Floor Pans- Anybody Try This?

[HillbillyXJ]

Since the metal of the floor pans are so thin and a tad difficult to weld along with fighting rust all over again, has anyone ever used an industrial grade epoxy to bond new material to the old floor pans?
Have acces to all the galvanized metal (16ga. I think) I need to pan out the whole bottom and am going to epoxy all the pieces to the pan. Should work should'nt it, after all the epoxy truck beds together with it?:helpme:

[87manche]

look into this stuff
http://news.thomasnet.com/fullstory/454581
I saw it iin a two tube caulking system.Apparently it's supposed to be as strong as a weld.

[HillbillyXJ]

87manchemeister,
Thanks for the linkage mon! I'll check the local body parts store and the local industrial supply stores here and see if that stuff is available. Buddy of mine worked on Lamborginis and stuff as a body man and said they used these "adhesives" all the time.
Check it out and post results.

[dfreeman616]

i can't say for certain, but it looks like that's what the previous owner did to my parts jeep floors, before it got hit by a lady in a car. seems to be holding up well and sturdy.

[MJ_Chubs]

I used construction grade epoxy adhesive, breakstem rivets, and self-drilling screws to fix the floor in my MJ. There's a couple of spots that I'll have to throw some tack welds on but overall I'm very happy with how it turned out. Here's some pics....

What I started with...
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h24/brcook03/MJ%20Build/OverallUnderseatPatch.jpg

Tools of the repair..
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h24/brcook03/MJ%20Build/G2b.jpg

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h24/brcook03/MJ%20Build/Fastenersused.jpg


Finished product party1:
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h24/brcook03/MJ%20Build/Newfloorinstalled.jpg

[93_xj]

I am working on replacing my entire floor on my XJ , driver, passenger, and rear cargo. I will post some pics real quick.

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/6758/hpim0886mediumsmalllo1.jpg


http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/7334/hpim0887mediumsmalllt1.jpg

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/7687/floor1smallaq2.jpg

I went out and bought 2 4'x8' sheets of sheet metal, at 64 dollars per piece. Designed floor templates using cardboard. I cut them out and laid it ontop of the metal and traced around it and cut the peices to fit. Then we got it in the jeep and shaped and made some relief cuts, shaped it to the contour of the tranny tunnel, drilled holes for the seat bolts and drain hole. Welded it up and its going to be getting herculined soon. If i had to go back and do it again, I would buy the next thinner metal, 18 guage. 16 is really tough and hard to bend. We had to make a 90 Degree right angle bend and we ened up having to heat the metal to 700 degrees and made a home-made break to bend it.

[Blaine B.]

When repairing the floors in my XJ we cut out the rust and then applied some tar around the edges. Next we cut some sheetmetal to fit, and then screwed it down with self tapping screws (to the origional floor)

I didn't do anything to the metal on the inside, but on the outside I filled all gaps with expanding foam, and then primered and then undercoated the underside with rubberized undercoating. We did that in July, is still fantastic now in September!

[camarors8992]

I used a no parking sign i found. LOL

[Blaine B.]

I remember someone using a license plate to fix a portion of their rear end on a TJ......looked pretty strange, but at least they painted it lol.

[WobblesXJ]

I remember someone using a license plate to fix a portion of their rear end on a TJ......looked pretty strange, but at least they painted it lol.


HAHA! I've got a bunch of old licence plates laying around and thought about using them to patch holes if I needed to. That's funny.

[Blaine B.]

Yea, it looked bad though. Not because they shaped it wrong or painted it bad.......just because you could still see the outline of the numbers and letters on the corner of their TJ.

[WobblesXJ]

haha, that's what I thought the cool/funny part would be. Even leaving it unpainted with the numbers still there.

[2nstoys]

Why not do it the right way and replace the whole thing.

http://www.discountjeepparts.com/product_info.php/products_id/23946

I almost did this with the first XJ I had bought found one down south that was clean.

[87manche]

you'd still have to attach the new floorpan somehow.

[Blaine B.]

Looks more difficult actually to replace the entire thing.

[89Daytona]

You can actually buy the preformed sections. There are 6 choices: full driver's side, full passenger side, front or rear driver side, or front or rear passenger side.
http://www.shermanparts.com/page.php?c=shop&p=new_products&id=14

I just got the full driver's side one, the quality isn't too bad. I'll be putting it in within the next couple weeks. I fixed the passenger side by forming and welding in my own patch panels (7 in all) using 18 gage sheetmetal, but it took me between 35-45hrs doing it that way.

[1985xjlaredo]

You should weld it its not that hard at all. The XJ is a uni body and it Needs the floor pan to help keep it stiff. And where it runs into the firewall needs to be strong. I did this to mine and the only thing that I can think that would have made it easier would have been to cinch down the metal using some self tapers

[Hamer460]

I just wire wheeled the rust, primed , silconed and screwed down sheetmetal. Did this 6 months ago when i found a/c leaking inside. Been dry since.

[bigsky89]

i had to replace the DS front floorpan, siliconed it down with a few rivets, and took out that G.D. felt pad under the carpet which was causing all the rust, stupid thing was soaked through... my floor is still going strong after six months with the new floor pan, no rust yet

[bcmaxx]

Screwing and selaing is a temporary fix. The only real way of doing it is to remove thea cancerous metal and weld in new metal. I have personally tried the sheetmetal and rivet technique and also the screw,rivet,sheetmetal and fiberglass route. You will feel alot better about watercrossings and rain if you do it right.

[Blaine B.]

I used to feel water rushing by the carpet before the fix, and even then that never caused any problems. Heh!

[bcmaxx]

I had a 4runner I swamped, I could not get the mud and clam smell out until the upholstery was gone

[bfred]

You can actually buy the preformed sections. There are 6 choices: full driver's side, full passenger side, front or rear driver side, or front or rear passenger side.
http://www.shermanparts.com/page.php?c=shop&p=new_products&id=14

I just got the full driver's side one, the quality isn't too bad. I'll be putting it in within the next couple weeks. I fixed the passenger side by forming and welding in my own patch panels (7 in all) using 18 gage sheetmetal, but it took me between 35-45hrs doing it that way. The pre-formed panels are really a good idea. Keep in mind a cherokee being a unibody vehicle, the floors are a structural part of the "frame". With the amount of time it could take to fabricate patches, the prices are resonable, and you know they will be the proper gauge and are galvanized as well. I would recommend welding for the strongest repair. Some of the structural adhesives could be used also with good results, but require clamping or temporarily screwing the panels in place while the glue dries (creating a nice little line of holes through your brand new floor!). I would also be a little leery using adhesives around the converter and exhaust, since heat will release alot of these products. I would pick the glue products over screws/rivets though, if welding isn't an option for you. Screws/rivet can loosen with the flex that a unibody has designed into it,or shear off in an accident. Sem, 3M/duramix, and Lord Fuser all make very good adhesives, check with a body shop supply to make sure you get the proper one for your application (many different ones). Expect to pay about $30.00 a tube though, and most require a special gun to dispense

[jakec]

I have just finished patching mine. It wasn't too bad, so I only had to cut out the rusty spots. I wire wheeled all the rust after cutting, used the biggest self-tapping screws I could find, and put them about 2-3" apart. Wire wheeled again, just to make sure I had bare metal to weld to. Spot welded the perimeters and seams with a small wire-feed, abut every 1-2", and them sealed all areas that could collect water with roofing tar. Now the whole floor is getting sealed with the "plastic" type roofing tar. Yes, I know it will stink for months, but it's cheap and it bonds and seals VERY well. The stuff I'm using does form a very hard shell after a couple days, also. I will also be sealing everything from the outside, but not welding, and then undercoating. Mine is an 87, and I figure if it lasted this long with the carpet, it'll last forever without it:spin1: !