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What would you do different? Rocker Replacement

XJensen

XJensen

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Sacramento
I am in the process of cutting out my rockers and have read many threads on several different ways to do this but want to know specifics of what you did well and what you wish you could change.

As of now I am committed to shaving the bottoms of the doors and going flush with the door way. I plan to cut into the floor to place four legs, 2x2, and arm the edge of the floor with some angled steel like most have done too. I also plan to enforce the front leaf spring mount possibly using a rocker leg or gussets.

I am not interested in rising the floor, I want to keep my seat mounts and all other interior items functional in the stock locations.

here is a couple crappy pics of what it looks like now.

2013-04-09_20-02-04_399_zpscfd8e40d.jpg


Any tips to make the job easier; tools, steps to do before another and tips to make the it come out cleaner and stronger would be great.
 
Also I am in the process of cutting the pinch seam away and figured I would hammer the inch lip of the old rocker so it is under the floor. I figure it will give me more material to weld the angle iron to instead of just the floor.

I also plan on using 3/16 for everything but may do 1/4 for the angle iron.
 
I just did mine a while ago (still haven't got it on the road).

I used 2x3 under the pillars. I cut the pinch seam off and welded some angle iron. Then I welded a chunk of 2x5 on either end under the 2x3. Finally, I put a 2x2 slider on the outside. Both ends and the slider supports are welded to the angle iron underneath. We'll see how it works out on the trail but so far I'm pleased. I'm glad I didn't have to cut the doors.

20120706000800-92709244-me.jpg
20121022232846-acef8d3f-me.jpg
20121024223453-dd3ac36d-me.jpg
 
Interesting. I'm kind of at a crossroads with this project too. I've cut out the rocker completely on one side, but only up to the bottom of the door. I'd really rather not trim the doors, but I want to make sure the rocker is as strong as possible.

I have a big stick of 2x6, so that's what the main rocker section will be. My thought is to cut up my old AJ's sliders and put the 2" square tube under the pillars, then weld the 2x6 below that. Gives me the strength of the pillars without having to hack up the doors. Probably adds a bit more weight, but should be much less work.
 
sunburned said:
Interesting. I'm kind of at a crossroads with this project too. I've cut out the rocker completely on one side, but only up to the bottom of the door.
Click to expand...

I was in the same boat until last night. I want the extra clearance and it did not take long to strip the doors. Now i am committed.

For you guys that cut up to the door seal and used 2x6 did you notch the tube to get the back side flush? Or did you just gap it 1/4 to 1/2 an inch because of the seat belt nutsert.
 
sunburned said:
Interesting.
I have a big stick of 2x6, so that's what the main rocker section will be. My thought is to cut up my old AJ's sliders and put the 2" square tube under the pillars, then weld the 2x6 below that. Gives me the strength of the pillars without having to hack up the doors. Probably adds a bit more weight, but should be much less work.
Click to expand...
That's what I did on mine and I like how it turned out.
 
jeeperjohn said:
That's what I did on mine and I like how it turned out.
Click to expand...

Good to know, thanks.

And yeah, my pinch seam is long gone. I planned to do like EricsXJ and weld some angle iron to the edge of the floor, then weld that to the 2x6 rocker.

Not to sure what to do for frame standoffs though. Are they really needed?
 
jeeperjohn said:
It seems to me the metal in that area is galvanized which makes welding a PITA. It might be best to cut it out and make some filler pieces where needed.
Click to expand...

^ correct...IIRC they started galvanizing the bodies after 87. its a very poor uneven coating as the body was dipped. some spots are fine and some spots blow out really easily. Its impossible to continuously weld even with a tig. tack tack tack, short hot bursts strung close together seems to be the best way to get stuff to stick well


the last set of replacements we did we used 2x8 and set it down a touch lower so we didnt have to notch it for the seat belt nutcerts. because it was sealed and all the caps were tig'ed we made them into air tanks. the 2x8 is almost 6 gallons of air, enough volume for light duty air tools. my next set in the dd jeep will be air tanks as well
 
I feel like the frame stand-offs are necessary .
IIRC there was someone on here that had theirs without them and the 2x6 tube was pushing up into the body from hitting rocks.

There is some pics of how I did my stand offs in my build thread here.
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1080904&page=6

I think it was pretty easy the way I did mine but possibly not as strong as some other ways it could have been done, I wanted to make sure mine was nice and smooth on the bottom side of the rocker replacement so I didn't get hung up on it.

On the next page of my build thread i added an outer tube step to finish the rocker project off.

I have hit them pretty hard (not slammed but i don't really beat on my rig) and I am very happy with them for my level of use.
 
Last edited:
I would have removed more interior stuff and planned ahead better knowing that the insulation behind the dash would somehow catch on fire while welding up through the crazy thin sheet metal with the 110v .035 fluxcore.
 
Yes standoffs are needed..... I have 2x4 with 1.5x1.5 rails 6 inches or so sticking out and my passenger doors rub on the rails now and if you look down the side you can see they are tweeked.

Heres a pic right after I made them:

sliders003.jpg


They held up really well and still do but after one weekend pushing it pretty hard on a rock climb I kept falling onto the passenger side and they tweeked up preety good.

I plan to cut them out anyways and move them up higher so I'm actually kind of glad I havent made standoffs yet..
 
I figured the legs are a must. I plan to put an outer tube on and that would add a lot of torque when on a rock. I thought about setting the legs as inboard as possible but attaching them an inch or so underneath by then inner edge would help combat the added torque and not really give up any clearance because i am not raising the floor.
 
Not the greatest pic, but 1/4" plate welded to bottom edge of frame stiffener up to the bottom of the 2x6. Mini boat side sits tight against floor helping with bend resistance.
DC3A564E-183F-4524-A486-757EBFDDA1D2-2313-0000017DC57341E4_zps29a3dffb.jpg
 
XJensen said:
So then is the underside of the floor galvanized too? Mine had the undercoating and paint under that. Not sure what the metal looks like under that
Click to expand...
I think it might be, I had to replace much of the passenger floor due to lack of heat shielding above the exhaust system and I remember it was a pain to weld.
 
I didn't cut my doors and didn't cut the floor. I notched everything to fit perfectly.

I did loose an inch or 2 of clearance over someone who cut the doors, but I'm happy having a full-body still.

I used 2x6x1/4" for the rocker and 2x2x3/16" for the standoffs.
 
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