My rocker panels have been suffering from metal cancer for awhile now; so instead of just fixing them I decided to make an even bigger project for myself <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" /> Took the magic blue box and removed the rock slider to reveal the damage.








With the slider removed, I taped out a cut line:




Be mindful that the speaker wires are close to the top of the rocker panel... I wasn't <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />




With the rocker panel completely cut out, I was surprised at the number of drain tubes that exit directly into the rocker. You can only see one at the far end of this picture; but there are 5 total. Its amazing these things don't rust out within a year of production!




Now that the panels were completely out, I could make cuts to allow space for the slider's legs to move up:




The problem with just cutting out the rocker panels is that it leaves gaping holes at each end that enter up into the body (note another drain tube in the picture):




Four separate pieces were cut to fill in the two holes, then roof caulking was used to fill in all seams for weather-proofing:






And then rubberized undercoating on everything for further protection:

[img]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y80/strawmyers/Rock%20Sliders%20Project/IMG_0922.jpg[/img]


Next task was to make the rock slider fit into its new home. This involved lopping off both ends and also cutting out a section to clear the bulge where the seat belt retractor is housed:

[img]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y80/strawmyers/Rock%20Sliders%20Project/IMG_0916.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y80/strawmyers/Rock%20Sliders%20Project/IMG_0918.jpg[/img]


Here you can see where the slider will end up. I accidentally marked both ends of the slider to be trimmed at the measurement the front end needed; so it was too short. Not a huge deal as all I had to do was cut a chunk from the trimmed piece and weld it back into place:

[img]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y80/strawmyers/Rock%20Sliders%20Project/IMG_0917.jpg[/img]


This picture shows the original height of the rock slider and how much higher the new location is by comparison. Roughly 2" higher and hugged into the body better. I did leave ~ 3/4" gap between the slider and remaining rocker as they do flex under heavy use:

[img]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y80/strawmyers/Rock%20Sliders%20Project/IMG_0929.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y80/strawmyers/Rock%20Sliders%20Project/IMG_0928.jpg[/img]

Finally was all of the odds and ends stuff. Capping off the new ends and clearanced area and repainting, as well as cutting new ends on the legs to clean up the cuts from the plasma and get the angle correct:

[img]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y80/strawmyers/Rock%20Sliders%20Project/IMG_0933.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y80/strawmyers/Rock%20Sliders%20Project/IMG_0927.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y80/strawmyers/Rock%20Sliders%20Project/IMG_0932.jpg[/img]


Didn't actually get the slider welded into place. There are a few little issues to address yet and I just ran out of time. The project ended up taking WAY longer than I had anticipated... probably 15 hours for just this one side. That wasn't pure fab time as it was done it bits and pieces. A lot of time was spent looking for things, stopping/starting, working out unforeseen issues (like fixing audio wires), oh and taking care of a girlfriend with the stomach flu:

[img]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y80/strawmyers/Rock%20Sliders%20Project/IMG_0923.jpg[/img]

I'm hoping that with the lessons learned from the first side the other side will go much more quickly. Especially since the weather has gotten much colder the past couple of days and the barn still isn't heated or insulated. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Nice job Sean... are the drain tubes now open to the elements and any idea where they come from?

As you mentioned, hopefully the other side will go quicker now that you know what needs to be done... although, I have heard that working in the cold can numb the brain senseless. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/nana.gif" alt="" />

Van <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/patriot.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

I suspect that at least one of the tubes comes from the sunroof; but I'm not really sure. I didn't really take the time to trace their origin to be quite honest.

One drains from the windshield wiper area. One from the sunroof. Not sure where the others might be from <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Decided to celebrate officially being in my late-20's by taking the day off of work. Got a lot of stuff done, including the driver's-side rock slider project. Here are some shots with fresh (spray) paint on the body and rock slider:





Overall, I am very pleased with how things turned out. Its re-motivated me to want to get the other side done, now. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Looks good!!

Looks nice and even... excellent job <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />
Should add another 1-2 MPH on your top speed. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/nana.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

Happy Birthday also. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

Van <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/patriot.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

Alright, 70mph here I come! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> Thanks for the compliments, guy <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Got the passenger's-side done. It ended up being more work (more on that later); but still took me less time than the first side since I already had solutions to many of the surprises. This time I removed the speakers/crossover BEFORE cutting out the rocker:




One thing I didn't anticipate was the amount of rust. The body mount on the driver's-side rusted out years ago and the passenger's-side has not; so I assumed the rust would not be as bad this time. Boy was I wrong. The rocker panel was rusted out well above my intended cut line:








A filler piece was cut from a rust-free portion of the removed rocker and welded into place. Then bondo was applied to even things out. Let me take a moment here to say I hate working with bondo/body filler. Really, I hate proper body work in general. If it goes much beyond a 2x4 and some spray paint, I start losing interest rather quickly <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/notooth.gif" alt="" />






The seatbelt bulge was very rusty as well:




I cut it out with the expectation I'd have to rebuild it. Come to find out the actual seatbelt mechanism is pretty high up and I could just leave it as-is. I wonder why they chose to make the bulge so deep? Maybe it become necessary space if you ever need to remove the seatbelt mechanism... guess I'll cross that bridge if I come to it. One nice thing was that with the bulge cut out I could cut one long piece of metal to box in the holes up into the body instead of several small pieces:






Even though the bulge was removed, the slider still needed clearanced... on both ends this time, actually. The legs are the same length as the driver's-side; but for some reason still made contact with the body. My guess is that the body and/or frame is jacked. Really, I KNOW the body is jacked because it has some small creases where its torqued slightly. With some of the action its seen off-road, I am not surprised:




The rear ABS modulator is also on the outside of the frame on that side, right by where the rock slider was welded on. I had to remove the modulator and its associated skid plate (which was impressively beefy for an OEM piece) to cut the slider off. Couldn't just have it hanging by the brake hardlines for fear of kinking one; so I put a large c-clamp on the frame and zip-tied the modulator to that:

[img]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y80/strawmyers/Rock%20Sliders%20Project/IMG_0938.jpg[/img]


Jumping way ahead, that piece could not go back in its original location once the slider was moved up or the hardline would be constantly rubbing against the slider's leg. Easy fix was to redrill the holes in the skid plate/mount down about 1.5" to move the entire assembly up on the frame. Of course, all bolts got a good coating of anti-seize before going back in. The original mounting location put everything flush with the bottom of the frame. Now they are up higher and even better protected:

[img]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y80/strawmyers/Rock%20Sliders%20Project/IMG_0953.jpg[/img]


The final steps were the same as the first side. Tack the sliders in place, then check check and recheck that everything is correct before burning them in solid. Tape everything off, lightly sand the area to be painted and wipe down. Primer, primer sealer, and 5-6 coats of "bright red" spray paint. This time I painted the slider first and in hindsight shouldn't have knowing that I was going to paint the body the same night. I hit it with a hair dryer until it seemed set up well enough; but several areas still got newspaper stuck to them when I taped the slider off to paint the body. No big deal, a couple of days with moisture should take care of that. And with that, this project is officially done! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

[img]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y80/strawmyers/Rock%20Sliders%20Project/IMG_0950.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y80/strawmyers/Rock%20Sliders%20Project/IMG_0954.jpg[/img]

I really like it. It looks almost stock - like, all nice and tucked up in there. I wish I could do the same thing with my Rodeo, except for the fact I have no sliders, no garage, no welding tools or experience, and no time. Well darn. But thanks for posting up some nice work.
Rob <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />