Jeep Grand Cherokee WJ Rust Repair

When I bought my Jeep off Craigslist back in April,  I looked it over in the owner’s driveway and didn’t see any visible rust.  When working on the transmission, I noticed a small hole in the rocker panel, and I figured I would worry about it later.  Well, it’s now August and the weather here in New Hampshire is pretty nice for fixing cars, so i started fooling around with the rust spot, and found out that it goes a lot farther than I originally thought.  I removed the plastic trim piece off the bottom of the Jeep and found that the inner and outer rocker panels are rotted away.  No big deal, I’ll use my Hobart Handler mig welder to weld on some new sheet metal!

The welder used: Hobart Handler 140. Made in the USA!

the rust on the right side inner rocker panel.

Rust on outside rocker panel.

Of course, this rust wasn’t visible with the plastic trim piece on the bottom of the Jeep.  Also, the holes weren’t there on either panel, there was rusted metal there which my finger would push right though, since it was rotted out.

Cut out the bad metal on inner and outer rocker panels.

Cut out the rotted section of the center rib.

Welded in new center rib.

Paint bare steel with hi-temp charcoal grill paint.

The reason I painted all of the bare metal with the hi-temp paint is so when I weld the outer and inner rocker panels to the center rib, the paint will hold up and not burn off.  That will provide good rust protection.

I created new inner rocker panels with sheetmetal. Here i painted the inside surface.

Welded in my new inner rocker panels. I will paint the outside later.

Using my dad's slip roller to create the bend in the outer rocker panel pieces. This machine was also used to cut the sheet metal, and to bend flanges.

New outer rocker panel pieces, ready for paint. I will weld them on the Jeep tomorrow.

Welding new outer rocker panel to the Jeep.

Outer rocker panel welded on.

I didn’t take a picture, but I then welded on a little end piece to close  the opening and painted the bare metal with the hi-temp black paint.  Then I put the plastic trim back on.  I think fixing rust is important for the longevity of your vehicle. If you let it be, then the rot can spread, and your car will find it’s way to the junk heap sooner.  This job was pretty easy.  I got the sheetmetal from ACE hardware for $20.  I suggest using a mig welder and metal bending tools.  If you don’t have equipment for bending metal, you can be creative.  You can use a vice for square bends, and something tubular, like a support beam in a basement to help with the curved bends.  The sheet metal is very thin and can easily be formed to the proper shape.  Good luck with your rust repairs and feel free to ask me any questions.  I will be rust-proofing this jeep pretty soon so stay tuned for a blog entry on that!