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Tube Rockers?

bjoehandley

NAXJA Forum User
Dad and I were talking about square or rectangular tube rockers on my XJ yesterday since it's getting pretty rusty in that area, is there any one way to do the work that would better than others?

This will mainly be to help keep the body in service longer since the floor wasn't looking horrible last time I was under it. Not planning on lifting it much, if any or putting more tire under it much down the road (maybe look at UpCountry replacement springs at some point since it's not going away now and will remain as primarily a winter workhorse. Still need to get the brakes fixed enough I can drive it to the emissions facility without using the handbrake and probably throw the rest of the new plugs (maybe rebuild the alternator and replace the steering linkages too, we'll have to see there too) before the rockers get done.
 
A full tie in to the rocker pinch seam is critical.
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What does sliders have to do with his question?. There are a million write ups on this so I won't go down that road. Most of the differences in the approach comes down to how you tie into the "back" side of the stock rocker area. Some people weld in angle first and slide in their rocker tube. If you are committed to doing this I would say just read a few threads on the subject and then cut out your rockers as see how bad the rot is. It is an easy project over all and really the question is how much unseen rust you will find and what extra work it will be to deal with those areas.
 
Yeah, my rockers are bad, really bad, this is the most recent pic I have of the passenger side (driver side is worse), and this was taken in November of December of 2018.




I just wasn't sure on any one way of attaching being better than another, the options out there kinda overwhelmed me, to be honest. We're probably going to start at the trailing end of the front fenders and work out way back to the rear tires and there will likely be a lot of rust removal, cleaning, and probably a combination of POR15, weldable primer, then regular primers used before bedlining that portion of the body. The rims are starting to look BAD as well and I'm half debating about cleaning them up as much as I can and putting some gunmetal paint on them, since appearance won't be so important any more and will be cheaper than powder coating (I'd rather do that then buy different rims that are at least wider, if not a a touch taller (17" max) too.
 
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