Rocker panel rot? 2008

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JExpedition07

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I wouldn't say they rust uglier than comparable SUVs. I'm seeing a lot of last gen tahoes with rusty rear quarter panels and rusty exterior door skins in New York, the expys are good at hiding their rust though as it's usually only lower rocker panels. Not to mention the chevy Silverado wheel well rust problem on the 07-14 models. Toyota Sequoia owners are still waiting on a lawsuit to settle for their frames rusting right through, talk about Toyota safety am I right? Steel rusts, we have to live with that.
 
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ExpeditionAndy

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I looked at a couple of Suburbans before I bought my first Expedition they were horribly rusted out on the rear quarter panels and rockers, and they were only 8 years old at the time.
 

darmahsd

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What's a real concern from a safety point is the trailer
hitch. Look underneath. On mine, the back of it,
where you see the spare tire is completely blasted
from being a natural scoop for the road water mixed
with winter road salting. I could peel off thick layers.
What's the tow limit on Expy's, almost 8 thousand
pounds? I wouldn't do that with my hitch in it's
current state. I have an air powered Harbor Freight
needle scaler, next best thing to sand blasting to
remove that rust along with a wire wheel & brush.
Coated with Por15, it's good enough for my
motocycle trailer or small boat, but nothing more
unless I replace it. I've seen these things
rot right through.
Stephen
 

smoothops

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What's a real concern from a safety point is the trailer
hitch. Look underneath. On mine, the back of it,
where you see the spare tire is completely blasted
from being a natural scoop for the road water mixed
with winter road salting. I could peel off thick layers.
What's the tow limit on Expy's, almost 8 thousand
pounds? I wouldn't do that with my hitch in it's
current state. I have an air powered Harbor Freight
needle scaler, next best thing to sand blasting to
remove that rust along with a wire wheel & brush.
Coated with Por15, it's good enough for my
motocycle trailer or small boat, but nothing more
unless I replace it. I've seen these things
rot right through.
Stephen

Mine has a lot of rust there too. If I remember correctly, the tow hitch attaches to the frame, not to the body, so if your frame is not too corroded, you can set your mind at ease about towing. The frames on the expys are fully boxed and seem to be of a different metal, mine has only surface rust that scrapes to metal with a regular chisel tool. They don't rot as the body does, shedding the metal in layers that actually peel out like you described. My rockers rotted out and I'm in the process of replacing them with homemade panels made out of galvanized flashing metal from Home Depot, which is surprisingly as thick as the original rockers, but will not rust for several years, as it is heavily galvanized. I tried buying a set of rocker panels from rustpanelrepair.com, but they did not fit (bottom section was not wide enough) and the company would not correct them, so I now have to send them back at my expense. They are made of very thin aluminum and are easy to duplicate (and correct) using the flashing panels. I will post on my progress as it develops.
 

adiycarguy

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Ford has drain tubes running INTO the rockers from the rear opening windows and the sunroof. They rot from the inside out, as if it was planned (totally was). Before putting new rockers on, you'll want to extend those drain tubes so they drain the water to the ground instead of into the rocker. I know this because I'm dealing with this now. The tubes are at the front and rear of the rocker, ensuring that the cab corners also get wet, causing those to rust out too. You can see the rear tube location in the photo I attached. Yes there's foam in there from a shady dealer covering it all up.

IMG_3525.JPG
 
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Plati

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There are large holes all along the inside of the rocker panels that let salt brine from the road inside where it is quite destructive. IMHO this is far worse than the drain tubes mentioned. The drain tubes might actually be productive to rinse the salt brine out? Of course this is just an opinion, I dunno for sure.

Every spring I flush my rocker panels out using those big holes, then (after fully dry) I have it Krown treated. In the fall I spray more goobus in there and install custom plugs in those holes to keep the salt brine out for winter. Working good so far. I think there is minimal to no rust inside the rocker panels of my 2014EL.
IMG_1383.JPG
 

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