Great Lakes 4x4. The largest offroad forum in the Midwest banner
Cancel
Create thread New Garage Forums

XJ Rocker Panel Replacement

Jump to Latest
19K views 11 replies 9 participants last post by  SHARPMACHINE  
#1 ·
I'm not going to go through a lot of fine details on this one as there are already a lot of good write ups on this. I'm just going to show my spin on it.

I used these two write-ups for reference:

http://www.myxj.net/blog/?p=13

http://projectxj.com/mods/rocker.replacement.htm

I didnt want to do the same old rectangular tubing replacement. I wanted something that would allow me to boat side my XJ in the future if I decide to go that direction. I also wanted to make sure I tied the rockers into my interior cage and the "frame".

Here's what I started with on the drivers side
Image


Here's what I started with on the passenger side
Image


A little massaging on the passenger side to straighten it out some :sonicjay:
Image


Here's the new rockers (upside down). 2"x4"x3/16" as the base, 1.5"x1.5" angle to weld to the pinch seam, and 4"x1/4" plate to finish it off. Ends were capped when done and all exposed welds were ground smooth.
Image


Cage tie-ins at the A and B pillar (1.5"x0.120 tubing, same as cage)
Image

Image


Frame supports (1"x2"x1/8" - 4 places). Eventually I'll be plating the frame and hopefully adding a sheet of 3/16" plate over these to boat side it.
Image


Finished pics, unpainted
Image

Image


I took one hit to them on the drivers side this past weekend on a rock. Not a real hard hit but enough to wake me up. No damaged at all to them except scratched paint.
 
#3 ·
How'd you do the cage tie ins? Weld the tube to the rocker reinforcement, then cut a big hole in the sill and push it through and weld to the cage?

Wanna do mine next time I'm out that way?
 
#5 ·
ahh considering it took me about 40hrs to do mine we'll have to see. most of that time was repairing body damage. but we gotta get your cage in first.

cage tie-ins were a nightmare. i used a hole saw to go through the inner rocker. then used a sawzall to cut a flap (flaps were bent back when all finished). tack the tubing to the new rocker and see if it all lined up. made adjustments and final welded them to the rocker. then once the rockers were all set welded them to the cage and welded the rockers to the body. the frame supports were added once that was all done.

how did the passenger side go with all that carnage?

did you consider making them stick out a bit further than the body to prevent further damage?
Click to expand...
passenger side took a majority of the time. i tried my best to get it straighted out. the pinch seam wasnt damaged to bad but the door sill/B-pillar were a mess. I think there is still almost a 1/2" bow in the door sill.

some time soon i'm going to add either round or square tubing to get me a little further away from harm. i had planned on doing it this go around but ran out of time. tubing can easily be added in the future.
 
Great Lakes 4x4. The largest offroad forum in the Midwest
posts
4.2M
members
32K
Since
2005
A forum community dedicated to Great Lakes 4X4 owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, trails, tires, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
Off Topic Lounge (The Pub) Parts Classifieds Rig Builds and Pics Jeep Tech General Member Classifieds