Rocker panel rust/rot how to fix without welding?

[MrsB5585]

Hello all. I own a 2004 Jeep Liberty with a little over 109K miles. I'm trying to keep this Jeep as long as possible but my downfall are the rusted/rotted rocker panels. I do not own a weld or have anyone to help me fix this. I have school aged children and recently became a widow. I used to help my husband work on our Jeeps on minor things we could handle. I don't have his Jeep as a backup I had to sell it to get by paying bills (he had a 2008 Wrangler and I wasn't a fan of it, lol).We put a lot of money into my Jeep, the engine was rebuilt and the head gaskets were replaced, etc. I have seen slip on rocker panels but I would like to hear some advice/opinions on here, please. Thank you all in advance.

 

[MrsB5585]

Delete/ignore. Moved to approriate thread.

 

[cas123]

I have been fighting this rust for going on 7 years. The inner rockers are a bear to deal with. I want rock sliders but we do not yet have a garage or a lift to put them on. Just bought a new Liberty to try and prevent the same with. Mine have all been fiberglassed and masked to hide them and get me through inspection. I got cosmetic covers to hide the patchwork that I have done over the years. I bought rockers but they are the outer rockers and once I saw how bad the inners were there was nothing left to weld to, so I sold them. Jeep did us dirty with this. Water collects in there and rots them from the inside. I have lots of research and pictures and have looked at many options over the years. If you can afford to get rock sliders placed by a welder using some channel steel that would be your best bet. There are posts on here of how people have done it. I have lots of pictures saved but most are from this forum. I am also in PA. That rusty metal all needs to go and steel needs placed for safety. The outer rockers you can always put new ones on - they sell them as I said. But with nothing to weld to, it is useless. The inner rocker area needs replaced. Best option if it is running well is to find a weld shop that can put steel there for you and you can provide outer rockers from Ebay or something. Going to cost a couple grand though. Some steel like this maybe. Where are you in PA?

 

[MrsB5585]

I have been fighting this rust for going on 7 years. The inner rockers are a bear to deal with. I want rock sliders but we do not yet have a garage or a lift to put them on. Just bought a new Liberty to try and prevent the same with. Mine have all been fiberglassed and masked to hide them and get me through inspection. I got cosmetic covers to hide the patchwork that I have done over the years. I bought rockers but they are the outer rockers and once I saw how bad the inners were there was nothing left to weld to, so I sold them. Jeep did us dirty with this. Water collects in there and rots them from the inside. I have lots of research and pictures and have looked at many options over the years. If you can afford to get rock sliders placed by a welder using some channel steel that would be your best bet. There are posts on here of how people have done it. I have lots of pictures saved but most are from this forum. I am also in PA. That rusty metal all needs to go and steel needs placed for safety. The outer rockers you can always put new ones on - they sell them as I said. But with nothing to weld to, it is useless. The inner rocker area needs replaced. Best option if it is running well is to find a weld shop that can put steel there for you and you can provide outer rockers from Ebay or something. Going to cost a couple grand though. Some steel like this maybe. Where are you in PA?

I guess it's time to say good bye to this Jeep. It's only going to be worth between $500 - 1500 for a trade and to spend the money for parts and labor for the rocker panels both inner and outer isn't worth it. Let alone it needs new tires. Thank you for your response.

 

[cas123]

Yes the only other option is the redneck repairs like I have done with fiberglass. It would buy you some time. That is why I did it with mine. You cannot have sharp edges and you cannot have holes going into the cabin. Other than that, there is nothing that says they have to look nice. But unless you have worked with fiberglass it is kind of tricky working upside down, and it is not cheap. You need a lot of it. People will rally against it, but you know what? Some cars are made entirely out of fiberglass. And eventually the rust stops because fiberglass is waterproof. But it is a lot of work. Here are my cosmetic covers- I painted them with bedliner to hide the fact that they are just cheap aluminum. Now the rockers under them are fiberglass and quite solid, but they look like crap after being patched up and crushed once on a lift. So I put these covers on and seam sealer at the ends. Right out the road from me is Ohio and they do not have inspection. They could drive with rusty rockers out there and no one would blink twice about it. https://rustrepairpanel.com/shop/ol...-b-series-1993-2011/v/RCK-PNL-KIT-FOR3-JP-LBR

 

[cas123]

By the way, I am a 64 year old nurse. If I can crawl under a car and do this stuff, anyone can. But I do have the advantage of a son who taught me to fiberglass. He does restoration and has taught me a lot. I cannot weld though, at least not yet. If you decide to take on the rockers, just reach out for support. I practiced with fiberglass on cardboard until I got comfortable with it. Hard when you are busy and I would not blame you for giving up. I thought last year was the last one for my Liberty but then I found another on Ebay and bought it from Florida so I have both now. My retired disabled husband is taking the 04 for now. Still need the 4WD for winter around here.