It has started!! Rocker sliders!!

As title states, I have started fabing my rocker sliders.

The rockers are/were rusted out and I figured I'd build them up a bit.

MATERIALS:

1.5" x 3.5" x 3/16" rectangle

1" x 1" x 3/16" angle

3" x 3/16" flat stock


Lengths are cut to fit.

Started by removing the doors. Then cut the old rockers out. I had to cut out a hollow section at the B post area and cut/bend another section that protrudes to the outside.

Once that was done I was able to fit the rectangle at the top. I drilled holes and plug welded the angle to the pinch weld measured to have a 3" gap from the bottom outside edge of the rectangle to the outside edge of the angle. Plug welded and continuous welded the top of the angle to the inner rocker (no pic).

I still need to get the 3" flat to weld in and fab the end caps, prime, then bedline. Next will be the left side. I won't do any sort of write up on it, same as this.

Probably next spring I'll measure and get some 3/16" plate to go from the pinch on the rockers to the frame rails to cover and reinforce that area. I'll be going from the front of the rockers to just in front of the rear lower control arm mount.

I'll add more pics as the project progresses.

Now...pics:

Drilling holes and welding on your Jeep makes it yours.....


Dave

Not to threadjack, but are those Falken Wildpeaks? What do you think of them?

HoosierJeeper said:

Not to threadjack, but are those Falken Wildpeaks? What do you think of them?

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Yup. The AT3W's. I have no complaints with them. They have handled all road conditions without issue. Haven't been offroad with them yet though, but hopefully will soon after I get the rockers and other maintenance done.

To go even further, I actually recommended and put them on my daughters JK.

If I were you, I'd spray the inside of the new rockers with cavity wax before putting the end caps on. Did you use weld thru primer or any sealant for the weld seams?

No primer as of yet. I'm going to spray primer on what is there now before I put the 3" flat on. Being 3/16", even without primer or even paint, it'll more than likely outlast the Jeep anyway. Besides, I can't pull the extra cash from the wife for any more non-necessity things anyway. I just went ahead and cut the rocker off so there was no choice but to replace them. She wasn't happy about it, but got over it and I'm not going to try to push it too far.

Understandable. I was just curious. By attacking the project I can only imagine you've welded rockers before though, and being that you're in the salt belt much like I am, you probably know that newly welded material is a Hotspot for corrosion if not properly treated. Weld thru primer may not always be successful at prohibiting new welds from rusting, but if used properly it does pretty well.
Not trying to knock you, just letting you know for future reference. It's just a zinc coating that you apply to the weld areas, clamp your metal together, and remove from the weld zones with a finger wheel so that it covers everywhere but the immediate weld zones.
I mean, if you're in somewhere like Arizona where rust isn't a problem, not a big deal.. but just the issues we have to deal with for choosing to live where we do lol
I'd imagine you've seen welded on rockers rust out within a few years when people just throw something on and weld it. My jeep was t-boned on the passenger side and got a new rocker over there (along with doors, etc.) And it was before I was in collision repair.. that new rocker rusted out in 3 years, while the oem drivers side has very little rust comparatively..

Yup. I agree completely. I have done rockers before as well as other areas. I was (expired) ASE certified for autobody, but no longer work in that field, except for my own tinkering. Jeep has 140,000ish miles on it now and I mainly use it for winter as I have a lowered '14 Maxima I drive in the summer.

My main goal, if you will, is to keep the KJ for winter and offroad when I can, the Max for summer, and in 2-3 years trade in the Max for a Ram. The KJ would then only be used for the bad winter days and offroad, as the Ram would be the year round daily.

I'm not sure how far I'll go with the modifications on the KJ, especially with the higher mileage on it now, I just can't stand the rust holes and figured I'd beef them up while I was at it.

A little more progress. Got the flat welded in and the filler, primer, bed liner ordered. Just need to trim the excess off the rear, fab and weld on a cap, clean up the bottom edge, prime, bed line, then on to the left side.

Going to use All Metal filler to fill the weld joint from the flat to the rectangle instead of filling with weld and grinding again.

End trimmed and cap on. Fab work done on right side. Just waiting for the filler, primer, bed liner to arrive then right side will be done. Waiting game now cuz I don't have the room to do the left side till right is complete.

Last but not least, right side done minus assembly.

That's a real cool color combination. I like the black with the black interior. Nice touch.

Finished. At some point in the next year or so I'll get a door to take care of that rust.

Screw it, fix the rust, you've already got the bedliner! just do from the body line down..

GunnerSchenck said:

Screw it, fix the rust, you've already got the bedliner! just do from the body line down..

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Thought about it, but it's rusted through the skin. More than likely that's what I'll end up doing though.


Welp, after discussing with the wife, and her refusal to spend any more than necessary on the bodywork, I'll be fixing it. Which I agree with due to the fact it'd be $300ish to replace the door and it's not worth it.

At some point, don't know when, I'll add to the pics here to show the final outcome.

Ayeeee (biggthumpup)
That's too bad it's cost so much.. picked a door for my old taurus from a yard up my hill for $40

The best I'm finding a door for is $100. No telling what shape it's in either. Clean looking doors seem to be $200+. Then I'd still have to have it painted to match, probably $100-$150 (guessing). So, yeah, it's gonna get fixed the best I can without welding anything in. The seem is too rusty to weld, so I'll clean it up, fill, then bedline it.

That *****. NE Ohio.. spend some of the saved money by coming out here to pick up a door! lol but I'm sure it'll turn out anyways. Could also use a us neutralizer on it first too. Rustoleum of all companies, actually has a really good brush-on rust dissolve that they sell at walmart.. used it a couple of times in the past few years and always extremely surprised by it.. pretty sure it's just phosphoric acid in a bottle though lol so careful with it. Really good option for budget projects.

Well, ended up having to cut 3/4 of the length of the door skin and about 3" up and weld in new steel. There was no pinch left.

No pics of the process but here's a finished one...until next year when I need to fix the rust on the roof at the third brake light.

Didn't take a pic of the left side (where rusty door was fixed) but looks the same as this one.

Looks good man! So you've got the same issue as me with the area around the brake light..
Now you just need to bed line the bumpers to match!