holes grow slowly as I work on other more pressing parts of mine... the good here is that by the time I get around to it there won't be any straight body panels left to match it to so I can just cut and paste. It's a wheeling truck to the core, just hoping to keep the weather out at this stage.

 

[harrydunn]

Sorry to revive an old thread but wanted to keep this one going as "advancements" in repairing 100-Series rust occur. Has anybody welded in a rust free lower quarter panel they've obtained from a salvage 100? That's what I did on my old 80. Easy to line up and burn it in. I'm assuming the 100 patch panels will be able to be obtained fairly easily as they are salvaged, etc. Carry on!

 

[jamief]

I'm in the middle of doing rocker replacement on my 100. I'm forming my own as they're relatively simple bends to get right. My question is about the rubber plugs in the holes along the rockers. I'm assuming those were drain holes and the rubber was originally flexible and somehow let the water out? Mine are hard as rock and I don't see how they'd ever let water out. Does anyone know of a part number or a replacement for them?