Removing and replacing rusted Cherokee rocker panels. They aren't that difficult to do, just time consuming. I purchased the new rocker panels from ebay.
Well... thanks to this video I cut out my old panels, built new inner rockers, and trimmed and installed new rockers. (Rivets upon rivets upon rivets!!) I used the trimmed off tops of the outer rocker panels to make the inside rockers. Had JUST enough. Passed inspection this morning. I did the worst side first...Not sure why, but I'm glad I did. I zoomed through the other side as a result! Anyway. Thanks again. BIG help. We need more guys like you and videos like this.
thanks man, for the inner panels, I used 2 long pieces of angle steel in a bench vise so the jaw surface was about 3' wide, and I used that as a sheet metal bender. It worked pretty good. I didn't really cover that part of the repair, because at the time I had no idea what I was doin... hahah!
if you have issues with burn through, or holes you want to fill, get a copper welding spoon and use it as a backer. the weld won't stick to the copper, and it adds some thermal mass to reduce burning. works well on corners too. they are cheap and very handy.
I am purchasing a 01 cherokee tomorrow an it has fairly severe rocker panel rust, this is by far the single most informative an helpful piece of information i have foun as far as what is actually involved in replacing the rocker panels, a very throurough and well-made video, thanks alot.
Awesome easy to understand and grasp video man. Thank you. Working on my first project with a 97 jeep Cherokee sport and your video was wicked helpful. Thank you.
Great video. Heck, I've got a nice garage and lots of tools and I was worrying about tackling my rocker panels. You did it in the yard. LOL! Regardless of whether I weld or pop rivet, you did the best job of showing how the inner and outer panels come together in a pinch point. Thanks!
i bought the outer rockers, and there was a lot of extra steel on the that I cut off... I didnt want to replace all the door sill and everything else... if you look at your rocker panel pics, and look at my panels, you can see what I cut off.. I just re-used those cut off pieces to fabricate the inner panels. I used a vise, and 2 long pieces of angle steel to make the bends. it was quite easy to do. just two, 45 degree bends.
The gutter side(right side) is always the worst and with most of my cars/trucks I wirebrush everything underneath down to bare metal and undercoat it, it's a great way from preventing future rust. Great video by the way.
This is a wonderful video. Best I've found, by far, for a project like this. Thank You! I just put my Jeep on the ramps and am ready to start cutting the old rockers out. Have NEVER attempted anything like this before, only Bondo & fiberglass resin repairs. Seems that the hardest part of this project is making the inner rocker panels or "pinch welds" as you refer to them. I see where you have cut the rockers and have used the excess for this part. Any tips on that as it it not really covered.
Thanks for this video. I'm needing to replace both rockers on my wife's Liberty and I'm thinking it should be pretty similar. I was only hoping that I could get an idea of how the rockers were attached at the factory. I'm imagining a bunch of spot welds that I'll have to grind through. How did you remove yours from your Cherokee?
Really nice job you did. Take a garden pump pressure sprayer and fill with some thinned out old engine oil and spray all the frame channels and the under body. It will save the rest of the jeep from rusting away. If you still have it.
To be fair, I’d never thought about using rivits for this, but it’s a decent idea, given that the panel isn’t at structural and is totally facia only. I’ve been looking for a decent welder to do this for me for over 2 years now - I might just give this a go! Thanks - good shout!
Well done video. I am in the process of doing this. Like to pop rivet myself, don't have a welder and can't afford to have it done. It's an older car and won't last forever, but the rockers are gone, and this is the best fix for my needs. Did you use steel rivets, I heard that you should only use steel rivets for body work, since the aluminum touching the steel will cause early rustout. I wonder if that's the case. Thanks for the good video! Oh ya, I am encountering cold weather and trying to get this done, have also been using the heat gun. Also those rainy days are stopping my progress.
Good stuff. I have a 97JGC and the outter and inner rocker on the driver side are completely rotten. So I'm just looking around to see whats involved. Thanks for the vid.
great job ! thanks for the info . I need to do A couple of my cars.wasnt quit sure how to go about it .THIS VID HELPED ME ALOT THANKS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I actually did the whole underside of the jeep. it took a while, but it wasn't that bad under there. But it was defienetly starting to rust around the rear shock mounts
This a video is just about replacing the steel. The underside has been undercoated multiple times with a rubberized spray on coating, and the top section was done with "seal-all" sealant, and truck bed liner. it's sealed...
I know its not related to the video but how did you mount your CB whips on your Cherokee? My brother made a bracket for his Grand Cherokee and drilled it into his Back Trunk door.
You should for sure make a video about your CB setup, I almost missed the antenna at the end there, you make some sort of bracket off the rear tail light mount? I know that is what I will do for my Explorer sometime in the future.
How did you get the edge of the remaining part of inner panel (pinch seam) so straight and vertical when you cut the bad part of it out? How did you get such a clean cut?
here in the UK you would have to seam weld all joints and no pop rivets the bottom edge spot weld would have to be on the factor spaces. I really do wish I could repair my vehicles just like that its good enough in my mind to stand up to most stuff.
I live in the desert - my Jeep is a classic, seeing the damage from up East no wonder everyone tries to buy it. Thanks for the video, will have the leave the Jeep in the desert where it belongs or coat the underside.
when i did mine on my blazer i used Fiberglass on really thin spots. Then we filled the rockers with foam, and panel sealed all the way around any gaps.
