Rocker panel rot? 2008

[misspelledone]

2008 Expedition EL, under the driver door. Like it's not bad enough that all the paint is falling off the hood and hatch now I am getting rot under the driver door. This real common, and is there anything that can be done? Truck doesn't see a lot of sand or salt or anything, it's pretty well just a street truck that I keep very clean. And it's not a small spot, it's a solid 12 inches at least. Damn this truck, I love it but it's killing me slowly.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

2008 Expedition EL, under the driver door. Like it's not bad enough that all the paint is falling off the hood and hatch now I am getting rot under the driver door. This real common, and is there anything that can be done? Truck doesn't see a lot of sand or salt or anything, it's pretty well just a street truck that I keep very clean. And it's not a small spot, it's a solid 12 inches at least. Damn this truck, I love it but it's killing me slowly.

Thanks,
Chris

Living in Jersey and driving it in the winter is all it needs to get started. Really once rust starts the only way to stop it is to cut it out. If it is surface rust you can sand it down to bare metal, fill in any obvious divots with bondo or fiberglass, then sand, prime and paint. If it the metal has gotten soft, you have to cut it out weld in new steel and then finish and repaint the effected area.

If it's in the driver's side, you can bet that it is in passenger rocker as well. Crawl under it and check the floorboards and body mounts too because you are likely to see it starting there as well.

Ask me how I know.

 

[gixer2000]

Best thing you can do is try to displace the moisture so it stops getting worse. Some type of oil spray will typically get the moisture out but unfortunately the only way to repair is to replace the entire rocker

 

[bobmbx]

Rust-O-leum will stop the creep, but thats all. Bad metal does not regenerate, so you'll have to remove the damaged areas and replace with something, either new metal, fiberglass, or heapum bondo (like we used to do in the good ol' days).

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

Rust-O-leum will stop the creep, but thats all. Bad metal does not regenerate, so you'll have to remove the damaged areas and replace with something, either new metal, fiberglass, or heapum bondo (like we used to do in the good ol' days).

I friend of mine ran a body shop 35 years ago and for people that wanted a really cheap rocker repair, they would stuff newspaper into the rocker and fiberglass and bondo over it, paint it and out the door it went. At least now you can shoot expanding foam inside for a little stiffness.

 

[bobmbx]

I friend of mine ran a body shop 35 years ago and for people that wanted a really cheap rocker repair, they would stuff newspaper into the rocker and fiberglass and bondo over it, paint it and out the door it went. At least now you can shoot expanding foam inside for a little stiffness.

Back then, car panels had a substantial amount of steel in them, and took a bit longer to rust to the point of uselessness. Today, not so much. Thin panels, aluminum, and plastic dominate the bodywork of most cars. A friend in high school had a 1968 Ford Galaxy 500. It weighed about 8 tons, had an engine most airplanes would love to have, and could bounce off rock walls with impunity. We proved that last one in an empirical experiment one night. For fun, we put a spark plug in the tail pipe hooked to a switch on the dash and then to one of the spark plug wires on the engine. We'd be rolling along, shut the engine off for a few seconds (which filled the exhaust system with a nice Fuel/Air explosive), then hit the switch and started the car. At times, he shoot a flame out the exhaust pipe for 20 feet or more.

We were immortal then, so no worries.

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

Back then, car panels had a substantial amount of steel in them, and took a bit longer to rust to the point of uselessness. Today, not so much. Thin panels, aluminum, and plastic dominate the bodywork of most cars. A friend in high school had a 1968 Ford Galaxy 500. It weighed about 8 tons, had an engine most airplanes would love to have, and could bounce off rock walls with impunity. We proved that last one in an empirical experiment one night. For fun, we put a spark plug in the tail pipe hooked to a switch on the dash and then to one of the spark plug wires on the engine. We'd be rolling along, shut the engine off for a few seconds (which filled the exhaust system with a nice Fuel/Air explosive), then hit the switch and started the car. At times, he shoot a flame out the exhaust pipe for 20 feet or more.

We were immortal then, so no worries.

I remember those days. I had a 2-door 63 Mercury Meteor. It was 13 when I got it.

 

[JExpedition07]

My rockers have some rust underneath on both sides, As does my aunts 08. Rocker panels are a weak spot on expys and they haven't been changed to date so it's a persisting weak spot on brand new ones. I sprayed in and out with fluid film spray that is supposed to stop it. How many years do you plan on keeping the truck? If only a few years spray it and dont worry about it. My last explorer had literally no rocker panels Left and I drove it like that for two years. The moisture sits down in there and goes to town on the steel all you can do is take care of it best you can. I find most vehicles have a weak spot(s). I'm seeing a lot of tahoes with rusting rear quarter panels lately from the last gen (07-14).

 

[david_jr]

Both mine are rotted. On mine you can put your feet through the holes.

 

[darmahsd]

Both rocker panels on my '05 are gone, along with the
bubbling hood and tailgate around license enclosure,
both aluminum panels that Ford won't own up to.
The good thing is the way the rocker panels are
parallel to the ground, so looking at the truck from
the side view, you can't see that they're gone. If it wasn't
for the bubbling aluminum panels, my truck would look
mint.
I'm going to grind away the remaining part of the rocker panel. I can get slightly thicker gauge sheetmetal from a local supplier to weld in. I have a small sheet metal brake
to form the edges. There's not much physical change
between 2nd and 3rd gen expy's, so maybe these would
work: http://www.ebay.com/itm/232004375176? redirect=mobile
They might have direct fit for your '2008.
Either way, cutting old ones out and welding new metal
in best way to go. Then Ziebart through access holes.
If your rockers are gone, check your radiator support,
most likely that's on it's way out too.
Other tip is to cover the chassis and undercarraige
with Por15. Expensive stuff @ over $150 a gallon and time consuming, which is why I haven't gotten to it yet, but worth it if you love
your truck and live in the snow belt.
Stephen

 

[JExpedition07]

Can anyone verify that ziebart works? I've heard horror stories with the drilled holes rotting the truck out even faster after the holes around the plug rots to where it falls out. Or is ziebart not the one where they drill holes to spray inside all the panels? My aunt has an 08 and 14' expy the only signs of rust on her 08 and my 07 are on the rockers. radiator supports, frame, body mounts all look great it's bizarre.

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

Can anyone verify that ziebart works? I've heard horror stories with the drilled holes rotting the truck out even faster after the holes around the plug rots to where it falls out. Or is ziebart not the one where they drill holes to spray inside all the panels? My aunt has an 08 and 14' expy the only signs of rust on her 08 and my 07 are on the rockers. radiator supports, frame, body mounts all look great it's bizarre.

I cannot verify if it works, but I had it done to my 17, the dealership offered a 10 year package deal so knowing what the issues were on my 05, I took a chance and went with it. With this deal, once a year they touch up the soundproofing, respray the rustproofing in any area that needs it (I'm not sure how they know if it needs it) and they reapply the paint sealant and the AquaPel. They do it every year for 10 years and there are guarantees if it rusts through, but if it lasts 10 years I'll be looking for a new one anyway. Maybe by then, they will be driving themselves or flying.

 

[SteveOH07]

Just noticed an orange spot on the pass-side running board, looked up and both bottoms of the panels are erupting with surface rust. Appreciate the heads up to look elsewhere for more rust.

 

[darmahsd]

In the case of the rocker panels, there is no need to
drill these holes as they do with the full Ziebart
treatment. I agree that it makes me cringe as well.
When I removed the rusty, ugly running boards on
my '05, I noticed that the attachment points are on
the back side of what you would call the rocker panel
part of the body and nowhere near the frame. This
same surface already has holes that are there to help
prevent water from stagnating in the rocker panel
"box" area. I guess that didn't work in my case, but
the point is that these are the holes that you can
reach in with the kind of wand I think they use at
Ziebart to spray the coating to . There is also a spray
coating they sell at body shop supply stores that I
will use to spray the underside of the sheet metal I
will use to weld in for new rocker panels that
withstands the heat better than conventional paint.
Stephen

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

3rd gens generally don't have the radiator supports rust out but as long as your under there it would hurt to inspect them and to check the body mount locations as well.

 

[JExpedition07]

I cannot verify if it works, but I had it done to my 17, the dealership offered a 10 year package deal so knowing what the issues were on my 05, I took a chance and went with it. With this deal, once a year they touch up the soundproofing, respray the rustproofing in any area that needs it (I'm not sure how they know if it needs it) and they reapply the paint sealant and the AquaPel. They do it every year for 10 years and there are guarantees if it rusts through, but if it lasts 10 years I'll be looking for a new one anyway. Maybe by then, they will be driving themselves or flying.

Can't hurt it to try I guess. All these vehicles are only so long for this earth anyway that's the way I look at it. I Have a family friend bought a 02 chevy express new and did the oily rustproof deal and it rusted out anyway. Up in northeast it's pretty much a no go to put on new rocker panels unless you plan on keeping the vehicle for the long haul. We just spray ours every year and when it's time for a new vehicle it's time for a new one. My last explorer had no rocker panels left but that's not why I got rid of it, other stuff started breaking like crazy and it was time to change. Even the best built Rolls Royce will end up in the ground one day. Our vehicles are here for a good time not a long time lmao.

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

Can't hurt it to try I guess. All these vehicles are only so long for this earth anyway that's the way I look at it. I Have a family friend bought a 02 chevy express new and did the oily rustproof deal and it rusted out anyway. Up in northeast it's pretty much a no go to put on new rocker panels unless you plan on keeping the vehicle for the long haul. We just spray ours every year and when it's time for a new vehicle it's time for a new one. My last explorer had no rocker panels left but that's not why I got rid of it, other stuff started breaking like crazy and it was time to change. Even the best built Rolls Royce will end up in the ground one day. Our vehicles are here for a good time not a long time lmao.

I agree. I would have liked to keep the 05 longer but it was going to need about $6000 in rust work, and about $4000 in engine and it just didn't make sense to keep it any longer. If I was only using it around town and not doing 1300 mile trips I probably would have kept it another 20K-30K miles but, My dad is 91 and my wife's parents are 80, and 78 and when we get the call to come home we have to be able to go without worrying about the vehicle.

 

[david_jr]

Yeah add that to the rear brake backing plates that disintegrated from rust costing me over a grand to replace, the bubbled paint on the hood and rear hatch (I noted these earlier in this thread and in those pictures I posted I forgot how good the truck looked back then; the front edge of the black hood is now mostly aluminum showing and the rear hatch is peeling in sheets) and the power steering lines that rotted out and the dealer tells me they are backordered nationally and my truck has been sitting for 3 weeks now. It can't be driven more than 10 miles without filling the fluid back up. Of course they said I needed a new pump, new lines and a steering rack for $4,000. I said no way am I putting a steering rack on it so they took that out and it will be only $2100. I love the truck and it only has 79K miles on it, but it is rusting way from me. No I'm not bitter, well maybe a little.

 

[darmahsd]

David, small world, I used to go to a bed & breakfast in
Hancock and ski in the Berkshires. My truck's up to
94k miles now with lots of same issues. Fortunately
I have the means to do alot of the work myself, the
costs are prohibitive. But, if you love your truck, you
can make repairs that will last a lot longer than OEM.
Case in point, when I changed out rusted brake and
transmission lines, I used nickle/copper tubing with
stainless spring shielding on the brake lines. This will
last forever and is something Ford should have done in
the first place on a $50 thousand plus vehicle. Car
companies like Volvo come with this type of material
OEM because alot of their vehicles are traveling in
harsh environments. Where did Ford think most of
Their 4x4 Expeditions were gonna end up?
Stephen

 

[smoothops]

My rocker panels pretty much fell out. I bought a set of aluminum rockers from rustrepairpanel.com and they did not fit, now having a tough time returning them. I wound up getting 5" flashing panels from Home Depot and after making the correct bends using a section of garage door, I got the shape right with a fit that starts at the door sill seal and wraps down to the inner rocker panels. They have to be riveted and glued in, no welding is required. The flashing cost 30 dollars and the panels are heavily galvanized, will not rust for a long time. Now I'm going through the task of removing the rusted remnants of the original rockers and repairing sections of the inner rockers before I can install the new panels. Funny, but the factory panels are as thin as the flashing panels from Home Depot. I will not re-install the floorboards and will find nerf bars that attach to the frame instead of the inner rockers as the OEM ones do. My 2nd gen 03 Expy has the same body shape as the 3rd gen expys, so this applies to 3rd generation expys too. I think the rockers rust on the expeditions partly because the 4 drain pipes from the sunroof discharge at the front, just below the front door hinges, and at the rear end of the rockers, just ahead of the rear wheel. The front hoses end just under the front end of the rockers. Water and dirt from the drain pipes and from the windshield collects there and rots the front half of the rocker. Keeping the area clean will prevent dirt and mud from rotting the front of the rocker. On my expy, the front part of the rear wheel well had a rust hole from the sunroof discharge and the hole allowed water, winter salt and dirt from the rear fender to enter the rocker and that rotted the rear half. The metal on this trucks is of questionable quality, they rust uglier than any other brand I've seen, except for the Suzuki Vitara and Geo Tracker from the late 80's. These also disintegrated in the same way Ford trucks do. Too bad the Expeditions are so good looking and drive so sweet, mine is still clean and silky smooth.