Floor and Rocker Replacement

Well, the rust on the floors of my jeep that I bought when I lived in Chicago finally caught up with me!

EricsXJ and I were out wheeling a new trail right near Reno and on the way home after a few hours of wheeling, then airing up, then driving...I started to smell something burning. At first I thought that maybe there were some people burning leaves in the area...but it definitely got stronger, then started to burn my eyes, and finally filled the cabin with smoke. So I pulled over and grabbed the fire extinguisher...but there were no flames only stinking, smoldering carpet and insulation on the passenger rear floor above my muffler! So I grabbed a gallon of water, soaked the carpet and drove another 15 minutes home.

So I pulled the carpet and found what so many others have shown here before, and I knew it was there...but I chose to ignore it because it was out of sight out of mind ya know? Anyway, here is a write-up of my floor replacement and while I was cutting, I cut out my old 2x4 rockers and put in 2x6 just like EricsXJ's set-up.

Here are some before pics...




My old rock rails...




Rust on the PS cut out, frame is still in good shape though.



New Front and rear PS panel welded in. I used Classic2Customs floor pans that I bought through RockAuto. They are alright, I still had to work them a lot to get them to fit right, but better than starting with a flat sheet of steel.

Cont...


New Rockers, EricsXJ style...they are about 2.5" higher than my old ones, and a whole lot less to get hung up on.
Old-

New-








I tied the new rockers into the A and B pillar the best I could, also welded in supports to the "frame".

I am currently working on the drivers side and I will post up some more final pics. The carpet is long gone to the dump by now, and I will be putting bedliner on the floor with a few drain plugs. I will also be putting some sort of heat shield above the muffler/cat to protect the floor more.

I am pleased with how this turned out, I will need to tackle some spot in the cargo area too, but I might raise the gas tank to deal with some of that...

More pics to come...Thanks for looking!

Bryan

Nice work. BTW I like your doors i am getting ready to make some just like them as soon as i find good donors.

i second, lookin sweet. any chance you have some more pictures of those doors?

Rust on the PS cut out, frame is still in good shape though.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v246/VET8911/100_0800.jpg[/

Just a thought:idea: But with the floor off could you insert some steel in the frame rail to help the strength ? :dunno:

Yeah I guess I could have plated the whole top of the frame or inside...I didnt really think about it...:doh:

I dont really have too many pics of the doors, but I gutted them, then built kind of a sub-frame from 3/4" angle. You can kinda see it in this picture...but the stock inner door trim or panel was cut and reinstalled under the lip of the sub-frame. Also in this pic the top of the sub-frame is still open, I havent quite finished them. I am thinking a hinged type of a lid so you can use the whole door for storage of tow straps, winch controller, maybe a hidden beverage holder:cheers:

super clean jeep man

Now that most of the rust is gone underneath...it really is pretty clean!!

Thats my next project ! jeep came out good !!

You've been busy! :laugh3:

I don't think extra plating on those frame rails would do anything for you except add extra weight - you already have the outside and bottom plated with 3/16" - I think its good enough!

Yea I have been working away! I don't think the additional plating is necessary either, maybe for 1 tons and 40's, I am hoping the whole thing is a bit stiffer and maybe quieter because there won't be any big gaping holes in the floor anymore!

Almost ready for bedliner...I see the light at the end of the mig gun, well not really since I am done with the welding!:laugh3:

EricsXJ said:

You've been busy! :laugh3:

I don't think extra plating on those frame rails would do anything for you except add extra weight - you already have the outside and bottom plated with 3/16" - I think its good enough!

Click to expand...

So did you cut and seal up your doors the same way Eric did? Rockers look great, I really can't wait to tackle this project on my own Jeep. I took my sliders off a few months ago and the rockers have gotten absolutely beat to hell in just three days of wheeling!

EricsXJ said:

You've been busy! :laugh3:

I don't think extra plating on those frame rails would do anything for you except add extra weight - you already have the outside and bottom plated with 3/16" - I think its good enough!

Click to expand...

That's right i thought i was on pirate4x4 !! :laugh3::twak:

VET'S XJ said:

Yea I have been working away! I don't think the additional plating is necessary either, maybe for 1 tons and 40's, I am hoping the whole thing is a bit stiffer and maybe quieter because there won't be any big gaping holes in the floor anymore!

Almost ready for bedliner...I see the light at the end of the mig gun, well not really since I am done with the welding!:laugh3:

Click to expand...

Sweet, I call dibs on your axles you have now! :cheers:

VET'S XJ said:

New Front and rear PS panel welded in. I used Classic2Customs floor pans that I bought through RockAuto. They are alright, I still had to work them a lot to get them to fit right, but better than starting with a flat sheet of steel.

Click to expand...

I'm really glad you posted this. This company is a mile up the road from my house, so in the next couple weeks I'll be going through the same thing with the same items. I wanted to make sure the front and rear pieces butted end to end.

Few questions if I may; They seem like decent material? I think they're supposedly 18g. What kinda seam sealant did you use? And most importantly, how did you attach the floor to the leaf spring pockets?

What rear bumper/tire carrier do you have? I really like it alot

jeepfreak1020 said:

What rear bumper/tire carrier do you have? I really like it alot

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The rear bumper & tire carrier is all home built my Vet him self.

The panels from C2C are pretty nice. I do believe that the 18g is a bit thicker than stock but not too much that you cant work with it. I had seen in one of the other threads about floor replacement a full length floor pan which would have been nice after doing the two pans that overlap. It would have been worth the extra money to have one less welded seam to worry about. Also I will say that these floor pans very generally shaped to match the stock floor, the pressed ribs in the new panels are no where near as deep or well formed as the stock floor and some of the contours around the tranny tunnel are not a direct match. I think these panels are the cheapest for a reason, but if you don't mind having to work a little to get them to fit, they are a good option.

I used 3M auto seam sealer.

As for the spring pockets, I reinforced most of the pocket with some 3/16" plate that tied into the frame rails. That area is difficult to work in unless you take out the "cross bracing" or mini bulkhead under the rear seat. I did cut out and replace a portion of it to fix another rust hole behind it. I dont have any pics of the spring reinforcement...sorry!

1988JeepXj said:

I'm really glad you posted this. This company is a mile up the road from my house, so in the next couple weeks I'll be going through the same thing with the same items. I wanted to make sure the front and rear pieces butted end to end.

Few questions if I may; They seem like decent material? I think they're supposedly 18g. What kinda seam sealant did you use? And most importantly, how did you attach the floor to the leaf spring pockets?

Click to expand...

C2c did similar roller job on the passenger side floor pan I bought.
For $45 it does ok. I had to straighten and rebend the flange on the rocker panel side, and beater bag the tunnel side to get the contours closer.

Their stiffening beads are indeed much shallower than factory. Looks like just one pass through the roller.

As a plus though, their sheet metal quality is excellent. The galvanizing is thick ( jeep's is very thin) and when I rosette weld it, the edge melt is predictable.

I bead rolled my own trunk pan out of some unknown 20 gauge galvanized from a local metal yard, and its edge melts explosively.
C2C offers a trunk pan now, oh well. They can save you a month of sheet metal forming work.