Rocker replacement

[Sinister]

Does the front fender have to come off when replacing a rocker panel?

[raggedjim]

I have always removed the fender to do this. I don't see anyway you could do it without removing the fender... I don't even think you can remove the old rocker without removing the fender...

Good luck, Rg

[Sinister]

Well, that's more work then I want to deal with right now. The rocker is basically solid. The lip that holds the door seal is rotted off in a few spots for about 6"-8" at the bottom though. I think I can just clean it up and weld in a piece of metal for the seal to hang on to.
If I disconnect the ground wire on the battery will I be O.K. to weld on the truck? Never welded before, but this will be my start.

[Sinister]

How does this welder look? http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...ctId=100039229
I figure I can upgrade it to mig later.

[CrashBob]

Originally Posted by Sinister

How does this welder look? http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...ctId=100039229
I figure I can upgrade it to mig later.

There are some pretty amazing adhesives out there these days. It eliminates a lot of mess you get with welding.
I am waay old school and it took a lot of convincing to get me to try adhesives on body parts.
For your reference, a lot of airframes are literally glued together. Quite a leap, I understand, but for my rocker installation, it worked great.

CrashBob

[Imacarguytoo]

Originally Posted by Sinister

How does this welder look? http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...ctId=100039229
I figure I can upgrade it to mig later.

Thats the welder i have. I just converted it to gas an WOW!! I absolutely love it now. I have not done much sheet metal work with it. But i have used it to make a snow plow mount for my riding mower. And a winch plate for my car trailer. I would recommend converting to gas ASAP. Your welds will look alot nicer and alot less work cleaning them up.

[Wilson_]

I have this one and I love it.
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...3+90401+527842

you could also find used ones for pretty good prices on craigslist

[Sinister]

That's nice, but kind of out of my price range at the moment, plus I don't have 220 wired up here.

[raggedjim]

That welders better than mine, I have a Clarke EN130 with the gas package and it works well for me.

As far as your rocker, you can cut and weld in what you like, but it still takes effort. With the grinding you will have to do to make it look nice, I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being more work than replacing the whole rocker...

But, if it's just the lip, you might try to pop rivet in a strip of metal to replace the missing lip, the seal will probably cover it and it will get you by until you have time to fix it right.

Good luck, Rg

[hounddogs!]

I did mine without removing the fenders. But, I did drill out nine billionty spots welds to do so.

[Sinister]

The rocker is basically solid, it's just the lip that holds the seal is ate up in a few spots. Anything I have to weld in would be covered by the seal and the sill plate. I think I'm going to go for it.

[tim21391]

i left my fender on when we cut out my old rocker but i had no spot welds left i only had the welds on the front and back... had to take front clip off to fix pillars tho

[Larry S]

Im sure that is a pretty good unit because its made by lincoln, but Id either get the mig gauge kit with it or get another model. The flux core wire doesnt make a quality weld. It leaves ALOT of splatter. I have the lincoln 3200hd. I got it at home depot, and it runs off 110. I think they call it a different model # now. It does a great job for small stuff. Good luck!

[Sinister]

I'm looking at a 3200 HD on E-bay right now, will probally go for it.

[Senator350]

1. practice on some scrap sheet metal first. (most of my local metal suppliers sells scrap steel by the pound, which is cool to try out different thicknesses and joints)

2. to weld sheet metal, you have to do LOTS of little tacks... not really run a bead. you have to do a billion tack welds and don't weld where it's still warm. (2.1 the sheet metal gets butted, not lapped)

3. you want a MIG. you don't want to weld flux core. it's a pain in the ballsack.

4. you want .30 or .35 wire ALWAYS. don't get anything smaller... it's easier to just tune your wire speed

5. check the reviews on the regulator that comes with the welder... it's a really important part, and sometimes the manu gives you a shyte one.

Either way... don't try to weld on your truck until you are at least decent at welding.

[LONGHAIR]

Originally Posted by Senator350

4. you want .30 or .35 wire ALWAYS. don't get anything smaller... it's easier to just tune your wire speed

I have always used .023 wire. It takes less power/heat to melt it, therefore less has to be absorbed by the metal parts that you are welding.

[raggedjim]

Originally Posted by LONGHAIR

I have always used .023 wire. It takes less power/heat to melt it, therefore less has to be absorbed by the metal parts that you are welding.

I agree, the .023 works great for me.

[truckintexas]

Is this flux core .023, or are you welding with gas??

[Sinister]

Whoohoo, just pulled the trigger on the 3200 HD. Can't wait til it gets here.

[Larry S]

Good for you.

[msgross]

This one has free shipping and usually comes with a free cart... you'll want a cart...

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...Btool%2Bhobart

[Sinister]

What gauge is the sheet metal in these trucks?

[msgross]

I think most stuff is about 18 GA...

[AusTx68]

When looking for a welder remember to check Craigslist. I found a Hobart Handler 210 for $500 and it was new in the box. I started using it yesterday for the first time. I created tack welds and beads on a thick piece of scrap metal. Then I tried it on sheet metal. That was tricky. I had to keep playing with the settings to keep from blowing holes in the metal. Once I was able to create tack welds on 18g sheet metal I attempted to tack butt welds. I had some trouble with burn thru and turned down the settings until I could get a good tack. I'm still not sure I have the right settings so I plan to keep playing with scrap sheet metal until I can get it right.

[Shane]

.023 user here too ....