msinsky14

im about to order new rockers, sine mine are rusted, and i was wondering if its just a cut and remove thing, or if i need to order a few spot weld drilling bits too. any imput would be great

msinsky14

bump

msinsky14

damn, anyone EVER replaced them?

msinsky14

aaaaah, anyone? need to kno asap

WIZDOM

i thought the rocker panels are plastic (how are there rusting?)

stagen

As in the door sill/rocker panel. Im going to be ordering a set this week from hondapartsdeals.com. Where did you get yours?

msinsky14

im going to be getting mine from cross canada. and yes the door sills. not the plastic trim covering the actual rocker panels.

is it a simple measure/cut/weld, or are there spot welds to drill out?

pauld

Yes, honda rocker panels are spot-welded from the factory. Personally, I have always cut out along the mating edges of the rocker panel with a cut-off wheel on an air grinder first, then I dress out the mating "flange" underneath the car, and the flange inside the car by the "threshold" of the doorwith a mini grinder. Pre-drill the new rocker panel's "flanges" so you can mig-weld "rosette" style welds to join the new rocker onto the car. (unless you are lucky to actually own a true spot-welder!) Also, be aware that most new rocker panels extend into the area beside the beginning of the rear wheel arch, so you will need to do alot of additional welding there, and a careful fitment is critical. Replacing rockers correctly is NOT easy, and only do ONE side of the car at a time!!. all too often when people do rockers, things happen like a door that doesnt close right anymore because the fitment is off, etc.
TAKE YOUR TIME! Hopefully you know how to weld, and have some patience . Fortunately on a CRX, the plastic rocker cover will hide alot of "sins", but be sure that whatever work you do is structurally sound, as the rocker gives these unibody cars alot of their strength.

pauld

Oh yeah, I am assuming that you have pulled all the plastic trim off the rocker area and had a look under there??? If your door sill is rusty, you may be in for a really nasty surprise when you look under there!!!! My CRX had a couple of hand-sized holes, yet only a small amount of rust showing at the very edge of the sill!!! With all the plastic covering, the rot was impossible to see......

msinsky14

yea i kno how to weld. and i kno there is a ton of rust on those rockers, but my frame and floorboards are clean as hell for northern ohio. but my rear jacking points have rusted to shitm so im gonna fab some new ones onto the frame right there.

my plan is to just drill the spot welds out, and match it to the new rocker and drill holes where the old spot welds were, then plug weld the holes on the new rocker, and seam weld the rocker where it meets the quarter if it extends that long.

and im also doing the inner wheelhouse and quarter panels. for the quarters i will cut along the patch panel after measuring using it as a template. and make a second line 1/2 below ehre its gonna be, then crimp the endge above the first line, that way i have versatility when maing fitment perfect.

but what do u think i should do about the wheelhouse? buy new wheelhouses from honda or patch the rusted parts, which one will take less time and be easier?

stagen

Im gonna have the same problem, I'll need to repair the wheelhousings. I figured just patching it would be easier on theh wallet. $140 a pop for em from hondapartsdeals. Yea I'm liking the sound of doing it myself. I dont really care about teh easiest way I guess tho, just the best for th money that I have.. which is like none, haha. I like to think of my project compared to muscle car build ups. If they can fabricate almost a whole new car with sheet metal, then I can fab some patches for my Honda.

pauld

Patches can work. I used to have to do them regularily when I was into VW bugs, etc. RUST..... Wheel arches are a pain in the *** to do, as you will be very shocked with how far your rust goes inside the inner wheel wells. As soon as you cut out your arches, you'll see what I mean. Also, take your time when welding, and weld small "spot" type welds in many, many places along the seam for the new panel, ALWAYS cooling with a very wet rag. not only will you help prevent warpage, you would be surprised how many car fires have been started from old panel linings inside the area where you are welding. Also, BE VERY CAREFUL around the fuel door opening area. GAS + WELDING = BOOM!!!!!
Just a piece of advice... if your cars jack points are gone, chances are you will be putting way more work into the car than its worth. Seriously. Ive been down this road many times, and fighting a rusty *** car is a losing battle, and it may pay to travel to Arizona or somewhere to pick up a rust free "shell" and work your project from there. EF hondas are cheap and plentiful in many places still, and can be mostly rust free if you look hard enough.

pauld

Of course a few pictures of the offending areas on your car would be helpful...hint hint.

msinsky14

well if it wasnt 1am here, i'd post pics now. my friends dad's body shop said welding new jack points is easy, he said just fold some 10guage steel over and cut it out to the same shape as the stock ones, weld it all around, then cut the old one off of the frame and weld the new one on. doesnt sound too bad.

and my wheel housings are only rusted along the lip along the quarter panel and on the wheelhousing part that comes down to the rear of the car before it ends. it doesnt have to be pretty, just patched up. im guessing this will be about 24hours of straight work, and i stil have to buy a decent welder.

what u think about the cambell hausfield famstead mig? its on tractorsupply.com

msinsky14

what would be the process of replacing the rockers if i bought the panel fom honda? number 1


or if i used aftermarket ones which dont seem to be as complete. does it look like this rocker panel goes all the way from the door hinges to the rear wheel well? it looks like it might because it curves upwards in a few places, lie its curving to the door jams



which would be more difficult to do?

msinsky14

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by pauld &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Yes, honda rocker panels are spot-welded from the factory. Also, be aware that most new rocker panels extend into the area beside the beginning of the rear wheel arch, so you will need to do alot of additional welding there, and a careful fitment is critical. Replacing rockers correctly is NOT easy, and only do ONE side of the car at a time!!.</TD></TR></TABLE>

is the area where it reaches the wheel well held on by spot welds, or am i gonna have to cut it out like the quarter panel?

and sorry to ask so many questions, this will just be a first for me.

xTimmyx

mine were rusted out. so the guy just cut out the piece that was rusted out, and even just welded in new ones (which were cheap from an ordering book) . i have pics of my rocker panels, that have been cut out and new ones welded in. check out my build thread. "surgery on roxanne"

msinsky14

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by xTimmyx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">mine were rusted out. so the guy just cut out the piece that was rusted out, and even just welded in new ones (which were cheap from an ordering book) . i have pics of my rocker panels, that have been cut out and new ones welded in. check out my build thread. "surgery on roxanne" </TD></TR></TABLE>
yea ive been keeping up withthat thread, i love to see a crx being restored. mine arent rusted that bad i dont think, but it doesnt matter i guess since it will be replaced. how much labor did it take to weld sheet metal to the wheel well where it is rusted?

oh yea, and how were your rerar jacking points? mine are destroyed CRUNCH!

xTimmyx

actually i was pretty lucky, mine werent rusted. i dont think it took him more than an hr to do. all you have to do is cut out the old one, tack in the new one shape it then weld it. grind it, primer it. soooo i guess it MIGHT take about 3hrs or so, depending if you know what your doing or not.

msinsky14

yea thats what i was thinking, and what primer did he use? was it epoxy?

and u kno any websites that i can order dupont paint?
ive been searching and i cant find it at any local parts stores.

xTimmyx

ya i dunno what kind of primer he used. all i know is, its yellowish lol kinda feels rough somewhat of a rubber type feel (who knows maybe it is an epoxy primer)

msinsky14

if its rubbery than yes it is, and i thought i had to bondo the rockers where they were welded, but i guess not

msinsky14

it seems that number 20, rear panel, has crinkled where the bumper support bolts onto it, frame is good since alignment is still perfect. how is this rear panel held in? by spot welds only? if so this shouldn't be too bad.
can this panel being bent have caused the quarter panel to bend as well?