Thread: Hole in Rocker :( Need help & opinions!

Rockers are both sides are in rough condition but the passenger side has a hole about 4 inches by 2 through it. I need to patch this hole to get the safety & put the car on the road (want car to get me 3 more years).

New rockers are going to cost double what I paid for the car - so they are not an option right now. I have read people using spray foam, cardboard & t-shirts lol - then bondoing over. I had done a similar repair on another vehicle once and used fiberglass (was ok).

I was thinking the fiberglass route again but not sure how well it will adhere to rusty areas, then completely soak the rockers underneath in a roofing tar - that should visually hide the cancer, then get a full oil spray. I am thinking that might buy me the 2-3 years or more? Rest of the car is in great condition.

Need opinions?

Was also thinking of taking the skirts off to inspect real damage. To confirm remove bolts on each end, then pull entire assembly away from car so it can slip out of the rocker channel that supports the bottom? There might be a clip near the front? 3M tape somewhere?

Thanks

What you want is some POR15. That stuff is paint on and stops rust in it's tracks. Then do your patch and hope that it stops there. Because the rockers on a GP rust... it's simple.

Called up the closest POR15 dealer, he said clean, metal ready and paint is $100 for a quart sized kit. Think that will be enough?

A quart is a lot. I think it would be.

When I clicked on this thread I for some reason thought you were talking about the rockers in the valvetrain, and I got all excited. But its just rust.

Originally Posted by darkhorizon

you would not need more than a pint.

I could paint an entire car twice with a quart.

Wow serious? The pint kit is much cheaper too.

So do the POR thing, then fiberglass patching or do fiberglass patching first then POR the hella out of it too?

You do the POR15 first, so that it's contacting the rust directly, so it can encapsulate it, and stop it from spreading, then you patch.

Just pulled the skirts off and broke the front F-bombing clip off of the plastic skirts. Wonder if an epoxy will bond it strong enough to reattach? Also, my sideskirts had no double sided tape (at least on the passenger side). "Ladder" rails look kinda crappy but I think they'll survive.

so what to do about broken clip? Anyone tried fixing?
Where should double sided tape go?

I use rust bullet it works better than por 15 and is cheaper 30.00 for 1/2 pint and comes with everything yoiu need.oh and it is guaranteed not to rust for 10 years