Rocker Panel Replacement

[pjf]

I have a 1989 Suzuki Sidekick whose rocker panels were damaged during an off-road hunting trip. The rocker panel is part of a larger quarter panel that includes the door frame. It is Suzuki part #6451160A30 and costs about $347 from Suzuki Dealer | New Cars Weatherford | Fort Worth Suzuki | Used Cars Weatherford. The quarter panel is labeled 1-2 at the bottom of this photo:

I believe that replacing the damaged rocker panel with a genuine Suzuki part ensures that the trim will fit perfectly on it. I don’t want to buy cheap after market rocker panels that must be drilled to add brackets for the trim. The trim will never fit properly on these after market parts. I know because I had that done on one of my rocker panels.

To save labor costs, my local Suzuki dealership’s body shop wants to cut off the rocker panel from the new quarter panel and replace only the rocker panel. The body shop claims that replacing the entire quarter panel is expensive because all of its spot welds must be drilled out. You can see the spot welds by removing the weather-stripping around a door frame. The labor cost of cutting off and replacing only the rocker panel is lower. The body shop claims that there will be no structural compromise due to the Sidekick’s sturdy inner frame.

I hate to buy an entire quarter panel only to use the rocker portion. Are there body shops equipped with tools that are able to more efficiently remove spot welds without extensive manual drilling? Can the spot welds be snipped off?

[gwn bc]

No a spot weld cannot be snipped off, must be drilled or ground off lots of labour,and there is more than one piece to a rocker panel, an outer,inner and possibly more. As far as trim holes many factory replacement panels require the technician to mark and drill after the panel is installed making no guaranty the trim will fit perect. Getting a good used rocker will be a lot cheaper because there just going to take a section off the new panel they want to sell you, and yes sectioning is way cheaper than the whole panel and just as strong.

How bad is your damage? put up a photo and I can advise you better.

[CodyJ]

At any rate it would be better to find a wrecked Zuk/Geo with changable dented parts than yours and interchange! Like to see some pictures of the damage too.

[Evil-Erik]

my rocker panels are toast i have been looking to fix it i came across this picture and love the idea of replacing mine like this it looks simple enough to tackle pretty low cost

[Gega_Met]

pjf

I had the same problem on my 94 tracker. I didn't find any replacements for it and I decided to make it with help of welder. If welder is wellqualified you can just cut off the rusted parts and weld new parts as metal strips.

you can see pictures here

http://www.suzuki-forums.com/suzuki-...95-2d-16v.html

I think it will cost less than buying new hole panel, than cutting it and old one and interchanging them.

[Gega_Met]

pjf

have you solved this problem?

[pjf]

I decided to simply buy the genuine Suzuki rocker panel which is part of a larger quarter panel. The local Suzuki dealership is willing to beat the Internet price so the panel will cost me a little over $300. Since both my right and left rocker panels got beat up during an off-road hunting trip, I will probably replace both panels.

Will the new rocker panels be pre-drilled for the trim that runs along the bottom? If not, how can I protect the panels from rock chips? I'm hoping that someone makes a rocker protector similar to this: Rocker Bars. Unfortunately, I can't use the rocker protectors in the URL because they require a body lift. Any suggestions?

[Evil-Erik]

option 1 make some yourself
option 2 find a good friend to do it

[Evil-Erik]

or find a shop that can make a set for you

[the flying scotsman]

Proper repair involves plug welding a backing strip on each side of the cut area. Look at the ICAR site on the web-troll around among the classes offered and you should see a photo or two of the proper way to section a panel. The proper way (although faster) never involves butt welds because they have no structural strength. As always, there is no substitute for OEM parts. You have made the correct choice to buy a factory replacement panel.