NEED HELP Rusted out rockers

[Stuntmanmike1977]

Hey everyone. Took my truck for inspection 3 days ago and they told me it needed inner and outer rocker panels, rear upper sway bar brackets and a couple of other things. They referred me to a body/resto shop because they don't weld. Yesterday I took it over and upon further inspection and a rust shower they said the inner and outer rocker panels and the control arm brackets would cost me around 6,300 dollars! That is not going to happen but just to keep it at least another year was going to work on the brackets alone which he could do for 800. Are rocker panels really that expensive?

 

[mrrsm]

If you have Basic Welding Skills, a Place To Work, Tall Jack Stands and Support Equipment (Drills, Bits, Pneumatic or Electric Grinder Tools) ....AND.... Most importantly... access to Generic Replacement Mild Steel Rocker Panels... then the *Doing* of this Work can be very straight forward as a simple DIY Project... VERY Well Explained and Outlined in THIS Video:

And for Canadian or American Rust-Belt-Bound Silverados....

 

[Stuntmanmike1977]

Unfortunately, I know nothing about welding. No pneumatic tools either. Unfortunately, might try to rig something up to get through the winter. Maybe I can slowly collect all the parts during that time. How it passed last year I'll never know cause these things are gone.

 

[Stuntmanmike1977]

He told me the inner panels are not available and have to be fabricated. The videos don't show how to do those but all the pieces that are breaking off are painted and I don't think the inner panels are painted, idk. Can you use rivets instead of spot welds?

 

[Stuntmanmike1977]

Accest the damage today. Scrap or fix? These are the I'm guessing inner rocker panels. The piece that I pulled out is the outer?

 

[Mooseman]

It always comes down to cost. Will it cost more to fix than get another truck? And if you fix it, will it just come back or something else that may need fixing later? Maybe it's just time to say goodbye.

My wife's cousin in NY is going through this. She has a 2009 Cadillac CTS with the infamous 3.6L. She's poured a bunch of money into it to keep it going, including the timing chain$, and it now has more problems, including a misfire. We've been telling her that it wasn't worth it but she says she doesn't have enough money to buy another vehicle so she had the timing chains done instead. It worked fine for a couple of weeks and then the misfire. The shop that did the work are idiots and can't figure it out (yeah, right!). She's at the mercy of all the shops she takes it to.

 

[Stuntmanmike1977]

That's a good point A lot to consider. The only reason I think I keep this around is don't have a lump sum of cash to go buy something else and just work on this little by little. However the rocker panels and the rear upper control arm brackets are a little out of my comfort and knowledge zone. There the 2 things I can't do. So, weighing my options and after winter, she's going to be pretty done.

 

[Stuntmanmike1977]

Hey everyone. Had an idea floating around for a bit. As far as the rear upper control arm brackets, can I take the new brackets have them welded up recessed into a notch cut out in the new piece of steel plate at the top to make up for the added thickness of the plate that's longer than the small rot hole and bolt the entire assembly to the frame using 2 high strength bolts all the way through on each side of the bracket 4 bolts per side. Will have a steel plate on both sides of the frame like a sandwich effect. Will that hold for a while or just weaken the frame with the extra holes added?

 

[Stuntmanmike1977]

Something like this.

 

[Mooseman]

I can't make the mental image of it but if for you it makes sense, it should work as long as the position of the arms are the same.

 

[Stuntmanmike1977]

Just to get through winter, there almost gone and driving on them it's making it worse. I was just concerned about the size bolts going through the frame. Just didn't want to compromise it further. I'll see if I can make it work and have the bolts removed and have the plates welded on.

 

[Stuntmanmike1977]

Working on my fuel tank straps and took a better look of the rockers. Don't think I can cover this up.