fixing Rocker panels

[majorstash]

hi and thanks for reading i have a 2003 PT and noticed a little surface rust on the side of my passenger rocker panel so got down to have a closer inspection and noticed there is about a 2 foot long by 4 inches wide piece of my rocker completly rusted out. so wanted to try to fix this myself (i'm feeling brave after watching overhaulin LOL) so i guess what took me a paragraph to ask is what thinkness/gauge/mm or whatever metal should I use for patching these holes?

thanks in advance for anyhelp
Tim

[quicksilverdon]

Read up on the warranty - I think there's a fairly long period of rust-thru warranty.
Can't hurt to investigate before you try to tackle it yourself...

[majorstash]

thanks for the info but dont know if that would apply to me seeing I did Not buy my PT new? thanks for the info

[quicksilverdon]

I don't know, either, but can't hurt to ask...
I do know that the basic warranty does transfer - my daughter has an '03 GT bought used, and she had it in under warranty for check engine light.

[majorstash]

sounds good hope they do cover it and maybe get my check engine light fixed also..lol..thanks again

[Candyman]

Hey their majorstash,

I somehow managed to miss this post, but wanted to reply just in case you were still working on this issue, as well as for others out in the PT Community with similar problems. The Chrysler Factory Corrosion Warranty reads as such:

This Warranty has two time and mileage limits:

1. For sheet metal panels, the limit is 36 months with no millage limit.

2. For an outer-body sheet metal panel---one that is finish painted and that someone can see when walking around the vehicle----the limits are 5 years or 100,000 miles on the Odometer, whichever comes first.

So at the time of this post, the Factory Warranty would apply depending on the Date of Sale on 2004 Models for which Chrysler should be able to track from your VIn Number, and all PT's from 2005, and up.


Now, in most circumstances I would not advise to try to repair hoes in panels caused by corrosion on your own without Paint and Body Experience. Most often this type of repair requires you to cut the metal section where the damage is at, weld in a new section, grind the welds smooth, cover over with body filler, sand, apply spot putty to fill imperfections in the body filler, sand more, and then move on to the primer surfacer, then prep for paint, and so on. It is a bigger job to do, and do right than a lot of people with limited knowledge, or experience in Paint and Body are able to tackle, and also requires the right tools, and equipment to handle the job.

If you, or anyone ever was going to try to do this type of repair, and needed help walking through how to do it correctly, I can help talk you through the process, but like I say, this is a job unfortunately that will require some Body Shop skills to pull off.

As always, if you, or anyone has any questions please feel free to ask me anytime, and I will be more than happy to help out or give a straight forward honest educated opinion anytime.

Go easy everyone, and I will catch ya later.

Candyman

[MassCruiser]

Thw warranty is transferrable......go to www.chrysler.com/ownerupdate and register yourself as the owner of VIN such-and-such.

[majorstash]

i completely understand what your saying and if the warrenty dont cover the repair on my 2003 that i bought from one of those buy here pay here rip off's in 2007 then im really gonna have to do it myself shouldnt be to much of a issue i got atleast 90% of the tools and such i need. yeah I plan on cutting out all the rust and corrosion then sand sand sand (not looking forward to that lol) then was gonna weld in my metal just wasnt sure on what gauge to use? then cover with bondo then more sanding and smoothing but instead of prime & paint i was gonna rhinoline or linex or something along that line the rockers on both sides damn Pennsylvania winters kill cars bodys so seen a truck with the liner on the rockers and actually looked pretty good..

P.S. want to thank everyone on here for all the help and suggestions i love this forum!!!
Tim
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Candyman wrote: Now, in most circumstances I would not advise to try to repair hoes in panels caused by corrosion on your own without Paint and Body Experience. Most often this type of repair requires you to cut the metal section where the damage is at, weld in a new section, grind the welds smooth, cover over with body filler, sand, apply spot putty to fill imperfections in the body filler, sand more, and then move on to the primer surfacer, then prep for paint, and so on. It is a bigger job to do, and do right than a lot of people with limited knowledge, or experience in Paint and Body are able to tackle, and also requires the right tools, and equipment to handle the job.